The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the more active teams this offseason so far. Their additions of Kyle Schwarber, Adolis Garcia, and Brad Keller have been resolving issues on the roster this offseason.
But, they also traded away a key piece of the bullpen in lefty Matt Strahm. Sent back to the Kansas City Royals, the Phillies are moving on from the $7.5 million reliever. But what did the Phillies get in return for Strahm?
As Luke Arcaini of Crossing Broad highlighted on Twitter/X, Jonathan Bowlan is an interesting five-pitch mix reliever who is under contract for a long time.
Phillies' return for Matt Strahm is righty reliever with 5-pitch mix, six-year contract
"Jonathan Bowlan's a 5-pitch mix reliever that some believe can be a starter." Arcaini posted. "He posted a 3.86 ERA with a 24.6 K% in his first year in the Majors in 2025. Oh, and the Phillies control his contract until 2032."
For starters, Strahm was only under contract for the upcoming 2026 season. His $7.5 million contract is vastly more than what the Phillies will pay Bowlan as well.
But the new right-hander the Phillies got in return for Strahm is under club control through the 2031 MLB season. Meaning, the Phillies will have six years of Bowlan if all goes well and he sticks on the roster.
The contract details are noteworthy, but so too is the skillset Bowlan is bringing to the Phillies. He is a five-pitch pitcher who had solid strikeout numbers and a decent ERA in his first MLB stint in 2025.
The 29-year-old righty has five pitches to work with. As @RedsInFour shared on Twitter/X, Bowlan's five-pitch mix includes a four-seam fastball, a slider, a sinker, a changeup, and a curveball.
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While the return for Strahm isn't a top prospect or an MLB-ready talent who can make an immediate impact for the Phillies, Bowlan's metrics paint an intriguing picture.
He has a decent selection of pitches to work with, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is solid, and his whiff rate is also in a good spot. The jury is still out on how Bowlan can develop, but the current setup means there's some intriguing potential here.
Despite this Matt Strahm trade seeming like a salary dump, the Phillies were able to land a pitcher who could turn into a solid bullpen arm for the Phillies.
The most important thing with Bowlan is that he's cheap, under contract for six more seasons, and has some interesting pitches that the Phillies can work with.
He won't be as good as Strahm was, but with the freed-up money, the Phillies might be able to bring in some more outside help this winter. Bowlan is an interesting pickup as the return in the Strahm deal, and could be a quality piece in the bullpen for years to come.
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