The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into the winter with the hopes that they will be able to improve the team after an early exit in the 2024 postseason.
It was a slightly disappointing season for the Phillies considering the way that it ended, as this was a team that had all the tools to win it all this October. However, the New York Mets were the better team in the National League Division Series and were able to take them out in four games.
This offseason, Philadelphia will be going back to the drawing board looking to improve for the 2025 season. As a team that is loaded with veteran talent, the Phillies easily could be right back in the postseason next year.
Even though Philadelphia has a lot of veterans, they also had some young players on the team who made an impact in 2024. One of which being relief pitcher Orion Kerkering.
Recently, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report gave him some high praise, as he named him the best player on the Phillies under 25 years old.
“Orion Kerkering made his MLB debut for the Philadelphia Phillies as a September call-up in 2023, and he ended up making more appearances in the playoffs (7) than he did during the regular season (3) after earning a spot on the postseason roster. He broke camp with a spot in the 2024 bullpen and served as a reliable late-inning option alongside Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm and trade deadline pickup Carlos Estévez. With Hoffman and Estévez both headed for free agency, he could fill an even more prominent role in 2025.”
The bullpen for Philadelphia was highly talked about, as the group really struggled against the Mets in the playoffs. However, during the regular season, this was a strong unit, and Kerkering was a big part of that.
In his rookie season, the right-hander pitched very well, totaling a 5-3 record, 2.29 ERA, and 74 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched. While some of the key arms in the bullpen struggled for the Phillies in the postseason, Kerkering was one of the few who performed pretty well.
At just 23 years old, the future is very bright for the young right-hander. As Philadelphia heads in to the offseason with potentially a major shakeup coming for their bullpen, Kerkering could find himself placed in a larger role based on the success he had in 2024.
