After another disappointing end to their season, the Philadelphia Phillies have to make some improvements to their roster in order to avoid losing in the National League Divisional Round of the playoffs for the third straight season.

In an effort to retool what the organization believes is a championship caliber roster, the Phillies signed World Series Champion and 2023 ALCS MVP Award Winner Adolis Garcia to be their new Right Fielder. They also prioritized the resigning of 2025 NL MVP Runner Up Kyle Schwarber this offseason.

Just a few days after President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski suggested they were evaluating their options for retooling the pitching staff, the Phillies made a couple of significant moves the Friday before Christmas 2025.

Phillies Trade Away All-Star Pitcher As Part of Bullpen Overhaul

In two separate deals, the Phillies have acquired two new relief pitchers less than 24 hours after they signed right-handed reliever Brad Keller to a two-year contract.

Philadelphia traded 2024 All-Star Relief Pitcher Matt Strahm to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jonathan Bowlan. The Royals used Bowlan mostly as a relief pitcher who in 34 appearances, and one start compiled a 3.86 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 44.1 Innings pitched.

Strahm appeared in 188 regular season games over three seasons for the Phillies, and had a 2.71 ERA during his time in Philadelphia. But his struggles as a relief pitcher in the postseason put Manager Rob Thomson in a tough bind, especially when the team had to play the 2025 MLB Playoffs without Jose Alvarado. In 13 playoff games, Straham allowed Two Home Runs, Nine Hits, and 5 Earned Runs in 9.2 Innings Pitched.

In a separate deal, the Phillies acquire Left-Handed Pitcher Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu. Even though Backhus had a 4.62 ERA in 32 relief apperances in 2025, he has 259 strikeouts in 209 Innings Pitched in the Minor Leagues.

Why Did The Phillies Make These Moves?

Philadelphia’s President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowsi spoke to the media on Friday Afternoon about why they decided to make all of these bullpen moves over a 24 hour period:

“We really like (Brad) Keller a lot, we think he really fits (the back end of the bullpen); We have been looking for, either through trade or through (free agent) signing to acquire someone to help us balance (the bullpen) more….We felt that we were in good shape with the two guys, Alvarado and Banks, leading us to be in a position that we felt that if we made a trade that we felt comfortable with, we would. We like (Jonathan) Bowlan a lot, we think he really came into his own the second half of last year.”

Bowland did pitch one game for the Royals against the Phillies last season in which he allowed three hits and one earned run in one inning pitched. Keller appeared in four games versus the Phillies last season, allowing four hits, no runs, and had four strikeouts.

Dombrowski dispelled the speculation that the Phillies traded Matt Strahm and his $7.5 Million owed next season as an opportunity to free up cash for other acquisitions:

“Our ownership is tremendous, (they) are always cognicent of where our payroll will be. They would never force me to do anything that we didn’t feel comfortable with. So we still have the ability to do some things – We are still looking for a catcher, first and foremost, but this (trade of Strahm) doesn’t have anything to do with us having more or less money to spend for a catcher.”

Dombrowski said he spoke to Matt Strahm before the trade was made with the Royals, and used the term “have to give, to get” when it comes to acquiring talent. The Phillies top executive said they “really like” Jonathan Bowlan, and trading Strahm is more about feeling comfortable with Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks being the Phillies top left-handed relief pitchers for next season.

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