Insider Links Philadelphia Phillies to Multiple High-Profile Relievers

The Philadelphia Phillies are now being connected to some bullpen pieces to close out their offseason acquisitions.

For the past few years, the Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the most active teams in free agency, overhauling their roster and adding elite talent at multiple positions in their pursuit of a championship.

This offseason was different.

With a loaded team, the only glaring need as making sure they continued to have another ace alongside Zack Wheeler.

They accomplished that by re-signing Aaron Nola to a multi-year contract.

But as other teams continued to add in free agency this winter, the Phillies uncharacteristically were quiet, only making the one move to keep Nola in their rotation.

Naturally, with this taking place, people are starting to look at Philadelphia and asking what's next?

Despite being linked to other starting pitchers on the market, that doesn't seem too likely, with Dave Dombrowski saying he's comfortable with the current five in the starting rotation.

However, more help could be on the way.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post has linked the Phillies to some of the most high-profile relievers still available.

"The Phillies, looking for a hard-throwing right-hander, are thought in on Robert Stephenson as well as [Jordan] Hicks," he reports.

Either one of these additions would be great.

Both would be incredible.

Jordan Hicks has been a popular name this offseason after coming off a resurgent year with the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays. The 27-year-old finally had a healthy year and posted an ERA of 3.29 across 65 appearances.

He was even better with the Blue Jays after they acquired him in a trade, reducing his number to 2.63 and recording an ERA+ of 164 in 25 games.

Based on the high-velocity type of arms Philadelphia likes to have coming out of their bullpen, Hicks seems like the ideal fit for them because he's one of the hardest throwers in the sport.

Robert Stephenson is an interesting player to project moving forward.

He spent five years with the Cincinnati Reds, posting an ERA of 5.15 during his tenure before becoming a journeyman. He had some solid showings with the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, but was ultimately shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle of last season.

This is where is career completely turned around.

In 42 games, he posted an ERA of 2.35 across 38 1/3 innings pitched. His strikeout per nine inning ratio of 14.1 was the best of his career.

Much of this was attributed to the cutter that he developed while with the Rays.

But while he looks like one of the top relievers on the market, it's hard to project that someone with a career ERA of 4.64, that was also higher before this stint with Tampa Bay, would have such a sustainable turnaround.

Whether it's signing Hicks or Stephenson, the Phillies seem to be active in the free agency market once again, looking to add another piece before the 2024 season begins.