With a day to process it, Thomson talks usage in Phillies' Alvarado-less bullpen originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

DENVER — The Phillies flew to Colorado on Sunday after a whirlwind day that began with them losing top reliever Jose Alvarado for 80 games and the playoffs, continued with Mick Abel delivering one of the best debuts in team history, and ended with them trailing the Mets and Dodgers by just a half-game for the best record in the National League.

A day later, everyone has had time to process the most important news, which was the 80-game suspension for Alvarado, who tested positive for Testosterone that entered his body through a weight loss supplement taken during the offseason.

At some point, the Phillies will likely address the back end of the bullpen via trade. But the deadline is 10 weeks away so in the meantime, others need to step up.

“Just do your thing and try not to do more than who you are because I truly believe that we have enough stuff in our ‘pen, we do,” manager Rob Thomson said of his message to the relievers. “Just don’t try to do too much. Throw strikes, just be yourselves and we’ll get it done.”

Matt Strahm will shift into the role previously held by Alvarado. Strahm and Jordan Romano will make up the closing tandem, with Strahm called on in the eighth inning if it’s a left-handed section of the lineup and Romano used if there are righties due up. The other guy would get the ninth.

It also means that Tanner Banks will move up a role. He’s now the second-most important lefty in the bullpen like Strahm previously was. And when Strahm is unavailable — as he most likely is Monday night after pitching in back-to-back games — Banks will see late-game leverage work. More eighth innings. Maybe even a ninth inning, occasionally.

“We’ll figure out who falls where,” Banks said Monday. “Ultimately, it’s be ready whenever whether it’s up one, down one or up or down five. The job doesn’t change.”

The Phillies called up right-handed reliever Max Lazar from Triple A and he’ll be in the bullpen for the series opener at Coors Field, taking Abel’s roster spot. Jose Ruiz is also back after missing a couple of weeks with a neck injury. Orion Kerkering and those two would be the right-handers the Phillies feel most comfortable using against lefties in Banks’ previous role as the third lefty.

“The number one goal is to find another guy or two that can go into leverage,” Thomson said. “I think managing the leverage guys is pretty easy because I have certain rules and I stick with ’em and I’m not gonna move away from that because it’s all about keeping them healthy.”

One of those rules is not using a reliever three days in a row. Tempting as it might be without Alvarado, Thomson won’t overuse Strahm and Romano.

“We’ve got to find out about some other guys, too,” he said. “Joe Ross hasn’t pitched in eight days so he’s got to pitch tonight. That might be a leverage spot. Same thing with Ruiz. We’ve had Banks in some leverage spots lately and he’s done a fine job.”

He’ll find himself in another if the Phillies have a narrow late lead over the 8-38 Rockies on Monday night.

Watching Aaron Judge carry a .401 average through the first 46 games of this season can’t help but bring back memories for Paul O’Neill. Thirty-one years ago, O’Neill authored the most torrid start in Yankees history, batting .456 over the same time frame. He didn’t drop below baseball’s hallowed .400 mark until June 17, and his sizzling bat prompted scrutiny that O’Neill hadn’t experienced before. 

“It was just something that I didn’t want to process mentally,” O’Neill said before a recent Subway Series game. “I just wanted to go out and play. And the easiest thing to do when you’re playing well is put your uniform on, hang around the guys you’re with and play the game. 

“When you have to start talking about it to the press and to people, it just gets too many things going on in your head and that gets you away from what you were doing.” 

But O’Neill thinks Judge might have an edge going forward should the megastar continue to chase batting average history. Judge, O’Neill noted, has pursued much-hyped milestones before, since he set the American League home run record by belting 62 in 2022. The kind of attention Judge would generate if he made a long run at .400 wouldn’t be unfamiliar to him, the way it was to O’Neill. 

“If you look at Aaron Judge, he’s comfortable wherever he is,” O’Neill said. “Numbers-wise, whether he hit 80 home runs, he’d be comfortable, because he’s done things that have put him above everybody. I hadn’t, to that point, done anything like that.” 

