The Philadelphia Phillies could look to move on from a star reliever amid a bullpen turnover this offseason.
Philadelphia had a disappointing exit to their season, as the Phillies lost in the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Philadelphia’s bullpen was an issue during the season, and the Phillies could look to make some major changes to the group.
Phillies insider Matt Gelb of The Athletic, meanwhile, believes star reliever Matt Strahm could draw trade interest from teams.
“The Phillies have fielded steady interest in all three of their left-handed relievers since the offseason began, major-league sources said, and it could nudge them toward a trade,” Gelb wrote. “The free-agent market for lefty relievers is not robust; some of the best available arms are Gregory Soto, Drew Pomeranz, Danny Coulombe and Hoby Milner. …
“Strahm, in particular, could interest teams. But he’s also been an integral piece of the Phillies’ bullpen successes. His 2.46 ERA since 2023 ranks second among 53 left-handed relievers with 100 innings in that span. (Coulombe is first.) And, although Strahm’s strikeout rate and fastball velocity dipped in 2025, he still logged 62 1/3 innings of effective relief work.”
Strahm is set to earn $7.5 million in 2026 and will be a free agent after the season. The left-hander is a good set-up man, and with the Phillies last season, he was 2-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 66 games.
What Would the Phillies Get for Strahm?
If Philadelphia does move on from Strahm, the Phillies would likely get a decent return for him.
Given that Strahm is a pending free agent, the return wouldn’t be a ton, but Gelb believes the Phillies could get a mid-tier prospect for him.
“What would be the motivation to move one of the lefties? The Phillies could acquire a mid-level prospect to help backfill a depleted farm system, then throw some darts with the payroll savings on a few middle relievers. Maybe it’s a chance to refresh a familiar bullpen mix that has enjoyed highs and suffered lows,” Gelb wrote.
“Whatever the case, the Phillies must create better bullpen depth than they did last offseason; they entered 2025 with these righties in the bullpen: Orion Kerkering, Jordan Romano, José Ruiz and Carlos Hernández. They’ve already boosted it by adding Jhoan Duran. But securing a deeper righty pool might require creative maneuvers — like trading a lefty.”
With the left-handed reliever free agent market not the best, the Phillies could look to trade one of theirs to get some assets back.
Philadelphia Not Ruling Out Starting Pitching Help
Although the Phillies could look to trade some of their pitching, Philadelphia will be in on starting.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski didn’t rule out the team pursuing some of the top starters available.
“I can’t say we wouldn’t,” Dombrowski said, via The Athletic. “But, again, it’s not our highest priority. … You have to be careful. You always need to look for starting pitching depth. That doesn’t necessarily mean top of the market, but where does that fit in?
“Because you never have enough starting pitching, and really for us, after you get past (the top six starters) … now you’re talking about (minor leaguer Jean) Cabrera, he would be one of those guys. But we don’t have a lot of starting pitching depth, so that’s something we need to be cognizant of.”
Philadelphia’s rotation to begin the year could feature Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and Painter. Zack Wheeler isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day.
Phillies Star Reliever Drawing Trade Interest