Three Phillies relievers whose rise helps explain one of baseballs best bullpens

In the beginning, it was a jumbled mess. The Phillies’ bullpen allowed 18 earned runs in the season’s first four games. Their relievers walked more batters than they struck out. They surrendered four homers. The composition was not much different then than it is now. But no one felt settled yet.

There have been tweaks in the months since. Tweaks to pitches, roles and personnel. The Phillies were looking for the slightest upgrades. So, the day after the regular season began, they signed Jeff Hoffman to a minor-league contract.

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He has a 2.53 ERA in 21 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts, eight walks, and some of the best stuff a big-league reliever has featured this season. Maybe Hoffman embodies a Phillies bullpen that has been the team’s most consistent unit.

“I haven’t been in one like this,” Hoffman said. “We have some serious thunder down there.”

Maybe it’s Craig Kimbrel — excluded from the Dodgers’ 2022 postseason roster and signed to a one-year, show-me deal — recapturing his dominant form. Maybe it’s Yunior Marté, who was acquired in a small January trade and was so bad he had to be demoted after the fourth game of the season only to emerge as a trusted force. Maybe it’s Andrew Vasquez, a waiver claim who throws sliders 90 percent of the time and has a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings of low-leverage relief.

The Phillies, since those four gruesome games to begin 2023, have a 3.41 ERA in the bullpen. That’s the best mark in the National League. Only the Guardians and Yankees have lower bullpen ERAs.

The bullpen became a strength last summer, then the Phillies revamped it through signings, trades and waiver claims. Phillies relievers — discounting position players pitching — faced 1,296 batters in the first half. Pitchers acquired by the Phillies since last year’s World Series have accounted for a whopping 65 percent of those batters faced.

José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez are on the injured list. Alvarado has needed it twice. Connor Brogdon and Andrew Bellatti spent large chunks of the first half in the minors; Bellatti returned on the final day before the All-Star break. Nick Nelson, who led Phillies relievers in innings pitched as a long man last season, has yet to appear in the majors this season.

No bullpen throws harder than the Phillies’ — a 96.4 mph average fastball — and there are many ways to track the group’s progression since early April. The rise of three pitchers, in particular, can help explain it all.

Craig Kimbrel

After Kimbrel won National League Reliever of the Month for June, he had a conversation in the outfield with Rob Thomson. The manager asked his veteran closer what he thought had changed most. When Kimbrel surrendered a walk-off grand slam at Dodger Stadium on May 2, his ERA rose to 8.25.

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He has allowed three runs in 25 innings since — with 40 strikeouts and only five walks.

“A lot of people have been referring back to the Dodgers series as kind of a turnaround,” Kimbrel said. “And it really has been. But I was throwing the ball well before then too. It’s an easy one to look back on — six runs in two outings. That stings. But I’ve been able to turn it around. I have a lot of support around me. These guys around me, ever since I showed up the first day of spring training, they wanted me to do well just as much as I do.”

If anything, the nightmares at Dodger Stadium nudged Kimbrel toward adjustments away from the mound. “He knows himself so well,” Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham said. Kimbrel has revised some methods through suggestions from the Phillies’ athletic training staff along with the strength and conditioning staff. He tweaked his mechanics. He started throwing harder.

Kimbrel is a two-pitch pitcher — always has been, always will be — and it’s no secret: If he can land his curveball for a strike, he is effective.

Cotham said the Phillies adjusted Kimbrel’s posture on the mound, getting him closer to how he looked in 2018.

“Just a little less hunched over, a little more in line, getting down the mound a little more direct,” Cotham said. “The goal is to try to eliminate some of the yanks. And he got on a roll and it’s like, ‘Just keep going.’ We just let him do his thing. But he’s been fantastic. He’s found the way to land his curveball for strikes. His curveball has gotten better. It’s almost as good as it ever has been.”

Kimbrel, 35, shrugs when he’s asked to detail his adjustments.

“I mean, in the bullpen, your job is to pretty much be perfect or you’re not doing your job, right?” Kimbrel said. “You’re allowed to have a couple of bad outings. Maybe. That’s how I view it. I’m just happy I’ve gotten back on a roll.”

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Yunior Marté

The Phillies spent the spring hyping Marté, who pitched his way onto the Opening Day roster. Then he looked overwhelmed. He was back in Triple A less than a week into the season. He was demoted two more times in May and June. He has a 1.93 ERA in 18 2/3 innings since May 20.

“The biggest thing is he’s just found a way to be consistent in big spots as a major-league reliever,” Cotham said. “He’s able to do that because the times we sent him down, he’s done a fantastic job of just going and pitching. Not getting caught up in the shuffle, which is hard to do. He has to repress it.

“He’s just having fun pitching. It’s really simple stuff. I think for him, it is throwing strikes, but it’s also just belief that I’m good enough.”

Marté is a different pitcher than he was three months ago. But he thinks it’s even bigger than that.

“I definitely feel better,” Marté said through a team interpreter. “I feel more comfortable. Things are obviously working out for me now. And that’s just comparing it to the beginning of the season. But if we go back to last year (with the Giants), I feel much, much better.”

Why?

“I’m throwing the ball for strikes,” Marté said. “I’m pitching. When I get on the mound to pitch, I throw more strikes. And that was a big problem for me before this year. I feel like I have better control of my pitches.”

He is throwing more sliders to lefties and throwing them for strikes. “He’s just doing a whole lot of pitching backward to lefties,” Cotham said, “and he’s able to do it because he’s throwing a lot of strikes.” Lefties went 5-for-10 with two doubles, two homers and two walks against Marté in his first six outings of the season. Since he came back to the majors in late May, lefties are hitting .172/.200/.276 in 30 plate appearances.

He has walked three batters in those 18 appearances. Marté nodded as he heard the stats recited in English. That is something that transcends language.

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“Sí,” he said, with a smile.

Gregory Soto

The moment the Phillies traded for Soto, their pitching people knew the first priority.

“The slider was something we really wanted to fix and work on,” Cotham said. “This is Day 2 of us getting him, through WhatsApp, and he’s sending me pictures of grips and ideas. The communication in the offseason was fantastic from his end, which really helps.”

Opponents are batting .145 with a .291 slugging percentage against Soto’s slider. It is a huge upgrade from a season ago with the Tigers.

A nasty slider

Soto has occupied extremes this season. He’s allowed 16 earned runs, and 12 of them came in four appearances — all before May 25. He has not allowed a run in 31 of his 38 appearances.

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I have made any changes,” Soto said through an interpreter. “But I’m proud of myself for competing. I know I’ve had some really good outings and I’ve also had some bad outings. But that has not changed me one bit. So I’m proud that I’ve been able to keep battling and stick with my plan to throw strikes.”

Cotham said Soto was downplaying the work he’s put into improving. The Phillies asked him to rethink his delivery. Soto agreed. Before, he had as many as five different motions. He’s stuck with a slide step and a full leg lift most of the time.

“So he’s getting into a consistent move down the mound more often,” Cotham said. “His arm’s on time more often. His slider is flying correctly. It’s flying how it used to a couple of years ago. Those things happen. He recalibrated and did a lot of good work on it.”

Soto has held lefties to a .093/.184/.186 slash line. That is elite. He has never pitched on a team that finished with a winning record. Now, he’s an important piece.

“I’m proud that I have stayed healthy,” Soto said, “and I’ve been able to help the team win games.”

(Top photo of Craig Kimbrel: Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

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