Phillies 2026 bullpen outlook: Free-agent options, prospect forecast, and more

The bullpen that the Phillies deployed in the National League Division Series this year wasn’t anything close to what one would have predicted the unit to look like back in February.

For one thing, four relievers on their playoff roster — Jhoan Duran, David Robertson, Tim Mayza, and Walker Buehler — were not in the organization back then. And José Alvarado and Jordan Romano, who were supposed to be key high-leverage arms for the Phillies, weren’t considerations at all.

The relief corps underwent an overhaul over the course of the season, largely by necessity. Alvarado was deemed ineligible for the playoffs back in May, when he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, and Romano’s season-long struggles culminated in a stint on the injured list. It all forced the Phillies to go back to the drawing board at the trade deadline to secure another high-leverage reliever.

That netted them Jhoan Duran. And with a bona fide closer under team control until 2028, the Phillies’ bullpen construction will look different going forward.

“That’s a big difference,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “Somebody who’s going to get the ball in the ninth inning, then you build around that.”

Here’s an overview of the Phillies’ bullpen outlook in 2026 and beyond:

The first bases-loaded walk of Duran’s career couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time than Game 4 of the NLDS, when he forced in the tying run. But for the most part, Duran was as advertised after the Phillies acquired him from Minnesota at the trade deadline for a pair of highly regarded prospects.

Duran finished the season with a career-high 32 saves in 37 opportunities. He pairs one of the hardest fastballs in the major leagues with a “splinker,” a splitter-sinker hybrid that can also touch triple digits, and a knuckle curve that hitters whiff on 41.8% of the time.

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Duran’s ground-ball rate of 65.4% is second-highest in baseball, trailing only the Angels’ José Soriano (66%).

His presence on the Phillies, as their first closer under manager Rob Thomson, has ripple effects for how the rest of the bullpen is deployed. Rather than using pitchers based on strict matchups, Thomson now works backward from the ninth inning, which typically will be reserved for the flame-throwing righty.

Matt Strahm’s $7.5 million club option for next season officially vested in September after the lefty surpassed 60 regular-season innings (he finished with 62⅓) and passed a physical.

Strahm was a dependable bridge from the middle relief to Duran after the trade deadline, with 22 holds. His first-half ERA of 3.29 improved to 1.88 after the All-Star break, and his sinker had a 41.1% chase rate.

“Strahm did solid,” Dombrowski said. “He made a couple bad pitches in the postseason, but he had a good year for us.”

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Orion Kerkering fulfilled the setup role from the right-hand side, with 19 holds. But his 3.30 ERA over 60 regular-season innings likely will be overshadowed by how the year ended for the 24-year-old.

After Kerkering’s season-ending error sealed the Phillies’ fate in the 11th inning of Game 4, it was fair to wonder whether it also was the end of his Phillies tenure, if the organization would decide it would be better for him to restart his career with a change of scenery.

But Kerkering is one of the biggest successes from Phillies player development over the past few years. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2022, and has been a major league contributor since he was promoted in 2023. (And if there was concern he would be booed out of town, 78.2% of fans who participated in The Inquirer’s Stay-Go poll voted for the reliever to stay.)

“He’s a strong individual,” Dombrowski said. “He will get whatever assistance, and we will offer him whatever assistance that he needs, and we’ll continue to work with him to try to get him through that, and I think he can do that.”

Even before the error, Kerkering had some inconsistencies this year, particularly with inherited runners, which aren’t factored into his ERA. Out of 32 runners he inherited in the 2025 regular season, 14 went on to score. He also had rough patches with the execution of his sweeper, which is his most important pitch. The whiff rate on the pitch dropped from 31.1% to 23.6%.

But the righty has shown an above-average ability to limit hard contact, holding opposing hitters to an average exit velocity of 85.9 mph (98th percentile of pitchers) and a hard-hit rate of 33.5% (93rd percentile of pitchers). If he can find more consistency in his third full major league season, he still has the potential to be a homegrown, high-leverage option.

The Phillies’ two flamethrowers, Duran and Alvarado, were in the same bullpen for less than a month, the span of time between Alvarado’s activation from the restricted list in August and his forearm strain in September.

The Phillies have until Thursday to decide whether to pick up Alvarado’s option for 2026, which is worth $9 million. Alternatively, they could buy him out for $500,000. At his year-end news conference in October, Dombrowski hinted which way the organization is leaning.

