Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[Philsmania]

They definitely need a repeat of 2022 here. Nobody expected them to beat St. Louis, and they might not have had the Cardinals' closer hadn't imploded in Game 1 (I suppose you could say the same about the Phillies bullpen in Game 1 against the Mets in '24). They also weren't supposed to beat the Braves. But even more than that, they didn't have to play the best team in the NLCS, thasnks the #5 seed knocking out LA.

Stick to the 5th or 4th seed this year nd they miss Atlanta in the WC, likely get Milwaukee instead of LA in the NLDS (not that the Brewers are easy) and will miss either LA or Atlanta entirely, should they get that far. Still want the home games though

Just as long as they don't bring back that stupid song.

[zambonir]

It is brutal that they can't put Bowlan on the IL w/o losing him for the WC. Makes the bullpen that much thinner. Ruben just said "they have enough bodies" to cover it, really?

[zambonir]

Belongs here too I reckon

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7611492/2026/09/19/orion-kerkering-phillies-demoted/?unlocked_article_code=1.ClE.c7es.RVtxEAokskAQ&source=emp_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share

[flyers19rw]

He’s a useless mess right now. Needs to go to another organization next season.

[Philsmania]

He’s a useless mess right now. Needs to go to another organization next season.

Like I said elsewhere, Phillies are in a no-win sirltuation with him. Kerkering probably needs a change of scenery with all that's happened (including the end of last season), but he is sell-low and maybe even nontender at this point. But, he has the stuff to be a very good ML relief pitcher. Maybe he's a hopeless headcase or naybe there's just too much bad karma here. In hindsight, Phillies probably should have traded him last winter.

[Carver]

You don't sell low. Simply send him down, and next year make him truly earn a role if he can. If not, keep in in AAA and work on the pitch mix and command to see if he can be salvaged. Bullpen arms are rarely consistent, and things can change in a hurry if he finds himself again.

Sell him now and you get a bag of peanuts...what would be the point?

[andyb]

Kerkering sitting 95 instead of 98 is just a very different pitcher. The physical is probably much more important than the mental here. He has little trade value as other organizations will see that.

A couple of months rest than a winter program to build back his strength and motion should be the plan before we think of moving on from him. It is very possible Mattingly's "warm up every day" routine broke him as much as the Dodgers mishap.

I worry about McFarlane. We really need another manager next year.

[julio]

I worry about McFarlane. We really need another manager next year.

This bears repeating - and re-posting.

[andyb]

I think he warmed up 3 straight days this past week without being used. He is wasting his bullets when he thinks he is trying to save them by not pitching him in a game. Hopefully a week or so off helps Bowlan. I never really understood the obsession with set roles that he loves. Once Bowlan got in that primary setup role he just had to pitch every time our second best reliever is needed.

At least the closer role is a little clearer and Duran can mostly handle the load.

[zambonir]

For sure he's still affordable and will have two options left. But a change might be better for both sides. I still don't think it's selling low, relievers have horrible years all the time. He's just as valuable as Soto and Strahm were. They were better pitchers at the time but also more costly/older/less controlled. Any team can see what's there and how the Phillies mishandled him and would probably prefer to get to work with him ASAP instead of leaving it to the Phillies again.

There's no way Mattingly is managing this team next year. He wasn't even supposed to do it this year. If it's not Cora, there will be a proper search. Unless they go on a run and even then I think he's gone, even if it's just because DD wants his friend and it's still bad to have the GM's Dad be the manager.

What I find unfortunate is that Cotham doesn't have more control over the bullpen usage. I guess that means either Thomson was more deferential, or they were on the same page. But I also still wonder if the pitching and analytics staff feels less willing to push back against the GM's Dad - including the GM himself.

[zambonir]

They need to get through the next seven games and they will also need more arms in NLDS. But....

The Phillies used six pitchers in their two-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2022 wild-card series. They used seven pitchers in their two-game sweep of the Miami Marlins in the 2023 wild-card Series.

Right now, selecting six or seven healthy pitchers to trust is not a simple task. The Phillies have Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola to start. In the bullpen, they have Jhoan Duran and rookie Alex McFarlane. That’s five. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.

Of course we can't assume a sweep either. In any case, Luzardo and Painter are pretty much the key to the whole thing with that math. Alvarado is always a dice roll but will be an option. Hopefully a rested/healed Bowlan is. Banks is still an unknown. We'll see a lot of him and Shugart this week presumably.

(from the same Gelb story about Kerkering I already linked)

[zambonir]

Welcome back, Max Lazar

[Carver]

You might have a point, but I think that we can overstate these things - especially when it comes to youngsters. Veterans that get their nose out of joint or prove that the temperature in the city is not workable for them can be one thing, but youngsters have to find their way whether here or elsewhere.

