PHILADELPHIA — Relievers in the hot stove and oven mitts in hell. Some things are just easier to sell. Six weeks from now, the Phillies equipment truck will begin the long drive south to Clearwater, Fla. Following closely in the rearview mirror will be a storyline that’s as predictable as a central Virginia speed trap. The Phillies signed some guys with names that you recognize. And now the bullpen is fixed.
We heard it with Craig Kimbrel the same way we heard it with Corey Knebel and Jeurys Familia and Archie Bradley and Tommy Hunter. Everything will be great if he gets back to being the guy he was before the Phillies signed him. Before his strikeout rate dropped by 25-plus percent. Before his team left him off the postseason roster. Before his velocity dipped.
I’m being harsh here, mostly for effect. Kimbrel is a fine signing for a team that can afford to spend $10 million on whatever the best available option is. The Phillies needed to replace a lot of innings in their bullpen, and the offseason is a place where you must pay a premium for anyone who has a track record of logging them. In a weird, twisted way, the fact that the Phillies deemed it necessary to sign Kimbrel should give you some confidence that they recognize how much of a question mark this bullpen is right now. They are a great bullpen away from being a 100-win team. But they are a great way from being a great bullpen. At least they recognized that.
