October 29, 2025
Dale Zanine/Imagn Images
Did the Phillies make the right move in bringing back José Alvarado for 2026 at $9 million?
The Phillies' bullpen in 2025 was really two different units.
It was the dreadful, unreliable makeshift group of pitchers during the first part of the regular season that was regretting its decisions to sign Jordan Romano and let Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman walk.
And then it was the light's-out group led by trade deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran that also boasted veteran late free agent signing David Robertson and a host of solid back end arms.
In all, the bullpen was a middle-of-the-road unit in 2025, with a 4.27 ERA (21st) but with top-10 strikeout rates. It was not surprisingly called on to pitch the fewest innings in all the majors, due to the incredible starting pitching the club got throughout the season.
Most of the key arms the team relied on in key spots will be returning in 2026. A few are slated to become free agents. Here's a look at the status of the bullpen. How many of these guys should be back for next season?
Jhoan Duran: He's their ace closer and under contract until 2028.
Orion Kerkering: Even with his errant postseason throw home, Kerkering will be back as a late-innings righty.
Tanner Banks: The Phillies like him a lot as a lefty specialist who excels with runners on base. He's under team control until 2029.
Matt Strahm: Another lefty reliever, he had an option exercised and will be back for 2026.
Max Lazar: He flashed and is under team control for a while. He might not make the team out of spring training if the Phillies add free agent relievers but he has minor league options.
The Phillies will have to make decisions on the following arms:
José Alvarado: Alvarado is a complex case. He was the team's best reliever for the early part of the 2025 season before a big suspension for steroid use sidelined him until August. He had a 2.70 ERA over his first 20 innings and one of the liveliest fastballs in the majors, and then allowed five runs over six innings upon his return. Alvarado is 30, and has a $9 million team option with a $500,000 buy out. Phillies President Dave Dombrowski seemed to nod in the direction of Alvarado's return when he spoke to the media earlier in October.
"I’d be surprised without making any announcements that Alvarado’s not back with us. But we’ll see what ends up happening," Dombrowski said.
The Phillies would love to have the guy from the first half of the season back, pitching from the left side and providing heat in late innings. But he really let the team down when he was caught using illegal substances and missed 80 games. The Phillies shut him down at the end of the year with a forearm strain but he should be healthy for spring training.
David Robertson: The second biggest decision for the Phillies' bullpen is Robertson, who returned to the team for a third time midseason and pitched decently, but not great, over 17.2 late season innings with a 4.08 ERA. Robertson will be 41 next season and it would be hard to justify paying him much with so many young pitchers they can go with instead. It seems unlikely he'll get another go of it with the Phillies, especially after he surrendered two runs while retiring just one hitter in his only postseason appearance.
Seth Johnson: Johnson has no minor league options remaining so his fate will be decided during roster cutdowns in spring training if he remains on the roster. He pitched 12.2 innings in the majors and was acquired from Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade.
Tim Mayza: The lefty only played in eight games with the Phillies and was nothing special with a 4.91 ERA.
Lou Trivino: A righty, Trivino also had a short stint with the Phillies but was pretty solid with a 2.00 ERA over nine innings late in the season.
Jordan Romano, Joe Ross: We won't waste your time here. These two were highly touted and flamed out big time, with neither lasting on the roster until the postseason.
To be circumspect, the Phillies will likely be bringing back Daniel Robert, Seth Johnson, Michael Mercado and Nolan Hoffman. All of these arms pitched in the majors at some point in 2025 and each is under team control as well as flush with minor league options.
What do you think?
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