It's no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen has really struggled this season. Philadelphia's 5.03 bullpen ERA is good for 27th in the majors, ahead of only the Miami Marlins, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Washington Nationals. Guys like Jordan Romano and Orion Kerkering have to pitch better, but the Phillies' bullpen could use some more talent. That's where Seth Johnson comes in.
Johnson, Philadelphia's No. 12-ranked prospect, was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline as a starting pitcher. In fact, he made his MLB debut with the Phillies last season as a starter, but really struggled in his lone outing.
While he has not impressed in the Phillies organization as a starter, a recent move to a reliever role could give Johnson a path back to the majors and help Philadelphia at a major area of need.
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Seth Johnson could be next Phillies bullpen answer
Moving Johnson to the bullpen was disappointing, but a needed move to make. The right-hander had a 4.42 ERA in four starts at Triple-A and alarmingly walked 11 batters in 18.1 innings of work. His walk problems have persisted in his four relief appearances, but he has struck out six and allowed just one hit in five innings of work.
While command is an obvious issue, Johnson is a pitcher who leans on his stuff to get outs. His stuff will only be better in a relief role as he can focus on completing an inning or two instead of five or six.
At this point, it's on the Phillies to experiment with the bullpen because the formula they're running with is not working. Again, they'll need guys like Romano and Kerkering to pitch better than they have, but they can also replace one of their lower-leverage arms, like Carlos Hernandez, with someone like Johnson.
At worst, he can struggle and get sent right back down to Triple-A to continue gaining more experience as a reliever. At best, he can establish himself as a key reliever in a bullpen in dire need of a lift. Given how poorly it's gone, it'd behoove the Phillies to make this move sooner rather than later.