Philadelphia Phillies Top Free Agency Priority is Bringing Setup Man Back

The Philadelphia Phillies must bring their elite setup man back in MLB's upcoming free agency.

Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the ninth inning during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of questions to answer after another disappointing postseason, but one of the biggest revolves around which veterans to bring back.

As Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report looked at each MLB team for one free agent that must be brought back, he made it clear that the Phillies top priority should be setup man Jeff Hoffman.

"Hoffman's season had an unceremonious ending as he gave up six earned runs while recording just four outs across three postseason appearances," said Kelly. "Still, Hoffman has reiterated a desire to remain with Philadelphia, and unless president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski plans to trade for Devin Williams or Ryan Helsley, it's hard to imagine upgrading over Hoffman.

It was an odd year in the bullpen for the Phillies. Both Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto were shipped to the Baltimore Orioles before the trade deadline. Jose Alvarado struggled. They needed to trade for a closer.

One of the few steady hands this season was Hoffman.

This was the 31-year-old's second season in Philadelphia after a couple of small one year deals. He posted a career-best ERA in 2023 and only improved upon it during the last campaign.

Overall, as a Phillies, he has a 2.28 ERA with a 0.944 WHIP and 12 K/9.

In his seven other season, those numbers drop to 5.68 ERA with a 1.585 WHIP and 8.3 K/9. Granted, those were with the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds. Two of the most unforgiving ballparks for pitchers in baseball.

Hoffman proved that he can pitch in a normal ballpark and has clearly found something that works for him and that coaching staff.

While he did log 10 saves last season, he likely wouldn't be the answer to the hole in the closer spot once again.

That would be another impending free agent, Carlos Estevez, that needs to address that question.

Estevez was added at the deadline and would be most people's answer to who the team must bring back. They traded away a lot to get him in the first place, so him departing after just half a season would be dissapointing. That is the risk with rentals, however.

The real answer is likely that the team should bring both back, as they seem to be important pieces in the road to a World Series ring.

Hoffman struggled in the postseason, but his regular season was good enough to ignore. Estevez looks the part of a dominant closer.