It was clear as the Phillies returned from the All-Star break that their current bullpen, full of questionable pieces, would look a lot different after July 31, when MLB's trade deadline has come and gone.
Before even swinging a deal, the Phillies have reportedly upgraded their bullpen with a one-year commitment to 40-year-old righty David Robertson, the veteran relief pitcher set to begin his third stint with the Phillies.
Robertson will not be available to pitch immediately -- he has stayed in shape but not been in games during the 2025 season -- but should be ready to bolster a bullpen in need of assistance fairly soon.
How will Robertson slot into manager Rob Thomson's group of relief arms? How much more upgrading does that unit need at this point? Diving into those questions and more in a new bullpen confidence meter, ranking Robertson and the members of the current bullpen from least to most trustworthy:
No. 9: Joe Ross (R)
Ross was signed to a one-year, $4 million deal in the offseason to be a swing arm for the Phillies capable of taking down multiple innings or even starting. He never turned into a starter -- his lone start in 2025 was as a two-inning opener in a bullpen game -- and after a move to the bullpen helped Ross level up his stuff with the Milwaukee Brewers last season, he has been ineffective with the Phillies.
While Ross' ability to occasionally save other relievers by eating an extra inning has been valuable, he has just not been good enough to be trusted in any sort of leverage situation. With a 5.28 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 31 appearances, moving forward Ross is likely just a mop-up man in games when the Phillies have most of their arms available.
Key stat: Right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters are both batting .288 against Ross this season.
No. 8: Daniel Robert (R)
An under-the-radar April trade acquisition, Robert has now made eight appearances for the Phillies. The results have quietly been good. Robert has struck out 11 batters in 6.0 innings of work, only allowing one earned run on four hits. He has good velocity and an excellent sweeper that will be what powers him if he becomes a trusted arm.But then there is the kicker: issues with throwing strikes. Robert has walked six batters with the Phillies, and he is going to have to exhibit much better command if he wants the ball in any situations of remote importance. He has real swing-and-miss stuff, though, and generally has not walked tons of batters in his recent minor-league career. If his spiked walk rate in Philadelphia proves to be an aberration, there could be something here.Key stat: Robert has struck out 11 of the 27 batters he has faced with the Phillies.No. 7: Seth Johnson (R)
The Phillies converted Johnson from starting to a relief role earlier this season, believing his high-octane fastball and sharp slider would make for a strong mix out of the bullpen. Johnson clearly has a live arm, and across five appearances with the Phillies this season, he has mostly thrown strikes. Johnson has a lengthy road ahead of him to prove he is capable of genuine trust in important moments, but there is no question that the ability is there.
Johnson also has multi-inning capabilities; he has taken down six outs in two of his five appearances with the Phillies. If he begins to seriously ascend in the bullpen hierarchy, Thomson could try to strictly limit him to one-inning outings in hopes his stuff plays up even more.
Key stat: Johnson's average fastball velocity of 97.3 miles per hour is in the 90th percentile among major-league pitchers, according to Baseball Savant.
No. 6: Max Lazar (R)
Lazar does not have nearly the arm talent of Robert or Johnson, and he just does not get lots of strikeouts. It is generally not an archetype of a reliever worth betting on. But Lazar continues to get people out and put up zeroes. He is down to a 3.32 ERA in 21.2 innings of work this year despite only notching 14 strikeouts.
It is not that Lazar has dreadful stuff. But unlike Robert and Johnson, he probably will never have good enough stuff to consistently generate whiffs against major-league bats. What he does have, though, is pinpoint command. Lazar can locate his pitches and, so far, it has led the way for him to get outs. There is certainly regression potential here, but for now, Lazar is one of the only members of this bullpen consistently avoiding trouble.
Key stat: Lazar has a 1.13 WHIP across 28 major-league appearances with the Phillies over the last two seasons.
No. 5: Jordan Romano (R)
No member of this bullpen has been more synonymous with "trouble" than Romano, whose one-year deal to replace Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez in the bullpen has been a disaster so far. He shows the ability of a former All-Star closer on occasion, then just when things seem to be trending in the right direction, Romano experiences a horrid blow-up. He has not been as bad as his 6.88 ERA might indicate, but he has just not been good.