O’Neill, of course, is not predicting anything for Judge this season, just pointing out a potential positive should Judge stay above .400. It’s an incredibly difficult feat, obviously, over a long, tiring season. 

No one has ever batted .400 or better over the course of a 162-game schedule, and the last player to do it over a 154-game slate was Ted Williams, who hit .406 in 1941. That’s 84 years ago. Tony Gwynn of the Padres finished at .394 in 110 games in the same, strike-shortened season in which O’Neill enjoyed his early burst. The Yankees’ single-season record for batting average is held by Babe Ruth, who batted .393 in 1923. 

“You never want to put yourself, as a player, in a position where you feel like you didn’t have the year you wanted to have because you dropped below .400,” O’Neill said. “I mean, come on.” 

O’Neill was hitting .405 when play began on June 17, 1994, but he went 0-for-4 against the Brewers and fell to .397. He finished the strike-shortened season at .359 and won his first AL batting title.

“Looking back, believe me, it’s a fun time in your life,” O’Neill said. “It’s a great time.” He smiled as he recounted how he’d just gotten a text message reminding him how far above .400 he’d been. 

“In my mind, that’s nuts,” O’Nell said. “But I was just so into my routine at the time. And I truly didn’t see that it was going to end until I had to start talking about it. And I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t play baseball and then talk about every little nuance that’s going on.’ 

“Because then nothing’s natural, right?”

In his duties as an analyst for the YES Network, O’Neill has seen Judge grow as a hitter over his career. Judge’s ability to hit the ball hard – he’s currently third in average exit velocity, according to MLB’s Statcast – is enhanced by how he’s evolved, particularly in pitch selection.

“If you look at the pitches he swings at now and the pitches he swung at right when he got to the Major Leagues, he’s a totally different hitter,” O’Neill said. “The power has always been there, but he’s a much better hitter as far as strikes, swinging at strikes. I always stress being in the same position all the time and, if you watch, nine out of 10 swings, he’s in the same spot. 

“His probably greatest asset is that he doesn’t have to try to pull the ball. He can hit it out anywhere. If he sees the ball, he can hit every pitch because of the length of his arms and he’s quick enough to get the ball inside. And to hit for a high average, you have to be willing to walk. And he’s willing to walk.”

That willingness has helped Judge reach base 103 times this season; only Ruth and Mickey Mantle had seasons in which they reached base more through the first 46 games of a season. Judge has reached base in 43 of 46 games this year -- 93.5 percent.

Judge is excelling in multiple categories beyond average, too. He leads MLB in on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, hits, total bases, and intentional walks, among other stats. He’s currently on pace for 468 total bases, which would eclipse the single-season MLB record of 457 set by Ruth in 1921. Judge is also on pace for 250 hits; there have been only seven 250-hit seasons in MLB history. 

Will Judge make a long run at .400? Based on baseball history, probably not. Few have. It’s fun to think about that, though, and about the place Judge has carved for himself among baseball’s greats. 

“Every graphic we put up, he’s our Mickey Mantle,” O’Neill said. “He’s our Lou Gehrig. He’s our Babe Ruth. I mean, he’s doing it all and you’re doing it at a time where average hitters are hitting .240, right? (The MLB average entering play Monday was .243). 

“He’s at (.401), so it just shows you how much better he is than everybody.” 

Who's the No. 2? Red Sox' rotation has been a major disappointment originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

For the Boston Red Sox to bounce back from their subpar start to the 2025 season, their starting pitching must take a giant step forward.

While offseason acquisition Garrett Crochet has lived up to his ace expectations, he hasn’t had much help behind him in the rotation. Tanner Houck entered the season as the No. 2 starter, but he was one of the league’s worst pitchers before being placed on the injured list. Brayan Bello hasn’t impressed since returning from injury, and Lucas Giolito has been shelled in two of his four outings.

