Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
Say what you will about the state of the Phillies bullpen; most people already have.
As a collective group, the club's relief staff is underwhelming at best, putting the pressure on the Phillies' starting pitchers to carry a larger load. With five games remaining and a playoff berth at stake, the Phillies bullpen needs to find themselves at their best if the team has any real chance for October glory.
The one piece that is holding the bullpen together is their closer, Jhoan Duran.
Duran recorded his 33rd save of the season on Tuesday night, a career high. Duran has accumulated 49 saves across his first season and a half as a member of the Phillies.
With an ace at the back end of the 'pen, it gives the Phillies a chance to plan out the middle innings of a ballgame. Don Mattingly has gone through a few iterations of bullpen roles in his time as interim manager, but with the playoffs over a week away, Mattingly has found a new setup man.
That pitcher is Alex McFarlane.
McFarlane made his Phillies debut on July 22, before being optioned back to the minor leagues. While the Phillies have not truly disclosed a reason for keeping the young arm in the minor leagues for so long, the belief is that Philly wanted to keep his value high in the trade market.
Luckily a deal for McFarlane never materialized, as the Phillies are now relying on the 25-year-old to get big outs in his rookie season.
The last time the Phillies pushed a rookie into such a high-leverage role in the bullpen was 2023, when they promoted Orion Kerkering to the big leagues just weeks before the start of the playoffs. By the end of their run that season, Kerkering had pitched in more playoff games than regular season games.
McFarlane will be more seasoned than Kerkering was at that stage of his career.
This season, the young right-handed pitcher has pitched 17 innings across 17 games. In recent days, Mattingly has used McFarlane in multiple innings due to the short amount of reliable options in the bullpen. He has accumulated a 2.12 earned run average and 16 strikeouts in those appearances.
In 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers had arguably the best closer in baseball, Josh Hader.
That season, Hader finished with 37 saves, tied for the third most in baseball with Aroldis Chapman of the New York Yankees. He was just 25 years old but quickly becoming a feared opponent on the mound.
In the same season, Milwaukee promoted rookie Devin Williams to their bullpen. Williams, who is now a two-time All-Star and two-time Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award winner, pitched to a 3.95 ERA in 13 appearances. However, his talent was undeniable and quickly became a part of the Brewers' future plans in the bullpen.
Over the following two seasons, the duo of Hader and Williams was unstoppable. Hader pitched in 81 ballgames, tallying 47 saves and pitching to a 1.85 earned run average. Williams was just as good, pitching in 80 games, tallying just 3 saves, but having a 12-3 record. He pitched to a 1.78 earned run average. The duo combined for 273 strikeouts between 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, Hader struggled with Milwaukee before being dealt to the San Diego Padres later that season. While he would ultimately bounce back in San Diego before leaving to join the Houston Astros in 2024, the combination of this dynamic duo officially came to a close.
Williams assumed the closer role for the Brewers. From 2022 to 2024, Williams saved 65 games in 141 innings pitched. His ERA sat at 1.66, and he struck out 221 batters.
If we are comparing the beginning of the Duran-McFarlane duo to the start of the Hader-Williams pairing, the Phillies seemingly might be off to a better start.
Starting with the rookies, McFarlane has pitched in more games. With 17 appearances and counting, opposed to Williams' 13, McFarlane will finish the season with more innings (17+>13.2), strikeouts (16+>14) and potentially a better earned run average (2.12>3.95).
Then you pivot to the veterans. While Duran is 28 this season and Hader was 25, they both had experience in his role prior to entering this season.
In 2026, Duran has 33 saves with a 1.88 ERA. Hader had 37 saves, with a 2.62 ERA. Duran has pitched in two fewer games than 2019 Hader did, while the former Brewer struck out nearly 70 more hitters than the Phillies' closer. Hader also pitched in roughly 18 more innings than Duran, which likely will get a tad closer with the five remaining games on the Phillies' schedule.
No matter how you slice it, the Phillies now have a dynamic 1-2 punch at the back end of their bullpen. If the remainder of the group can pick up the slack, the Phillies' bullpen has the potential to be good enough in postseason play.
While Mattingly will ride his two big arms heavily over the next week, they have earned the benefit of doubt for not only this season but many more to come.
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