#bullpen

#bullpen

It was so long ago, but Fluharty had a terrific start to his big league career. Over his first 18.1 innings pitched, the lefty had a 1.96 ERA and 2.97 FIP, with a 26.2 K% and 7.7 BB%. After a few outings in June, Fluharty began to struggle on Jun. 8. From that date until Jun. 30, the final game he pitched in before he was optioned, Fluharty gave up 12 earned runs in 7.1 innings pitched.

Leaning toward the trade market rather than free agency is due to a desire to create some roster flexibility that the current group lacks. None of Carlos Estevez, Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, or Bailey Falter can be optioned to Triple-A. Lucas Erceg has a full slate of options but isn't going to be sent down, given his status as one of the team's top bullpen arms. Daniel Lynch IV and offseason signee are the only relievers who could plausibly be optioned right now.

The 32-year-old sidearmer is looking to rebound from three straight injury-marred seasons. A Tommy John surgery entirely wiped out Effross' 2023 campaign, and a back surgery during that TJ rehab period kept Effross out of any game action until June 2024, and he ended up tossing 35 1/3 minor league innings that season as well as 3 1/3 MLB frames with the Yankees. During Spring Training 2025, Effross then suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain that led to three more months on the shelf, and he amassed only 10 2/3 innings for New York while being frequently shuffled up and down from the minors.

Dodgers free agent Evan Phillips had been one of the stalwarts within the bullpen for Los Angeles over the last handful of seasons. Operating in virtually any role the team asked of him, he quickly developed into an indispensable member of the team. Unfortunately, Phillips suffered an arm injury which prevented him from participating in the 2024 World Series versus the New York Yankees. With rest and treatment, he came back in 2025 hoping to regain the form he once demonstrated.

(Strahm is) a year away from free agency. We were able to get a guy that we liked who has six years of (club control) and we think can help us right away. So you have to give to get. And we still feel good with our left-handers in the bullpen.

Romero, 29, is one of the most straightforward trade candidates of the offseason. He is slated for free agency after the upcoming campaign. With the Cardinals rebuilding, there's little sense in hanging onto him. They could wait to trade him at the deadline but that path carries risks, as the Cards know. They held onto Erick Fedde and Ryan Helsley going into 2025 and saw both pitchers decrease their respective trade values with poor performances.

As first reported by ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs have re-signed lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar. The southpaw pitched well over 58 innings across 67 appearances, posting a 2.64 ERA and striking out four times as many batters as he walked. Thielbar also did a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, surrendering only five home runs all season.

The first thing I said to him was, 'You're going to sign with the Dodgers, right?'...I sat there for the entire two-hour event and talked up the Dodgers to him the whole time. I don't know if I had a hand in it or not, but I like to say that I was one of the first ones to go heavy and hard after him that he should be a Dodger.

"There's a lot of teams (from which) we have taken incoming calls," president of baseball operations AJ Preller told reporters, as relayed by Acee. "...It's nice when people are calling you, and they have interest in your players. At least then, you have some options. But I think the focus has been on the starting pitching and how do we fill that without taking away from the bullpen or from the lineup."

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander publicly admitted a few weeks back that the club would be looking for bullpen upgrades. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Seattle plans to add two relievers and hopes to have one locked down by the end of the Winter Meetings next week. Adding a lefty is a priority and Jude lists five names they are considering, with four of them being southpaws.

Pagán had one of the more successful campaigns of his career last season with the Cincinnati Reds. He authored a 2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, and a 2.9 BB/9 while setting career-high marks in games (70) and saves (32), with his ERA and WHIP serving as second-best numbers of his career. The saves were probably not expected to come at that level entering the '25 season for Pagán; Reds closer Alexis Díaz struggled immensely to start the year, allowing eight earned runs over six relief innings.