The Philadelphia Phillies have been adding to the roster this winter, and while most of their moves have come in the form of free agent deals, Kyle Schwarber, Adolis Garcia, and Brad Keller all signed with Philly.
But their next move of the offseason was a surprising deal with the Kansas City Royals, sending beloved lefty reliever Matt Strahm for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan.
ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle analyzed the trade, and while giving the Royals, he only gave the Phillies a "C+". His initial reaction was akin to many fans' first reaction to the news, but Doolittle did reveal some intrigue on the Phillies' side of this trade.
Phillies receive mixed messaging on Matt Strahm trade
"My knee-jerk reaction to seeing this deal was to wonder what in the heck Dave Dombrowski was doing." Doolittle writes. "Strahm has been a key member of the win-now Phillies bullpen, and for the last few years has operated at a level or two tiers higher than Bowlan."
That first reaction, strongly questioning why the Phillies and Dombrowski would make such a trade with Strahm and the Royals, was one echoed by a lot of Phillies fans.
But, with Strahm saving $7.5 million on the Phillies payroll, they were able to bring in Keller much easier, and could also use some of that money to re-sign J.T. Realmuto or add other free agents. As Doolittle writes, "If so, then this mild bit of cash-dumping is probably worth it."
This trade comes with some major caveats for the Phillies side of things, as they need to spend the freed-up money elsewhere; otherwise, moving on from a core lefty in the bullpen for a right-hander who's not been the best is a questionable decision.
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It's a risky trade from the Phillies perspective, but there is a scenario in which this works out. Strahm is under contract for just 2026, while Bowlan is under control through the 2031 season.
Doolittle writes, "But there's a nonzero chance the Phillies get more out of Bowlan moving forward than they would have gotten from Strahm, as good as the latter has been."
Seeing Bowlan outperform Strahm would make this trade an incredible one for the Phillies, but there's not a high likelihood of such a situation coming to fruition.
Instead, Strahm will likely have another strong year in Kansas City, while Bowlan will sit around the 4.00 ERA mark for the Phillies in 2026.
Looking into the future, things could change, but for now, this trade is a net-loss for the Phillies, barring the extra $7.5 million going towards another signing or Bowlan turning a corner in Philadelphia in 2026 and beyond.
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