The Phillies' quest for pitching depth is similar but different this winter

Right-hander Zach McCambley, whom the Phillies selected from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft, pitches during 2024 spring training. Doug Murray / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

When the Phillies tendered right-handed reliever José Ruiz a contract 13 months ago, it was not a watershed moment. The idea of Ruiz, a competent middle reliever who had come to the club on a minor-league deal and posted a 3.71 ERA in 51 innings during the 2024 season, was fine. The cost was minimal.

But how the Phillies viewed Ruiz hinted at a larger issue; the journeyman reliever who had spent most of his career pitching in lower-leverage situations would have a greater role in 2025. He was the club's third most-trusted righty. The Phillies did not push Ruiz by accumulating much bullpen depth to create spring competitions -- the type of competition that helped Ruiz initially emerge in 2024.

Ruiz logged an 8.16 ERA in 16 outings this year before the Phillies jettisoned him in early June. He bounced around the minors with two organizations and, earlier this month, signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. He's headed to Japan in 2026.

"We still need depth in relief pitching," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said last week.

The Phillies acted this week by securing a two-year, $22 million agreement with Brad Keller. He will have a prominent role in the later innings. As of now, the Phillies have committed over $37 million to their 2026 bullpen, more than they have in a season since Dombrowski assumed control of the franchise.

They now face a conundrum; the Phillies have discussed veteran lefty Matt Strahm in trade talks all offseason. By moving him, they would create roster and payroll flexibility. But that would come at the expense of removing one of the more effective lefties in the sport over the past few seasons.

If there is one criticism of Dombrowski that has endured during his decades in baseball, it's his ineffectiveness in building bullpens. Dombrowski landed his white whale -- a proven, shutdown closer -- by trading for Jhoan Duran last summer. That could make the rest easier; if the Phillies flip Strahm, they could enter the season with Keller, José Alvarado, Orion Kerkering and Tanner Banks as the bridge to Duran. The rest?

"I mean," Dombrowski said, "it's not like anybody's solidified for those last three spots."

The Phillies have filler arms to choose from; they could use more. That quest began last week, in earnest, when they traded for a 23-year-old righty who had been designated for assignment (Yoniel Curet) and selected a 26-year-old righty in the Rule 5 draft (Zach McCambley).

In recent seasons, Phillies officials have lamented their unsuccessful attempts to convince certain players to join the organization on minor-league contracts. The Phillies have had a set roster without obvious paths for a player not on the 40-man roster to crack the big-league club. This has affected the club's ability to build proper depth, according to team officials.

But the Phillies, in general, are conservative in their roster management under Dombrowski. Other clubs are more willing to make quicker changes in the majors, granting depth players a better opportunity at a big-league shot.

Rival evaluators pointed to the relative weakness of the Phillies' last 10 spots on the 40-man roster in 2025 compared to other contenders. The Phillies were not often forced to dip into their organizational depth. But when they did, they had a glaring weakness all season. They needed at least one more trusted righty reliever.

They experimented with Taijuan Walker as a setup man. Daniel Robert, acquired in a small trade in April, had the eighth inning, once -- a nightmarish game in San Francisco. Carlos Hernández, a waiver claim on the final day of spring training, had a long runway because he threw hard. The Phillies churned through Seth Johnson, Michael Mercado, Brett de Geus and Nolan Hoffman. None of them stuck; Johnson remains a bullpen candidate for 2026. The Phillies were granted another minor-league option year for Johnson, who transitioned into a reliever role last season when the Phillies were desperate for anything to work.

The issues stemmed from two free-agent signings, Jordan Romano and Joe Ross, who contributed far less than the Phillies expected. But that is the nature of relievers, especially those on one-year deals. There has to be a more coherent backup plan.

Only one of the 21 pitchers who appeared in relief for the Phillies last season was a homegrown player. That was Kerkering. The rest were free-agent signings, trade acquisitions, minor-league signings and waiver claims. There is no one way to construct a bullpen, and all of the regular-season rules are tossed aside come October.

If the Phillies could better develop what the industry considers the easiest cohort -- relievers -- they could accumulate depth. It's why they added Alex McFarlane, a righty with a 14 percent walk rate and a 5.40 ERA in 138 1/3 professional innings, to the 40-man roster last month. McFarlane throws hard. He became a reliever late last season.

"Our people really liked the way he threw the ball at that time," Dombrowski said. "So I would think he'd come to camp as a reliever. When you have that type of arm and all of a sudden you're throwing strikes, anything can happen."

That's the dream scenario for the Phillies. Absent that, they will have to backfill. They entered the Winter Meetings with the second-fewest occupied 40-man spots. Even with their recent transactions, they are at 37. Only the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs have fewer.

The Phillies can wield those open spots in different ways. They have discussed major-league deals for depth-type players who have minor-league options. Those players, in the past, might have been signing minor-league deals. Across the industry, teams are valuing minor-league options so much that it has created a new trend of these big-league contracts to unproven free agents.

For the first time in a few years, the Phillies have vacant 40-man spots to promise and an unsettled roster to use as a pitch to improve their depth.

"We will try to use that number advantageously to sign some free agents, even fringe big-league players that can provide us depth at different positions that are willing to come to us," Dombrowski said. "Some of them may have options, some may not. We'll use those spots strategically. But once you use them, then they're sort of burnt."

They need real rotation depth. This is one potential way to obtain it. The bullpen is also a logical place to apply this strategy.

"It could work to our advantage in that regard," Dombrowski said. "It's not like we don't have three other guys. We have some people who I think could compete for those spots. But we might also bring other people in to compete. ... Ideally, when we're setting our roster at the end of the spring, you're in a position where you have some flexibility in your last (bullpen) spots. Guys aren't out of options. So when you're creating that, there's a young player or two you'd like to have."

More competition would help; the Phillies were locked into a bullpen at the start of last season that lacked optionable pitchers. It was inflexible. They were committed to the idea of someone like Ruiz until they weren't. Even then, the solutions were never obvious. That was the manifestation of a deeper organizational concern. It is, at least, on more minds this winter.