Philadelphia and New York are tied at one win each, with Game 3 set for Tuesday evening. The Phillies, with one of the strongest rosters in baseball, are poised for a deep playoff run as long as they can get past the Mets. However, after the season, the team will face some tough decisions regarding its bullpen, particularly with both Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman set to become free agents.
“It was a solid year for the Phillies’ bullpen, which ranked sixth in fWAR,” Rymer noted. “But with Hoffman and Estévez heading to free agency, maintaining that success into 2025 will require effort. While Hoffman is worth retaining, Estévez raises concerns. Though effective, he didn’t reach a strikeout-per-inning level.”
As a result, it would be somewhat surprising if Estévez remains with the Phillies in 2025.
Meanwhile, amidst the Phillies’ playoff focus, the organization made headlines by sending their top pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, to the Arizona Fall League. Painter, 21, has not pitched competitively since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery, leading to questions about his performance when he returns.
Before his injury, Painter was considered one of baseball’s best prospects, posting an impressive 1.56 ERA across 22 starts with 155 strikeouts and 25 walks over 103.2 innings. His stellar season saw him rise to Double-A, where he allowed just eight earned runs in 28.1 innings. Philadelphia is sending him to the Arizona Fall League to boost his confidence and get him back into competitive action.
Although Painter is viewed as a potential rotation option for 2025, especially with Taijuan Walker’s struggles, Dombrowski tempered expectations, emphasizing that Painter will be on an innings limit next season. “He’s not going to pitch like a full-season starter with 180 innings. He’ll be much more limited than that,” Dombrowski said.
