Put aside the well-known free agents. In order to strengthen their bullpen, the Phillies ought to target this hard-throwing relief pitcher.
Like most teams, the Philadelphia Phillies began their due diligence at the GM Meetings by checking out the best free agents available this offseason. The first person who comes to mind when you think of relief pitchers is Josh Hader, the former San Diego Padres closer.
There are many paths the Phillies could take to strengthen the bullpen in preparation for another run at the World Series in 2024, even though Jon Morosi of MLB Network believes they are a strong candidate to sign the best reliever in the current free agent class.
One way to steer clear of the bidding wars that will unavoidably surround the elite pitchers is to look past the most well-known names. If the Phillies choose not to pursue the Haders of the world, then who could they possibly sign to a deal this winter?
Reynaldo López is a name that stands out as one of the more underappreciated relief arms in the free agent class and could still give the Phillies consistent depth in the bullpen.
Who?
In 2023, López was still quite popular but less well-known.
If you’re not familiar with the right-hander, don’t worry. Given that he played for three different teams last season, you may have heard his name mentioned a lot. The 29-year-old played for the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, and Chicago White Sox during his eighth Major League Baseball season.
After 68 appearances, López finished his nomadic year with a 3-7 record, 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 11.3 K/9. He had 22 holds and six saves.
How, then, will a reliever who has appeared in 241 games and only has six saves aid the bullpen?
Based on the eight-year veteran’s pitch characteristics, Eno Sarris of The Athletic, the creator of the Stuff+ pitching metric, recently ranked Lopez as one of the most undervalued free agents (subscription required). The shape and velocity of all three of López’s pitches make them standout, according to him.
But how does López stack up against the other free agent relievers? He’s among the best in the business, according to Sarris: “So when you look at qualified relievers last year by that statistic [Stuff+], and see that the only free agents in the top 20 are Jake Diekman, Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Hicks and López, that stands out a little.”
The proof is in the pudding. His 11.3 K/9 in 2023? That’s 83 strikeouts in 66 innings.