“I’d be surprised — without making any announcements — that Alvarado is not back with us, but we’ll see what ends up happening," he said.

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On May 18, MLB announced that Alvarado had tested positive for exogenous testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance. Dombrowski said Alvarado took the drug to lose weight.

The resulting 80-game suspension didn’t just throw a wrench in the Phillies’ envisioned bullpen. It also suddenly brought a halt to what was shaping to be a career year for the lefty, who had arrived at spring training with a slimmer physique and a revamped cutter.

In the 20 innings he pitched before the suspension, Alvarado had a 2.70 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Once he returned, he had a 7.50 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in eight appearances before a forearm strain shut him down for the season. If the Phillies pick up his option, they’ll be betting on first-half Alvarado making a comeback.

“His health is fine,” Dombrowski said. “He’s already received all the medical attention that he needs to have in preparation for next year. So I feel good about that.”

Tanner Banks has been somewhat of an unsung hero in the bullpen: his 4.5% walk rate was the best on the staff this season. He is an effective lefty specialist, holding left-handed hitters to a .175 batting average.

Max Lazar, Seth Johnson, Daniel Robert, Alan Rangel, Michael Mercado, Brett de Geus, and Nolan Hoffman split time between triple-A Lehigh Valley and the Phillies.

Lazar spent the most time with the major league club, though he was not included on the postseason roster. The right-hander had a 4.79 ERA over 41⅓ innings and recorded his first save this year.

The Phillies took a flier on Romano after his 2024 season was hampered by injury, but it didn’t pan out. Before he ended the year on the injured list with an inflamed middle finger, Romano had a 8.23 ERA, three blown saves, and averaged 2.1 homers per nine innings.

David Robertson has also hit free agency ahead of his age-41 season. Robertson joined the team in July for his third stint with the club and had a 4.08 ERA, 1.472 WHIP, and recorded two saves in the regular season. He was also charged with two runs in the Phillies’ 5-3 loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS.

“David Robertson is not going to be back with us to start the season,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t think he wants to pitch in the beginning of the season anymore throughout his lifespan.”

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Tim Mayza didn’t get many opportunities to prove himself with the Phillies, but they liked what they saw enough to include him on the NLDS roster — though he didn’t end up making an appearance.

The lefty landed with the Phillies after the Pirates opted to place him on waivers on Aug. 30 rather than use a 40-man roster spot on him for the final month of their season. Before that, Mazya had been on the injured list since April with a left shoulder lat muscle strain. An Allentown native and alumnus of Millersville University, Mayza posted a 3.78 ERA in just 16⅔ innings and is now a free agent.

So is Mayza’s former Little League opponent, Montgomery County native Lou Trivino. The righty finished the season with the Phillies after stints with the Dodgers and Giants. Trivino had a 3.97 ERA and 1.343 WHIP in 47⅔ innings this season.

There are several high-leverage arms on the free-agent market this year, though with Duran in the mix it’s unlikely the Phillies would target another top-end closer like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suárez, who declined their options with the Mets and Padres, respectively.

But a player like Tyler Rogers could offer a different look in the bullpen as another high-leverage setup option. The Mets acquired Rogers, who has a submarine delivery, as a rental from the Giants at the trade deadline, though they ended up missing the playoffs. The 34-year-old righty had a 1.98 ERA in 2025, with more than half his 81 appearances coming in the eighth inning.

Alex McFarlane was moved to the bullpen toward the end of this season in high-A Jersey Shore, and remained a reliever when he was promoted to double-A Reading in September. The 24-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2023 and sat out all of 2024. He is ranked the Phillies’ No. 20 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

In his return to competition this year, McFarlane had a 4.84 ERA over 80 innings. At 6-foot-3, McFarlane has size and strength, but has room for improvement with his command. He averaged 4.84 walks per nine innings.

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Saul Teran is another name to watch. The 23-year-old from Venezuela recorded 15 saves across three minor league levels, finishing the year in double A. Teran did not allow a home run over 48⅓ innings, and held opponents to a .196 batting average.

McFarlane and Teran are Rule 5 eligible this season and will need to be added to the 40-man roster by Nov. 18 if the Phillies do not want to risk losing them to another organization.