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‘Emotional’ Zach Eflin reflects on playoff run, uncertain future with Phillies

Zach Eflin’s future with the Phillies is uncertain. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

HOUSTON — On the same field where Zach Eflin and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first playoff berth since 2011 in early October, they watched the Houston Astros celebrate a World Series title Saturday night.

It’s also possible that Eflin — acquired in a December 2014 trade that sent Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers — made his final appearance as a Phillie at Minute Maid Park in Game 6 of the World Series.

Eflin struck out two and allowed one hit in a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning. But by the time he trotted in from the bullpen, the damage was already done.

Rob Thomson had been aggressive in turning to José Alvarado when Zack Wheeler encountered some trouble in the bottom of the sixth. The decision backfired spectacularly when Yordan Alvarez hit what was ultimately a game-winning three-run home run over the batter’s eye in center field, a 450-foot blast.

Less than an hour after the Phillies finished two wins shy of a World Series title, one of the longest-tenured players on the team tried to articulate how special the shocking playoff run was.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words,” a choked up Eflin said. “Obviously, I’m pretty emotional. But, you’re so happy and proud for all these guys in here. Everybody counted us out the whole year. I mean, we made it to where we wanted to be, and we fell a little short.

“It will probably set in in a couple of weeks, but I’m so happy and proud for everyone in this clubhouse. Nobody believed in us the whole entire year. And we made it to the biggest stage in the world. So, we have a lot of things that we need to be happy about and proud of. And there’s not a doubt in my mind that this clubhouse is going to be in this game again. So, I’m just so blessed to be a part of it.”

By now, the story of the 2022 Phillies season — a 21-29 team at one point that ultimately snuck into the playoffs only to win the National League pennant — is well established.

But the journey was even more trying for Eflin individually.

Eflin’s 2021 season ended prematurely when he underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee, the second procedure he’s had to correct issues with his right patellar tendon in his career.

The knee cut into Eflin’s 2022 campaign as well, as multiple different issues forced him to miss all of July and August, with missed time sandwiched around those two full months in June and September.

Ahead of the trade deadline, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made clear that adding another starting pitcher was a priority, because while the Phillies hoped Eflin would come back in 2022, it was far from a certainty that he would.

Eflin would ultimately return in mid-September, but as a reliever. And he became a key cog for a Phillies’ bullpen that got disappointing results — to varying degrees — from offseason pickups Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia and Brad Hand.

“It was a lot,” Eflin acknowledged, “being a starter my whole life and then coming back and relieving. But there were points where I didn’t think I would be back this year, plain and simple. So to be able to contribute in a way like that and be able to come back and have the support of my teammates to have been in certain roles in the bullpen, it was a dream, man.

“All the rehab hours, everything I went through throughout the year … for three months this year, I watched these guys grind and I wasn’t a part of it. So, it’s tough, but I was able to get to a point where I could pitch again. And like I said, we made it all the way to the biggest stage in the world. And we have a lot to be proud of.”

Eflin allowed just one earned run in seven regular season relief outings, and posted a 2.64 FIP in 10 postseason appearances out of the bullpen.

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There wasn’t enough time for him to build back up as a starter in 2022 once he got healthy, which forced him to the bullpen. Having experienced life as a reliever, is it something Eflin could envision himself doing full-time moving forward?

“No, I wanna start, man, I’m a starter,” Eflin said. “I feel like I’m a purebread starter. I think at least I proved that I can relieve, if need be. But I’m a starter through and through, man.”

Who Eflin will pitch for — be it as a starter or reliever — moving forward is unclear.

The 28-year-old has had some impressive stretches as a starting pitcher, but knee injuries have prevented him from ever starting more than 28 games in a season. Over the last two years, Eflin has started a combined 31 games. There’s certainly value in having a pitcher like Eflin, but it would be hard to bank on him making more than 20 starts, give or take, per season moving forward.

Within five days of the conclusion of the World Series, both the Phillies and Eflin will have to decide whether or not to exercise their halves of a $15 million mutual option for 2023

While aware of how quickly this decision will come up, Eflin said that he’s had blinders on in regards to his future during the run to the World Series.

“No, not at all,” Eflin said of whether he’s thought about his future. “Honestly, it’s been on the back-burner the entire postseason. I haven’t talked to anybody about it. But there’s decisions to be made for both sides. And we’ll see here in a couple day or whenever the deadline is.”

The most likely scenario is that the Phillies will decline the $15 million mutual option, instead triggering a $150,000 buyout for Eflin. Had Eflin stayed healthy and pitched the entirety of the 2022 season, it’s entirely possible he would have declined his half of the option. Rarely do both sides decide to pick up a mutual option.

Still, Noah Syndergaard and Kyle Gibson are both set to become free agents this offseason. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have had gigantic workloads over the past couple seasons. Andrew Painter, Griff McGarry and Mick Abel will be at Major League Spring Training in 2023, but the Phillies probably won’t bank on any of their trio of top prospects breaking camp with the team. And Eflin, when healthy, is unquestionably better than Bailey Falter or Cristopher Sánchez.

The Phillies could decline the $15 million option, but look to bring Eflin back at a lower price, perhaps on a deal with heavy incentives based on starts made and/or innings pitched.

He and his agent, Tom O’Connell, will have to decide whether returning to the Phillies, probably on a one-year deal, is what’s best for his career. For what it’s worth, an “outside expert” projected in a piece written by Jon Heyman of The New York Post that Eflin could get a two-year/$20 million deal this offseason.

But to land a multi-year deal, Eflin could have to change uniforms. And he says that his hope is to remain in red pinstripes.

“There’s no other place I really want to play other than this place,” Eflin said. “It’s a dream to be able to put on that jersey every single night and go to war with these guys. So we’ll see what happens.”