The Philadelphia Phillies did a wonderful job with their pitching staff this offseason, finding some high-upside replacements to fill a gap.
There was a need in the starting rotation, where a No. 5 starter had to be found, and in the bullpen, with Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez both hitting the free agency market.
To address their need for a starter, the Phillies acquired lefty Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins in a trade. He will take the place of Taijuan Walker, who performed better in spring training, but will likely function out of the bullpen.
Former Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was signed to help offset the losses in their relief staff along with Joe Ross. Internally, Orion Kerkering will certainly be tasked with more high-leverage work.
It was certainly a surprise to see how quiet Philadelphia was in free agency, with some questioning the approach that was taken.
There were some fans wondering whether it would have been a better idea to dip into free agency given the price it cost to acquire Luzardo since including star prospect Starlyn Caba in the deal is something the Phillies could come to regret.
Also, when taking a look at what some of the veterans signed for, such as Kyle Gibson, it could have been the route to go.
Gibson is returning to the Baltimore Orioles for a second stint after pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals
in 2024. The two sides agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal with $1.525 million in performance bonuses.
It was surprising to see him remain a free agent this long since he was one of the more established and reliable starting pitchers available this winter, especially because he wasn’t subject to qualifying offer restrictions like so many other free agents.
He was acquired by Philadelphia in a trade with the Texas Rangers in 2021 ahead of the deadline to help bolster the rotation.
As he has at all of his other stops, Gibson established himself as a reliable innings eater, taking the ball every time it was his turn through the rotation. He made 43 appearances, 42 starts, throwing 236.2 innings with 205 strikeouts.
His 5.06 ERA was far from ideal, but his 4.21 FIP hints that there was some bad luck involved with his inflated ERA.
A spot in the bullpen was given to him during the playoffs in 2022 and he did well in his limited outings, making two appearances and throwing 2.1 shutout innings.
