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Phillies Add Young Bullpen Arm Following Matt Strahm Trade
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
The Phillies got a bullpen depth piece just a few hours after shipping out Matt Strahm to KC for Jonathan Bowlan.
Left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus has been traded to the Phils in exchange for minor-league outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu, the team announced:
Backhus, 27, pitched to a 4.62 ERA in 2025, his rookie season. Notably, he allowed just a .139 batting average to left-handed relievers and surrendered just three home runs all year.
The sidearm southpaw is a 3-pitch pitcher, tossing his sinker a whopping 63.5% of the time. In addition to his go-to pitch, he spins a sweeper in the zone a quarter of the time and has a changeup that he throws around 10%.
The Matt Strahm trade was a salary dump. It’s pretty obvious now. The Phillies basically got two major-league relievers for one, and although neither are better individually than Strahm, the Phillies added an extra arm and saved around $6.5M, following the Backhus trade, who is set to make around $800k this upcoming season in pre-arb.
The path that Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies are going on with the bullpen is an interesting one, but it’s one that can really pay off. They’re not signing washed-up veterans on a 1-year deal. They’re trading for controllable, young arms that have the potential to be a lot better down the line. They’ve struggled with that in the past, and it seems like they’re maybe starting to change their philosophy when it comes to the pen.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com