Baseball analyst Jim Bowden from the Athletic has anticipated an offseason trade between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres. Dealing left-handed dominant reliever Scott to the Phillies for high-leverage relievers Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez. All three are free agents this offseason. Hoffman is an East California University Alumni who put up impressive numbers this season, with the Phillies recording a 2.17 ERA and 0.96 WHIP across 68 appearances. Estevez recorded a .245 ERA with 20 saves and a 0.91 ERA across 72 innings of relief work. Scott has represented himself as one of the best relievers this season. He recorded an ERA of 1.75 with 84 strikeouts across 72 innings pitched with a 1.12 WHIP. Scott also has a wicked slider, ranked in the top three in MLB according to whiff percentage.
Athletic Baseball Analyst Foresees Future of Phillies Relievers
Free Agent Reliever Frenzy
Bowden believes Scott will sign a four-year $60 million deal with the Phillies. This season, the Phillies were in first place in the NL East but lost in the NL Division Series 3-1 to the New York Mets. Their early postseason exit has signaled that they need to work on amplifying their outfield, bullpen, and back of the rotation for 2025. Scott’s role as a reliever is to eat up innings and function as a shutdown reliever. Pointing to the fact that the Phillies should be all over Scott this offseason. Putting up back-to-back strong seasons, including his first All-Star selection in 2024.
Overall, providing depth in the bullpen. Hoffman and Estevez are new to the free agent market as of October 31st. High-leverage relievers are an important necessity for a clubhouse, especially when it comes to postseason games. While Phillies fans have expressed the desire to bring back Hoffman next season, changes need to be made. Mending the bullpen is a high priority, pointing to the downfall of the second half of the season. Scott would be the key ingredient to any team’s bullpen troubles. However, the Phillies have been targeting Scott since June of this season, according to New York Post columnist Jon Heyman. Scott is a highly desirable reliever that many contending teams will be pushing to make a move on him this offseason.
