Acquiring a Closer is Biggest Need for Philadelphia Philles at Winter Meetings! He has gained interested from multiple teams around the league as a starter & relief pitcher.

The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into the Winter Meetings with the offseason being rather quiet so far.

After a disappointing end to the 2024 campaign, the Phillies appear to be a team that is going to try and shake things up this winter. In the loss against the New York Mets, a few issues on the team were easily identified, as their bullpen really striggled in the series, and their outfield also lacked offensive production.

So far, no major moves have been made by Philadelphia to address these needs, but some of their key players from last season, like Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and Ranger Suarez, have been rumored to be available in the trade market.

Whether it be free agency or via trades, the Phillies certainly have the resources to address the needs on their team.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com recently spoke about the biggest need for the Phillies as they head into the Winter Meetings. He highlighted their need for a closer to anchor the back end of the bullpen.

“OK, so most of the attention on the Phillies this offseason has been on their alleged pursuit of Soto, and how Alec Bohm could be traded to improve a lineup that fell short in the 2023 NL Championship Series and 2024 NL Division Series. Yes, the Phillies need to do something to improve the offense. But who’s pitching the eighth and ninth innings for the Phillies in 2025? Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman are free agents, which leaves a huge hole in the bullpen. Maybe the Phillies re-sign one of them. Or maybe both go elsewhere, leaving the Phillies to find somebody else to close games in 2025. Regardless, it needs to be addressed.”

Even though the postseason wasn’t good for the Philadelphia bullpen, this was a unit that pitched well during the regular season. Both Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman were great in 2024, but they just didn’t get the job done when it counted.

However, with both pitchers being free agents, the bullpen could look a lot different for the Phillies in 2025. Ideally, it seems like they would like to get a true star closer to help anchor the back-end.

That isn’t an easy thing to accomplish, and it likely won’t come from a free agency signing.

With the Winter Meetings coming up, this will be an excellent time for Philadelphia to try and improve the bullpen in the trade market, as they could pursue closers like Devin Williams or Ryan Helsley.