With Cliff Lee getting past Michael Saunders, round one of the “Last Man In” free agent tournament is complete.
We’ll begin the quarterfinal round with a pair of matchups:
4. Jeff Hoffman, 2023
Jeff Hoffman became an out of nowhere success story for the Phillies, so I understand why Phillies fans liked the guy, but I’m still confused as to why there was so much angst over him leaving. I hold him most responsible for the Phillies loss in the 2024 NLDS, but I guess because the entire bullpen was so bad, that gets overlooked.
He had a chance at personal redemption with the Blue Jays last season, and ended up blowing a save in game seven of the World Series.
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5. Jose Contreras, 2010
On the other hand, Jose Contreras never gave up a run in four postseason appearances for the Phillies. The Phillies may have lost the 2010 NLCS to the Giants, but it’s hard to blame Contreras who pitched in three games and only allowed one baserunner.
Who should advance? Vote now!
3. Jake Arrieta, 2018
I wrote before that Arrieta wasn’t close to his Cy Young past with the Phillies, but we never should have expected him to be. He was fine as a mid-rotation starter, at least for the first year and a half of his deal. (The last year was a bit ugly.)
Maybe I just defend him, because he allowed me to use this headline which I’m still proud of.
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6. Brad Miller, 2021
I’ve called Miller a “Poor Man’s Kyle Schwarber” in that they’re both bad on defense, and when they get into slumps, they’ll sometimes have long cold streaks sporadically broken up by multi-home run games. (The biggest difference being that Schwarber hits over 50 home runs in a season.)
Who should advance? Vote now!
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