Former Philadelphia Phillies reliever Matt Strahm addressed some of the reports that came out recently regarding his time in Philadelphia.
Last month, Strahm was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for reliever Jonathan Bowlan.
Soon after, a report came out from Matt Gelb of The Athletic that Strahm was moved due to clubhouse concerns. More specifically, Strahm had issues with how the bullpen was utilized and clubhouse dynamics.
After a tumultuous end to his three-year tenure with the Phillies, Strahm is back with the team that drafted him in 2012.
He recently came on the Foul Territory podcast and addressed the reports of his time in Philadelphia.
What Did Former Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Matt Strahm Say?
On a recent episode of Foul Territory, Strahm joked about “butting heads” with every team he’s been with since leaving Kansas City in 2017.
“I kind of gave (Royals general manager) J.J. (Picollo) a hard time,” Strahm said on the podcast. “I said, ‘You guys ran such a great organization that I seemed to butt heads everywhere I went.’”
Strahm went on to talk about his love of structure and discipline.
“The Kansas City Royals do an unbelievable job of not only producing major league athletes, but they produce men,” Strahm said on the podcast. “Like that is something that I was brought up with Kansas City and (former Royals GM) Dayton Moore, his whole thing was, ‘We’re going to have good ball players, but we’re going to first make sure that you guys are good men.’… I love structure and structure doesn’t work unless there is discipline or someone enforcing the structure.”
His praise of the Royals’ organization is more of an indictment of the Phillies’ organization. Is there an issue with how the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, and manager Rob Thomson are running the show? That remains to be seen.
Is it an Organization Problem or a Clubhouse Problem?
While Strahm praised the routines the Royals had, it had absolutely nothing to do with his teammates.
“I’m unaware of any player I’ve ever butted a head with there,” Strahm said. “I’m a middle reliever. Not going to be a Hall of Famer, but the one thing I can control is being a good teammate. I don’t think there’s one guy in there that would say a bad thing about me. Everything’s business. I’ll call a spade a spade. In this business, those guys usually aren’t liked. But at least I know I have my job because I am the guy for the job.”
Strahm has been one of the best relievers in baseball since he joined the Phillies in 2023. In his three-year tenure with Philadelphia, he had a 2.71 ERA in 212.2 innings, with 257 strikeouts.
Strahm will attempt to continue his success with the Royals as he enters his age-34 season.
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