PHOENIX \u2014 The Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> had a strong bullpen in 2024, with Jeff Hoffman<\/a><\/strong> and Matt Strahm<\/a><\/strong> both making the NL All-Star team. But the Phillies\u2019 season ended in the NLDS when their All-Stars, along with the rest, ran into trouble against the New York Mets<\/a>. In 2025, with Hoffman gone, the Phillies relief corps has had its ups and downs, but overall, they\u2019ve been dependable. They have done so despite weathering challenges that threatened to submarine their season, the biggest being the suspension of Jose Alvarado<\/a><\/strong>. The league suspended him the morning of May 18 after he tested positive for a banned substance. With the season he was having, it could have been a death sentence for the Phillies. However, it was merely the first in a series of turning points that forced the Phillies to adapt.<\/p>\n At the end of the week containing his suspension, Alvarado ranked fourth among qualifying NL closers in our reliever power rankings. The Phillies, at the time of the suspension, ranked seventh in the NL and 15th in the majors in the Team Relief Corps Power Rankings. It would be natural to assume \u2014 and expect \u2014 that the Phillies relief unit\u2019s performance declined. But it didn\u2019t. \u201cA lot of good things happened, actually,\u201d manager Rob Thomson<\/a><\/strong> said, \u201cbecause other people had to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n And step up they did. The Phillies bullpen improved in several meaningful statistics. Their Scoreless Outing Percentage improved from 70.1% to 70.9%. ERA-minus, which adjusts for a team\u2019s home ballpark and compares it to the league average, dropped from 113 to 101. Inherited runners scored 35.7% before the suspension, 31.1% after. WHIP improved by 22 points, dropping from 1.350 to 1.328. Goose Egg per Broken Egg Ratio (GE\/BE ) mostly stayed the same, being 3.1 before (31\u201310 GE\u2013BE) and 3.0 after (79\u201326 GE\u2013BE). Only two areas saw decline: home run percentage (2.8% before, 3.7% after) and K\u2013BB% (16.0% before, 13.5% after). (For reference, the NL relief average in home run percentage was 2.5% before the suspension and 2.8% after. Additionally, K\u2013BB% averaged 12.5% among NL relievers before the suspension and 13.4% after.)<\/em><\/p>\n 3.1 GE\/BE (31\u201310 GE\u2013BE) (NLAvg: 3.1), 70.1 ScOtg (ER)% (101-for-144) (NLAvg: 72.8%), 113 ERA-minus, 35.7 IS% (42 IR, 15 IS) (NLAvg: 35.7%), 1.350 WHIP (NLAvg: 1.309), 2.8 HR% (2.5% NLRelAvg), 16.0 K\u2013BB% (NLRelAvg: 12.5%)<\/p>\n Overall Score: 7.8; Overall Rank: 7th in NL, 15th in majors<\/p>\n Phillies team relief stats since suspension (Early morning May 18 through EOP Sept 23):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 3.0 GE\/BE (79\u201326 GE\u2013BE) (NLAvg: 3.1), 70.9 ScOtg (ER)% (244-for-344) (NLAvg: 71.9%), 101 ERA-minus, 31.1 IS% (106 IR, 33 IS) (NLAvg: 32.9%), 1.328 WHIP (1.307 NLRelAvg), 3.7 HR% (2.8% NLRelAvg), 13.5 K\u2013BB% (13.4% NLRelAvg)<\/p>\n Overall Score: 8.8; Overall Rank: 6th in NL, 10th in majors<\/p>\nAlvarado Suspension<\/h3>\n
Phillies team relief stats at time of suspension (Early morning May 18):<\/h4>\n
Banks, Strahm Discuss \u201cStepping Up\u201d<\/h4>\n