By the time October comes, Thomson can only rely on whatever version of Romano has existed in a Phillies uniform, not the one that starred in Toronto. But for the time being, the Phillies need someone in their bullpen to step up and become a high-leverage reliever. Of the possible players to do that, Romano is the only one with any sort of prior experience in such a role. But at some point, he is going to have to start getting people out.
Key stat: Romano has not finished any appearance this season with an ERA below 6.00.
No. 4: Tanner Banks (L)
Banks has been somewhat of a revelation in his first full season with the Phillies, even outperforming Matt Strahm against lefty bats. The Phillies might not want to put him on elite right-handers when the lights are brightest, but he has done a very good job in 2025 and is perfect for a specialist role in October.
While Banks always had decent command, his strike-throwing ability has gotten considerably better this season. Banks is only walking 1.3 batters per nine innings; his walk percentage of 3.7 percent is fourth-lowest among major-league relievers this season. Banks will never be able to overpower hitters with velocity, but he misses enough bats and induces lots of weak contact.
Another benefit of the Phillies continuing to add high-leverage arms: Banks can settle into an optimal role where he is not at risk of being overexposed.
Key stat: Left-handed hitters have slashed .182/.217/.288 against Banks this season.
No. 3: David Robertson (R)
It says much less about Robertson than it does the preexisting bullpen in Philadelphia that a 40-year-old who has not pitched in nine months is probably going to walk into the clubhouse as the team's third-best reliever. Robertson was injured during his first stint with the Phillies and erratic, though effective at times, during the next. He walked many tightropes in October of 2022 but largely avoided disaster, also saving the team's 6-5 win in Game 1 of the World Series.
Last year with the Texas Rangers, in 68 games (72.0 innings), Robertson was quite good. He posted a 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP while striking out 12.4 batters per nine innings. Beyond the raw production, Robertson has an arsenal that makes him effective against righties and lefties alike; in fact he was just solid against right-handed hitters last season while dominating left-handed hitters:
| RHB vs. Robertson (2024) | LHB vs. Robertson (2023) |
| 165 PA | 131 PA |
| .248 AVG | .145 AVG |
| .329 OBP | .237 OBP |
| .324 SLG | .231 SLG |
Robertson cannot be the Phillies' only bullpen acquisition, and he probably cannot even be their best bullpen acquisition. But adding a quality relief pitcher without giving up any prospects is a major win with a week and change left before the deadline.
Key stat: Robertson's last appearance in a major-league game came on Sep. 29, 2024.
No. 2: Matt Strahm (L)
Strahm has allowed two hits and zero earned runs in his last seven outings, each lasting one inning. It has been a welcome sign after the veteran southpaw had stumbled a bit, only adding to the uncertainty surrounding this bullpen. His velocity has never been stellar and may be a tick down this year, but Strahm has been able to find himself again by inducing chase and avoiding missing over the middle of the plate.
Moving forward, Strahm should be expected to face opposing teams' most challenging left-handed hitters, but an important piece of his value is that he does not have drastic platoon splits. Strahm has no fear attacking right-handed hitters and can get plenty of them out, which makes Thomson's job a bit easier.
Key stat: Strahm has not allowed a run since June 25.
No. 1: Orion Kerkering (R)
Ultimately, Kerkering's role in October will be determined by the trade deadline. If the Phillies add a clear closer -- or one of Robertson, Strahm or Romano becomes that -- the likeliest scenario is that Thomson uses Kerkering the way he did Hoffman, as a fireman called upon for the first critical jam of a game. If nobody can prove worthy of repeated late-inning opportunities, though, Kerkering might have to be saved for those spots.Kerkering had a rough patch to begin 2025, but eventually found his footing again and is back to being one of the more effective right-handed relievers in the National League. Kerkering's splits against left-handed hitters are still suboptimal, but he has been far and away the most productive arm Thomson can summon late in a game for a prolonged stretch. With 42 appearances now under his belt this season, Kerkering has gotten his ERA down to 2.95.Key stat: Of the 439 batters Kerkering has faced in the regular season in his career, only four have hit home runs.Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
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