Walker Buehler — another key offseason addition — hasn’t pitched since April 26 due to a shoulder issue. Richard Fitts has been on the IL since mid-April with a pectoral strain. Kutter Crawford hasn’t pitched at all due to a knee injury that landed him on the 60-day IL.

Boston’s rotation has been among the club’s biggest disappointments over the first two months of the campaign. The group ranks 24th in MLB with a 4.45 ERA and 25th with a 1.41 WHIP.

Those struggles have reached a new level since the calendar flipped to May. The Red Sox are 6-10 with Houck and Giolito combining for an 8.65 ERA in their six appearances this month.

“They need to step up,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his starting pitchers, per Rob Bradford of WEEI. “That’s the bottom line. We have to step up as a rotation. It’s not only Garrett, it’s everybody. We have to do a better job as a group.”

Hunter Dobbins, Boston’s No. 13 ranked prospect who entered the season at Triple-A Worcester, has been the team’s most reliable starter after Crochet. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.90 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through five starts.

As promising as Dobbins has looked to start his big-league career — minus his worst outing thus far last Wednesday — the Red Sox are in trouble if he’s their No. 2 starter. The veterans have to figure it out in the coming months, otherwise, it’ll be the same old story for a club that has reached the postseason just once since its 2018 World Series title.

It’s worth noting that Buehler is expected to return on Tuesday, and he looked like a strong candidate for that No. 2 role before his IL stint. Fitts, who was rock-solid in his three starts, also could be back in the mix soon. But if they can’t return to form, the following starters must turn it around to keep Boston’s playoff hopes alive:

Tanner Houck

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Coming off an All-Star season, Houck was expected to form a 1-2 punch atop the rotation with Crochet. Now, the Red Sox simply hope to get any semblance of value out of the 28-year-old after his disastrous start to the season.

Houck last pitched on May 12 against the Detroit Tigers, allowing 11 runs on nine hits and three walks over just 2.1 innings. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow 11 or more runs in a start of fewer than three innings twice in the same season.

The Red Sox subsequently placed Houck on the 15-day IL with a right flexor strain, and it’s unclear if he’ll get another opportunity to start on the mound this season. If he does, he’ll have a short leash, and that’s tremendously disappointing given what we saw from him in the first half of 2024.

Brayan Bello

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Bello missed the start of the season due to a right shoulder strain. He debuted against the Seattle Mariners on April 22 and was solid, allowing one earned run on four hits and three walks across five innings.

The 26-year-old entered Sunday’s start vs. Atlanta with a 2.33 ERA over five outings. The Braves lit him up for seven runs on 10 hits and five walks in his 4.1 innings of work.

Bello’s ERA ballooned to 4.02, which is closer to what Red Sox fans have come to expect out of the young righty. The organization’s former top pitching prospect has a career 4.39 ERA.

The biggest issue for Bello has been his command, as he has walked 19 batters in 31.1 innings this season. He also continues to underwhelm in the strikeout department, with his 14.1 K percentage in the fifth percentile among big-leaguers and his swing-and-miss percentage (19.0) in the 12th percentile.

With Houck’s status uncertain, Giolito looking more like a No. 4 or 5 in his first season back from Tommy John, and both Buehler and Fitts already battling injuries, Bello may have the best chance to emerge as Boston’s No. 2 starter. For that to happen, his command and consistency have to improve.

Lucas Giolito

Giolito missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and had a delayed start to 2025 due to a hamstring strain. The good news is he finally looks healthy, but the bad news is the Red Sox can’t count on him to be anything more than a back-end rotation arm.

The 30-year-old has a 7.08 ERA over his first four starts with the club. In his latest outing Saturday against Atlanta, he allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks across four innings.

Giolito has alternated encouraging and abysmal starts since debuting on April 30, so it’s unclear which version of him we should expect for the remainder of the season. Nonetheless, the Red Sox need more consistency out of the veteran righty with so many glaring question marks on the pitching staff.