During the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies made various additions to their roster ahead of the upcoming 2025 MLB season. Whether it was by trade or via free agent signings, the Phillies are hoping that the majority of their moves will work out in their favor over time.

Reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler headlined the additions that Philadelphia has accomplished to date. But the Phillies have also made some smart under-the-radar moves that could pay off big time for the club going forward. As a result, we will take a look at three shrewd Phillies roster additions that you might have already forgotten took place this offseason.

Devin Sweet, RHP

It sure seems like a long time ago now, but around the start of the offseason, back in November, one of the first moves that the Phillies engaged in involved a trade with the Detroit Tigers. In the deal, Philadelphia acquired right-handed reliever Devin Sweet from the Tigers for cash considerations.

Sweet has spent the bulk of his professional baseball career so far in the minor leagues. Nevertheless, he finally made his MLB debut in 2023, posting a less-than-stellar 10.38 ERA and 1.85 WHIP, giving up 10 earned runs, including four home runs, in just 8 2/3 innings over seven relief appearances split between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics.

Despite that, Sweet has always shown to have tremendous strikeout ability throughout his career, averaging more than one strikeout per inning. In 2024, with the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate Toledo, he recorded the highest strikeout rate of his career with 111 punchouts in just 76 innings of work for a 13.1 K/9. Just for comparison, that rate was greater than any member of the Phillies’ regular pitching staff all last season.

Sweet is already on the 40-man roster and could be a dark horse to make the bullpen in 2025, as his strikeout potential could surely come in handy over the course of the season for Philadelphia.

Koyo Aoyagi, RHP

The Phillies offered up many minor league deals to various players this offseason. But among all of them, the most intriguing one has to be the one given to Japanese star pitcher Koyo Aoyagi. Philadelphia hasn’t had much of a history of recruiting Japanese players, as Tadahito Iguchi and So Taguchi are the only other ones who have suited up for the Phillies in franchise history.

Nevertheless, their gamble on Aoyagi could potentially pay huge dividends this time around. The 31-year-old right-hander has spent his entire baseball career thus far in Japan in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hanshin Tigers.

Over that time, Aoyagi had been an All-Star on three occasions, along with compiling a solid 61-47 record with a 3.08 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, with 299 walks and 647 strikeouts in 898 1/3 total innings. He had been craving for the opportunity to play in MLB, and now he has finally received his chance, even if he begins the year in Triple-A.

Aoyagi can be both a starter and a reliever. Given that the Phillies have their starting five set with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, Aoyagi’s best shot is making the majors in a relief role. While all of the hype this offseason might have been on fellow countryman Roki Sasaki, but the Phillies have a chance to strike gold with their own surprising addition of Aoyagi in a low-risk, high-reward move.

Joe Ross, RHP

With all the focus and attention on Romano as the Phillies’ biggest offseason addition to their bullpen, the signing of Joe Ross appeared to have taken a backseat. However, one shouldn’t underestimate the tremendous value that Ross can provide.

As a former World Series champion with the Washington Nationals in 2019, Ross brings with him his breadth of experience as both a starter and a reliever. For his career, the 31-year-old right-hander has compiled a 29-34 record with a 4.19 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, with 469 strikeouts in 517 1/3 innings over 123 appearances, which included 86 starts.

Ross had been hit with injury woes in recent years after undergoing Tommy John surgery for his right elbow in 2022 that wiped out his 2023 season as well. He also missed over two months last year due to a lower back issue.

Nevertheless, when healthy, Ross was an effective swingman for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, amassing a solid 3.77 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 74 total innings of work over 25 appearances that included 10 starts. By joining the Phillies, it now provides manager Rob Thomson with great flexibility on how to deploy Ross when the situation presents itself. He will no doubt be a key piece of their revamped 2025 bullpen, but at the same time, he becomes the de-facto sixth man in the rotation to act as invaluable insurance for their starting five.