Phillies To Sign Archie Bradley

tom81 2021-01-15 01:51:02 UTC #1

Good signing IMO

Patchmk88 2021-01-15 02:27:25 UTC #2

Yea i really like this signing!

andyb 2021-01-15 14:40:58 UTC #3

Bullpen 2021 for the Phillies - all about velocity (or lack thereof in 2020):

phillychuck 2021-01-15 15:47:37 UTC #4

I believe in high-velocity relievers, but it's actually good to mix and match styles so you can adjust to the opponent. We need good relievers as much as we need hard-throwing ones...

bigegypt0417 2021-01-15 15:51:35 UTC #5

Watching the ray this last post season...they had a stable of gas throwers...it was fun to watch.

andyb 2021-01-15 16:07:06 UTC #6

I agree on the diversity of styles. The larger point though was that we really did not have anyone who threw that hard in the bullpen until Brogdon and Romero showed up. And really nobody in the upper 90s consistently.

There can also be diversity in style within hard throwing relievers. There are definitely changeup specialists and power slider guys who give different looks. Bradley is not really a pure power guy also as he came up as a starter and then thrived in more of a 2-inning relief role.

Whether this makeover will work remains to be seen. We are generally adding a bunch of guys that throw hard but have not had much success yet. The Jimmy Cordero strategy to name someone similar we got for that reason a decade ago. Hopefully a couple of these moves will pan out.

zambonir 2021-01-15 18:54:55 UTC #7

The numbers in that story are actually mind-boggling. The Phillies were so far away from having any kind of velocity at all that they'd have to sign 10 of these guys before worrying about diversity of styles. And even these five aren't all guaranteed to stick/work out, so I doubt they're done.

Sam Coonrod, obtained in a trade with the Giants earlier this month, threw 163 fastballs at 96 mph or harder last season. That’s 99 more than the entire Phillies bullpen mustered....

The Dodgers’ relievers threw a staggering 679 more 96 mph-plus fastballs than the Phillies did last season.

andyb 2021-01-16 14:14:09 UTC #8

Fangraphs with a mixed look at Bradley and the other Phillies moves. The drop in velocity is noted side by side with his improved FIP but the biggest concern may be a lower whiff rate on his curveball. Whether that is correctable is unclear, because if it is related to the velocity drop he might not be able to get much better. Of course a veteran can get better through improved command and he may just be trying to be more efficient out there. So not all good and all bad and a 1-year deal seems appropriate given the risk, though I guess if he is good (and he is likely the best reliever on the team now) then we'll have to pay more than $6 million a year to keep him.