Grading the Phillies 4 biggest offseason moves so far
By Tim Boyle
3) Phillies added another lefty to their bullpen with Matt Strahm
The Phillies were bound to get at least one former Boston Red Sox player with Dave Dombrowski in the organization. Who would have guessed Matt Strahm would be the guy? With zero connection to Dombrowski, the lefty reliever joined Philadelphia on a two-year deal worth $15 million. It’s a large amount of cheddar for a guy with his pedigree.
Strahm was okay for Boston last year. In 44.2 innings of work, Strahm went 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA. It’s actually eerily close to his 3.81 ERA in 304.2 career innings. Because he has worked as a starter before as well, it’s difficult to get an exact read on what the Phillies can expect from him in 2023 and even 2024.
The bullpen did need another lefty. With Jose Alvarado seemingly staying put, Strahm will likely begin the year as the earlier-inning option for Rob Thomson.
Strahm was actually better against right-handed hitters last year, holding them to a .221/.302/.353 slash line versus the .229/.333/.354 lefties hit against him. It’s even enough for us to come to a conclusion that maybe we shouldn’t necessarily view him as anything more than a reliever who throws left-handed and not a lefty reliever.
The Strahm signing could turn out better than expected, but as of right now, it’s a move buried behind many bigger ones.
Matt Strahm signing grade: C