The Philadelphia Phillies have been moving more pieces than a chess board lately. However, just like in chess, moves could be good or bad, and every move must have a meaning behind it. A few days ago, they decided to trade lefty reliever Matt Strahm to save money, but now it seems that money won’t be use for the betterment of the team.
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, “The money saved by flipping Strahm, set to make $7.5 million in 2026, will go toward Keller’s annual $11 million salary.” Keller signed recently with the Phillies for $22 million and two years.
The frustrating thing here is for Phillies fans is that they want aggressive movies or the renewal of catcher JT Realmuto. Keller was signed to be the Phillies set-up man. Keller is not a bad player, but the Phillies needed bullpen help and trading Strahm made that issue bigger.
Is Keller a good addition to the Phillies?
The other frustration with the fact that the $7.5 million saved by trading Strahm is getting allocated to Keller’s $11 million total in 2026 is the lack of common sense on the move. The reason is because it’s effectively a relievers exchange, so it’s not a wise move at all.
This is all the more frustrating as objectively and statistically, Strahm is a better pitcher than Keller, and it’s also cheaper. Creating space to then use it for someone who is already signed is highly questionable.
The Phillies are missing a few pieces to succeed
Philadelphia has not met the expectations in the last four postseasons. In fact, the Phillies have suffered back-to-back NLDS exits at home. Hence, they should be looking to be more aggressive instead of bizarrely conservative.
In any case, the Phillies could’ve used that money to meet JT Realmuto’s salary expectations. Now, it remains to be seen if the team will add new people or retain the catcher. It’s just a mystery waiting to develop.