Phillies Predicted to Land Reliever
Despite re-signing Aaron Nola at the beginning of the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies don’t seem to be content with their rotation just yet as they went after Yoshinobu Yamamoto and have been linked to other top arms. That seems to contradict what Dave Dombrowski said about being comfortable with their current starting rotation, but one thing the Phillies have shown the past few years is they’re willing to be aggressive. But while starters are getting the headlines in the market right now, ESPN Senior Writer, David Schoenfield, is predicting they turn their attention to a bullpen upgrade and land Jordan Hicks, one of the best on the market.
Hicks is a power arm and the Phillies and Dombrowski has been all-in on power relievers of late,” he writes. This would certainly be welcome for Philadelphia fans. Despite finishing last regular season with a top-seven bullpen ERA (3.58), the unit has been hard to trust over the years. Adding a player like Hicks, who had an incredible career trajectory before injuries hit, would be a great addition.
The 27-year-old had a resurgent year in 2023, posting a 3.29 ERA across 65 appearances. He was even better after he was traded away from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Toronto Blue Jays, recording an ERA of 2.63 in 25
appearances and an ERA+ of 164. Schoenfield mentioned velocity and Hicks has that in spades. He’s one of the hardest throwers in the game and would fit in nicely to how the Phillies have constructed their bullpen. While many are focused on Josh Hader, Hicks would work much better for Philadelphia financially with a calculated market value AAV of just under $3.5 million according to Spotrac.
The hard-throwing righty will likely receive a contract greater in value to that projection, considering he’s one of the best bullpen pieces available, but he wouldn’t break the Phillies’ bank like Hader would.
