⚡ LATEST UPDATE: The Phillies’ Bullpen Plan Includes Kyle Backhus as a Trusted Left-Handed Option ⚡.DD
The Philadelphia Phillies made another trade for pitching recently, snagging Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Trading Matt Strahm made headlines for the Philadelphia Phillies.
But it wasn’t the only trade the organization made for pitching recently.
In another deal that was lost in the Strahm deal, the Phillies sent center fielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu to the Arizona Diamondbacks for left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus, who just wrapped up his rookie season.
Where does he fit in as the Phillies try to assemble their bullpen for 2026?
Assessing Kyle Backhus
Backhus, a lefty who throws from an odd arm angle, went 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA in 32 games last season.
He Struck out 22 and walked eight in 25.1 innings as batters hit .283 against him.
Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Domrbrowski wanted to add an additional left-hander to the bullpen’s options in 2026 and Backhus fits the bill.
His Baseball Savant page reveals a left-hander that puts high reliance on his sinker, which he threw 63% of the time in 2025.
That pitch reached 91 mph on average.
He didn’t throw a single four-seam or two-seam fastball per the data.
Instead, he used a sweeper 27% of the time and his change-up 10% of the time as his off-speed pitches to augment the sinker.
While he didn’t pitch enough to rank among baseball leaders, his page did reveal that if he had he would have had one of the best barrel rates in baseball at 4.9%, no doubt a combination of his arm angle, his pitch array and his extension of 7.2, which was among the 96th percentile in baseball.
Backhus feels like a bridge pitcher to a set-up man with more power like a Kerkering.
He would log time in the sixth or seventh innings against pockets of left-handed hitters.
But he has to make the team first.
And it’s a crowded bullpen.
At the top of the depth chart in the bullpen is closer Jhoan Duran, who Philadelphia acquired from Minnesota last season.
He remains in the closer role, with Orion Kerkering working in a set-up role.
Tanner Banks returns as a left-handed reliever while Taijuan Walker is also back as a swing starter and reliever.
That’s roughly half the bullpen, assuming all are healthy and make the team.
Zack Wheeler’s injury recovery may require Walker to start the season in the rotation.
The return on Strahm is a candidate.
Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan was a solid right-handed reliever for the Kansas City Royals last season, but wasn’t used often in high-leverage situations.
The rest of the bullpen could include José Alvarado, who missed part of last season and the postseason for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug program; and right-handers Jean Cabrera, Moisés Chace, Yoniel Curet, Brad Keller, Seth Johnson and Max Lazar, among options on the 40-man roster.
