Phillies reportedly interested in former Mets pitcher Seth Lugo

The Phillies are still looking for bullpen help and it appears that they are showing interest in a former Mets pitcher.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Phillies are among the teams that have shown interest in right hander Seth Lugo.

Lugo, 33, wants to start again, but the Phillies are looking at him as a reliever. Heyman mentioned the Dodgers, Padres and Nationals as other teams with interest.

In seven seasons with New York, Lugo posted a 3.48 ERA across 494 2/3 innings. He spent the last two seasons as a reliever after struggling in the Mets rotation in September 2020. He’s made 38 starts in his career so far.

The Phillies are presumably out of the starting pitching market. While the deal is not yet official, the club reportedly agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract with Taijuan Walker on December 6. The club prefers to keep one rotation spot open for a “young arm” whether it be Bailey Falter, Cristopher Sánchez or one of Andrew Painter, Mick Abel or Griff McGarry.

As it stands, the five “locks” for the 2023 bullpen are Andrew Bellatti, Connor Brogdon, José Alvarado, Seranthony Domínguez and Matt Strahm. The Phillies retained Sam Coonrod, who struggled last year but still has minor league options. Nick Nelson could return as a multi-inning option in 2023. Minor league arms such as Francisco Morales and Erik Miller could also factor in to the mix for the Phillies.

It does feel like the Phillies need to add one or two more external additions to the bullpen before the end of the offseason. Perhaps Lugo could be their guy if he struggles to find starting opportunities elsewhere.

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