Get ready for something new.
With the Phillies in Chicago on Wednesday night, Taijuan Walker pitched okay for five innings. Then Max Lazar allowed six runs, Seth Johnson allowed one more, and Alan Rangel came in to mop up the trash.
Those days will be a memory soon.
The Phillies have the opportunity to completely remold their bullpen in the next few weeks, and with Jhoan Duran now with the team after a monster trade (sending Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait to the Twins), the front office has all the theoretical tools to make the bullpen a strength — not a liability.
Dave Dombrowski made it pretty clear the team was not looking to add another bullpen arm, and if our projections below are correct, there's a reason why. They don't need anyone else.
Here's how the team could choose to shape its relief corps as the stretch run for the postseason heats up in August:
Closer: Jhoan Duran (Jordan Romano, DFA)
As our Adam Aaronson broke down, Duran is already the Phillies' best relief pitcher against both lefties and righties. And for the first time in years, the Phillies' powers-that-be referred to Duran as a closer — suggesting that there won't be a closer by committee anymore. Duran has a 2.01 ERA this season and has been dominant late in games for four years now. The final inning appears to be his.
The Romano experiment is coming to an end. Whether he's designated for assignment right away or later in the summer, as David Robertson or José Alvarado arrive is anyone's guess, but his 6.81 ERA and total unreliability has played out in Philly. The Phillies need to swallow the sunk cost and move on.
LH setup: Matt Strahm
Strahm will remain a late-innings lefty, and he's been effective facing southpaw hitters this season, holding them to a .208 batting average and no home runs.
RH setup: Orion Kerkering
He's been inconsistent at times, but he leads the current bullpen in ERA with a 2.72 mark. He will be trusted to pitch regularly in high-leverage spots in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
LH specialist: Jesús Luzardo (Replaced by Aaron Nola in rotation, Seth Johnson sent to minors)
Nola is expected to toss three or so rehab starts over the next few weeks and be rotation-ready by mid August. Luzardo has already pitched the most innings of his career and he's been wildly inconsistent over his time with the Phillies. While he certainly is a starter by trade, and could return to the rotation next season, he does not project to be one of the Phillies' top three starters in a potential postseason series (Zack Wheeler, Cris Sánchez and Ranger Suárez).
The Phils will need another lefty in the pen come playoff time — with Alvarado ineligible — so this move makes perfect sense. Shift Luzardo to the bullpen when Nola returns and give him a month and a half to get comfortable there before the postseason in October.
Johnson has a 5.06 ERA over nine MLB appearances this season and will be sent back to Triple-A to find his groove again.
RH specialist: David Robertson (Alan Rangel sent to minors)
The 40-year-old signed with the Phillies a few weeks ago and is expected to make some warmup appearances in Triple-A over the next week or so. Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb said August 5th is the likely date for Robertson to make the jump to the majors, where he'll join Kerkering as a late-inning righty.
Rangel has been good over a very short stint with the Phillies, a 2.70 ERA over 10 innings, but it's been mostly in mop up situations. He'll be optioned back to the minors soon.
Middle relief (temporary): José Alvarado (Max Lazar sent to minors)
Even though his suspension bars him from playoff competition, the Phillies intend to welcome Alvarado back when he's allowed to pitch again on August 18, giving him a solid 45 games or so to help the team clinch a postseason spot. He was the Phillies' best pitcher out of the pen prior to his suspension, with a 2.70 ERA, and 25 strikeouts to just four walks. It stands to reason he'll be a situational lefty when he returns.
Lazar struggled Wednesday night against the White Sox but has shown some promise relieving games at the Major League level. He has a 5.11 ERA in 24.2 innings but six of his 14 runs allowed came Wednesday. He might stick around for the two and a half weeks leading up to Alvarado's return. Perhaps he'll be the one called back to the postseason roster to replace Alvarado.
Middle relief: Tanner Banks
Banks has been fine. With so many pitchers imploding around him, the veteran has quietly been solid, tallying a 3.23 ERA in 47.1 innings, the most for any Phillies reliever so far this season. His job is not in jeopardy amid the expected shuffling.
Long man: Taijuan Walker (Replaced by Andrew Painter, Daniel Robert sent to minors)
Andrew Painter's latest outing was very good, and he was projected to be in the majors by July of this season. It stands to reason that he will take Walker's spot in the rotation — they both pitched Wednesday. Walker will move back to the bullpen yet again where he'll be able to provide a multi-inning mop up or spot start role for the rest of the season.
Robert has a 5.79 ERA over 12 appearances and will be options to the minors.
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