There was significant smoke for the Philadelphia Phillies when it came to trading Matt Strahm in recent weeks. And on Friday before Christmas, the Phillies dealt him to the Kansas City Royals, reuniting him with Carlos Esteves in the KC bullpen.
This trade was met with some criticism from the fan base, as trading away a lefty reliever who's coming off a 2.74 ERA season in 2025 doesn't make a lot of sense.
But, in a piece from Matt Gelb and Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the Phillies might've made this trade in part due to some friction between Strahm and the team.
Phillies might've traded Matt Strahm amid 'growing friction'
"And, while the Phillies felt three trusted lefty relievers were something of a luxury," Gelb and Stark write, "team sources said Strahm was deemed expendable because of a growing friction between the pitcher and the team."
The Phillies decided to move on from Strahm to save money, but also because of some friction between the left-hander and the Phillies organization.
This might all connect back to Strahm's comments after the NLDS elimination, in which Strahm called out the Phillies for their lack of PFP, or pitcher fielding practice, amid the Orion Kerkering series-losing error.
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Of course, the full extent of the friction between these two sides isn't known, and likely won't be known. But, as Gelb and Stark further pointed out, "Strahm, never reluctant to share his opinions, clashed with coaches and club officials on numerous issues."
The Phillies moved on from Strahm in a trade with the Royals, landing Bowlan in return, saving a lot of money, and, according to this report, moving on from a player the team wasn't jelling with.
This was not a surprising trade from the Phillies, but some of the details surrounding the deal that have come out so far, including the return and now the friction that the Phillies and Strahm had, are very interesting updates to the Strahm era in Philadelphia.
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