When it comes to bullpen arms with potential I hate to give one up unless we get real value back. I don't think that anyone will pay much for himi right now, although it only takes one team to be an optimist. If we had a surplus of bullpen talent it would be easier, but fixing Kerk even if it takes half of next season in AAA is worth more to the Phils than some other teams.

The Strahm deal was simply smart - they saw that his peripherals were fading, and they unloaded the salary and got a controlled live arm with upside. Strahm was already kinda' done here with his issues with coaching and management. Orion just needs to figure out how to hunt again.

[Carver]

I rarely make strong judgments when it comes to managers, as most armchair evaluations are rather limited. But I just think that Mattingly needs to be the interim and then go into a senior residency. This is more on feel, but yeah the bullpen approach is pretty bad.

Don is a terrific guy and an intelligent baseball lifer, but this team needs a different on field approach.

[andyb]

Luzardo and Painter are pretty much the key to the whole thing with that math.

Painter as a 3-inning bridge to the back of the bullpen and Luzardo as a weapon are very much in play. Luzardo will not be stretched out to start in the first series so the wild card likely goes Sanchez, Wheeler, Nola in some order with Luzardo available to do a couple of innings at a key moment once. And one Painter bridge outing.

If we get to round 2 then I think we reconsider Luzardo as a starter.

[flyers19rw]

I don’t see a guy with first inning fizzles like Painter being the guy to use in relief

[zambonir]

They've really got no choice, unless they want to possibly have him start game three or game one of NLDS. Which would hardly be better if he does in fact have a bad first inning.

Before the injury, the equally unsuitable for relief Nola would have had to do it too

[zambonir]

When it comes to bullpen arms with potential I hate to give one up unless we get real value back. I don't think that anyone will pay much for himi right now, although it only takes one team to be an optimist. If we had a surplus of bullpen talent it would be easier, but fixing Kerk even if it takes half of next season in AAA is worth more to the Phils than some other teams.

I don't feel strongly about it either way, and with the lockout who even knows what the trade and free agent market will look like. But at this point trading Kerkering wouldn't be any different than trading JoJo Romero (Sosa's value was certainly not seen as high at the time) or even DFAing a guy like Austin Davids or any of the half-dozen arms from 2019 to 2021 who looked like the next Hector Neris (good bad or otherwise).

Next year Phillies bullpen has a baseline of Duran, McFarlane, Keller (?), Banks (?), Bowlan, Shugart and Killian. They lose Alvarado and Raley and Mayza (though he'd probably re-sign). If Kerkering can get you a LHP you probably do it, but it's not as thin on paper as it feels like it does now. Burying Kerkering in AAA and hoping he's a surprise late-season addition certainly not the worst idea, but if they fail to add someone (pre-seaosn or deadline) thinking he'll come up and fill the hole, they will look pretty bad if it goes badly. And if they're just writing him off until 2028 I think they'll trade him. His value could get worse - by being bad in AAA too.

[BostonRoss]

It's obvious that Kerkering can't be trusted to pitch in meaningful situations right now. There's a good chance he won't pitch in the playoffs at all.

But as frustrating as it has been to watch Kerkering over the past month, it seems unreasonable to assume he is washed up or needs a "change of scenery" based on five or six bad outings. It's easy to forget how good he was for much of the season. I'm not a believer in addition by subtraction; it's a lock that the 2027 Phillies will have several relievers who will be worse than Kerkering has been this year. He's 25 years old and still inexpensive; why assume he can't be fixed?

The change of scenery argument doesn't hold water either. Seranthony and Soto have been the same pitchers since they left, and they were older than Kerkering is now. Their situations were different in that they were traded in-season, but they weren't given away. They were traded for people who it was hoped would contribute (even though they didn't).

Trading Kerkering for value is a reasonable thing to pursue in the offseason. So is keeping him and trying to get him back on track. Giving him away is unreasonable.

[zambonir]

"Change of scenery" is a PR move as much as anything. The fans are tired of him and DD will look bad if they stick with him and is wrong. With Seranthony that was also the case, and that the time it didn't seem wrong to trade him (ahead of a presumed non-tender). Soto was different, he'd became a problem case and basically demanded to be traded somewhere that would use him in higher-leverage spots.

Hindsight says they may have been wrong to pick up Alvardo's option too, even as they were right on Strahm. It's a crap shoot every year. In a perfect world you can replace Kerkering with another Hoffman or Bellatti. In the current world, they haven't unearthed one of those for three seasons. So maybe Kerkering is that!

Listen, the best possible case would be that two weeks in AAA makes him an option for the NLDS. But if his stuff is down, probably not.