The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off an interesting trade on Friday morning, sending left hander reliver and All-Star fan favorite Matt Strahm to the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan.
While it's a cost-cutting move and is designed to free up some money, the Phillies only had lefties Tanner Banks and Jose Alvarado left on the MLB roster. They needed to add another left-handed pitcher.
That's when, according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks made a trade. The Phillies are landing a 6'4'' lefty to replace Strahm, as the Phillies make some bullpen moves on the Friday before Christmas.
Phillies trade for a lefty reliever from D-Backs to replace Matt Strahm
"The Phillies have acquired LHP Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu," Clark reports.
Backhus is a left-handed reliever who's already made his MLB debut. The 27-year-old made his debut in 2025, pitching to a 4.62 ERA in 32 games for the Diamondbacks.
Across 25.1 innings pitched, Backhus had 22 strikeouts, eight walks, three home runs allowed, and 28 hits given up. He had a 1.421 WHIP, 19.1 strikeout percentage, and 7.0 walk percentage in 2025.
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This isn't a major trade for the Phillies to make, as Backhus won't be a core member of the bullpen in Philadelphia. But, he's a cheap option that the Phillies are taking a chance on.
Similar to their trade for Bowlan, Backhus is under contract through the 2031 season, giving the Phillies plenty of runway to experiment with him going forward.
The minor leaguer the Phillies are giving up, Avery Owusu-Asiedu, is not a top prospect for the Phillies, and is a low price to pay to land a lefty reliever who can factor into the big league bullpen.
This is a minor trade to replace Strahm, and while Buckhus won't directly replace Strahm's role in the bullpen, he takes up the mantle as the third lefty arm out of the bullpen for the Phillies.
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