Philadelphia Phillies Could Choose To Re-Sign Star Closer After Recent Development

Based on some recent information that has come out, the Philadelphia Phillies might know which one of their free agent relievers to pursue this offseason.

Nov 9, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski answers questions from the media during the MLB GM Meetings at The Conrad Las Vegas / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

While upgrading the outfield is at the forefront of things the Philadelphia Phillies need to accomplish this offseason, they also have to figure out the bullpen.

It's no secret that unit collapsed in the playoffs after being one of the best groups throughout the entirety of the year, so the organization first has to figure out what went wrong on that front.

Maybe it was just a coincidence they all went cold at the same time. Maybe the long layoff between the final regular season game and their first contest in the NLDS played a factor.

Or maybe they just don't have the right arms on the staff.

It will be up to Dave Dombrowski and his front office to weigh those possibilities as they make decisions about who to add this winter, but one thing they will have to decide on is who to bring back out of Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez.

With both hitting the open market after prolonged periods of success, it's not feasible for the Phillies to re-sign the duo based on the amount of money they are projected to receive from teams around the league.

Hoffman had a career resurgence in Philadelphia the past two years, posting a 2.28 ERA and 184 ERA+ across his 122 outings and 118.2 innings pitched.

He has become a well liked player in the clubhouse, so moving on from him would certainly be tough.

However, Estevez was a trade deadline acquisition this past season to fill the clear closer need on this roster, and despite a rocky showing in the NLDS that wasn't just privy to him, he largely did what he was brought in to do during the second half of the year with a 2.57 ERA and 161 ERA+ in his 20 outings that also saw him go 6-for-8 on save opportunities during the regular season.

Choosing between the two will be a hard decision, but the choice might also be taken out of the Phillies' hands.

According to some new information that was reported here at Philadelphia Phillies On SI, there are teams around the league eyeing Hoffman to transition into becoming a starting pitcher, something his agency is preparing for.

If that's the case, then Philadelphia likely has their choice made for them.

Hoffman would receive a starting salary the Phillies wouldn't be willing to match considering they wouldn't use him in their rotation, meaning they would turn their attention to re-signing Estevez.

Of course, there's also the chance Hoffman wants to return to Philadelphia in the same role he has held, opting for that career path with a World Series contender instead of going elsewhere.

That might complicate things, so there is still no determination on which direction the Phillies will go, but if he does decide to go down the starting pitcher path, then Estevez could vault to the top of their target list.