Philadelphia Phillies Need to Pursue Yankees Star Reliever in MLB Free Agency

The Philadelphia Phillies could transform their bullpen with this addition.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are turning the page to the offseason after a third straight season ended in playoff heartbreak, albeit this year with more expectations than the previous two years.

In 2022, Philadelphia made an unlikely run to the World Series and returned to the NLCS the following season, but 2024 was the most successful regular season in some time for the Phillies. The team won 95 games and claimed their first National League East division title since 2011, leading fans to believe another deep run was in the cards. It was not to be however, falling in four games in the NLDS to the division rival New York Mets.

There were a lot of reasons why the team ultimately fell well short of expectations and largely were dominated by the Mets, but at the top of the list may have been issues in the bullpen. After the unit was one of the best in the league all season long, it completely imploded when it counted most and put Philadelphia in a spot where they could not rely on it to shut games down. As the team gets set to re-tool this winter, Edward Eng of FanSided mentioned New York Yankees superstar reliever Tommy Kahnle as a name that the Phillies should pursue.

"As a proven, reliable reliever both in the regular season and the playoffs, Kahnle would be a perfect addition to the Phillies’ relief corps for 2025," Eng wrote. "At age 35, he should still have a few good years left in him, as he will also bring valuable veteran leadership and experience to the club as well."

Eng went on to point out the obvious issue that Philadelphia has two of their best relievers in Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman set to hit free agency and will likely not be able to retain one, potentially even set to lose both of them. Kahnle has the potential to replace one or both and has been spectacular over the last few seasons with a sub-3.0 ERA in each of the last three years.

2024 may have been Kahnle's best season of his career at the age of 35 with a blistering 2.11 ERA in 50 appearances, striking out 46 over 42.2 innings pitched. He has also shined in the playoffs during the World Series run for the Yankees, something that obviously the Phillies covet following the collapse of their relief pitchers this October.

New York will likely do everything they can to retain Kahnle, but Philadelphia must at the very least make a competitive offer for the veteran.