December 19, 2025
Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images
Kyle Backhus adds some additional lefty depth to the Phillies' bullpen, with option years that offer flexibility.
A new lefty comes in as another goes out.
The Phillies acquired left-hander reliever Kyle Backhus from the Diamondbacks on Friday, sending single-A outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu to Arizona in return.
Backhus, 27, made 32 appearances for the Diamondbacks last season, posting a 4.62 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP, with a 7.82 strikeouts per nine innings rate.
It was his rookie year in the majors, and before he got his first call-up in June, he had a 2.05 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and a 12.65 K/9 rate in 26 appearances for Arizona's Triple-A affiliate in Reno.
Backhus has below-average percentile rankings, per Baseball Savant, but has three minor-league option years to work with, per FanGraphs, which is likely where the appeal in him lies for the Phillies; he's flexible.
Backhus' addition adds to some work the Phillies have been doing to re-shape their bullpen a bit in the past week.
They signed right-hander Brad Keller to a two-year deal on Wednesday, and dealt their formerly versatile lefty Matt Strahm to the Royals earlier Friday for another righty reliever in Jonathan Bowlan, who Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a Zoom conference call that the club imagines to be a part of its bullpen to begin 2026.
Where Backhus lands in that picture probably depends on his spring.
Makin' more moves 🤝
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) December 19, 2025
We've acquired Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks pic.twitter.com/ClgcBmMjIw
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
