It wasn't Mike Clevinger. He went to the Padres. It wasn't Mike Minor, who went to the Athletics. Robbie Ray is now a Blue Jay. But the Phillies didn't stand pat on trade deadline day, acquiring righthander David Phelps, a very solid reliever, from the Brewers for three low-level minor leaguers.
Since 2016, Phelps has pitched in 171 games with an ERA of 2.85 and 11 strikeouts per nine innings. Right-handed batters are hitting just .196 against him since then. He's been even better this year facing the middle of the lineup, where 3-4-5 hitters are just 1 for 18 with 14 strikeouts. Against lefties, he's allowed just four hits in 32 at-bats. He also pitched for manager Joe Girardi in New York.
Phelps is 33 and will have a major role in this remade bullpen, which just a couple of weeks ago had an ERA well north of 9. General manager Matt Klentak has brought in Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, David Hale, and now Phelps. The Phils also have the option of keeping Phelps through 2021. Good solid move by Klentak to fix the bullpen, which two weeks ago, was this team's biggest weakness.
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