The Philadelphia Phillies Just Added A Flamethrower To The Bullpen, Finally Find An Actual Closer In Trade For Jhoan Duran
David Berding. Getty Images.The Phillies needed to make a move. Dave Dombrowski needed to prove to this clubhouse that he believes in the fellas, and he's willing to do what it takes to give them the best shot at making something happen in October. Clearly this roster wasn't going to be good enough as is, and they were going to have to go out and make a splash.
Kyle Schwarber is right up there towards the top of the MVP conversation. Bryce is heating up. Zack Wheeler is dealing. Christopher Sanchez is dealing. They desperately needed to add another flamethrower arm to the bullpen with Alvarado out for the postseason. And they need to add another reliable bat. Both would be great. One or the other would be totally fine. Neither would be grounds for a mutiny.
So what does Dave Dombrowski go out there and do? He grabs his nuts and makes a deal for one of the best closers in baseball. A man who can throw absolute gas, and make teams tap out.
The Phils have blown 16 saves this year. You know your bullpen is bargain bin when Jordan Romano has been your best closer this year. That's really the issue--the fact that the Phillies don't have a true closer. They have a bunch of guys who can go in late in games, but nobody who is demanding to have the ball in their hands in the 9th inning.
That changes now with Jhoan Duran. I know this is going to jinx him, and that it's a pretty unsustainable run. But Duran has only given up one home run so far this season. All you need to do if you're a reliever for the Phillies is to go in there and not get completely shelled. Wheeler, Sanchez, and Suarez are going to go deep. The bats are going to give you some run support. Just go in there and don't completely blow up. Clearly that's been easier said than done for this bullpen, but now they have a dawg to close out games. And they didn't even need to move on from Andrew Painter to get him.
P.S. -- Spicy night game entrance.