The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly completed a long-term contract with Aaron Nola, arguably the top available free agent starting pitcher this offseason.
It doesn’t sound like president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies will be making a push for the top reliever on the market, however.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies “have shown little appetite for free-agent closer Josh Hader.” Nightengale adds that the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers are the favorites for Hader’s services. In my free-agent predictions for Just Baseball, I projected that Hader would sign a five-year/$105 million deal with the Rangers, so that checks out.
In an appearance on MLB Network earlier this month, Jon Morosi listed the Phillies as “strong candidates” to sign Hader. That did seem to be Morosi’s opinion more than an actual report, though. Earlier this week, Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote not to “make that bet,” in regards to the Phillies signing Hader.
Publicly, the Phillies haven’t given any indication that they would pursue someone like Hader, a five-time All-Star that’s a guarantee to take the ball in the ninth inning nearly every time there’s a save situation.
During his year-end press conference, Dombrowski was asked by Press of Atlantic City‘s Mike McGarry if the Phillies needed to add “a big-time, All-Star type closer” to get over the hump in the postseason.
“No, I don’t think we need [an All-Star type closer],” Dombrowski said. “First of all, there’s not that many of them. But secondly, we have got some pretty good guys out there that can close the game.”
Manager Rob Thomson spent a decade on the coaching staff of the New York Yankees before coming to Philadelphia, with Mariano Rivera and Aroldis Chapman among the star closers employed by the team over that period. But Thomson and the Phillies have enjoyed having flexibility with roles in their bullpen over the past two years, and prior to Craig Kimbrel running out of gas in the postseason, it had been a strategy that played out mostly well.
Following a nightmarish postseason, it’s hard to imagine the Phillies bringing Kimbrel back in free agency. But José Alvarado, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto have experience pitching in the ninth inning, and even after he hit a wall of his own in the playoffs, there’s still a lot of optimism about the type of reliever Orion Kerkering will develop into. Jeff Hoffman also showed an ability to pitch in high-leverage situations in his first season with the Phillies, even if they didn’t usually come in the ninth inning. Heck, Matt Strahm may not profile as a closer, but he was on the mound when the Phillies closed out their NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves in 2023.
The Phillies probably still need to add another veteran reliever, with Adam Ottavino, Robert Stephenson and old friend Hector Neris among the free agents that could make sense. But unless Hader’s price drops dramatically, it doesn’t appear that the three-time Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award winner will be putting on red pinstripes in 2024.
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