Despite landing one of the best relief pitchers on the market in Carlos Estevez, the Philadelphia Phillies weren’t done bolstering their bullpen. Just prior to the close of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the Phillies acquired Tanner Banks in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.
The Phillies will use Banks as “a multi-inning reliever who could return to starting at some point,” according to Gelb. The 32-year-old lefty is 2-2 on the season with a 4.13 ERA, 1.292 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in 48 innings.
In his rookie season with the White Sox in 2022, Banks posted a 3.06 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 and an ERA+ of 131. He’s making $755.05K this year and is under team control until 2027 – his age-35 season.
In return for Banks, the Phillies sent 19-year-old middle infielder William Bergolla to the White Sox, per MLB insider Jayson Stark. Bergolla is slashing .295/.350/.385 with the A+ Winston-Salem Dash. He slots in as Chicago’s 15th ranked prospect.
While the Phillies’ starting pitching has been exceptional this year, the team felt the bullpen needed to be improved at the trade deadline. Though Philadelphia relievers are top three in K/9 (second best in MLB), strikeout percentage (third) and fWAR (second) they’re middle of the pack in ERA (15th overall), saves (14th), holds (16th), batting average against (19th), WHIP (17th) and WPA (10th).
The Phillies upgrade bullpen at the trade deadline
The addition of Estevez will go a long way toward improving the Phillies bullpen. Estevez has posted a stellar 2.38 ERA, 0.735 WHIP, an ERA+ of 181, 20 saves and 1.7 WAR in 34 appearances this season.
Now with Banks in the pen, the Phillies have a serious weapon against left-handed batters. Banks is sporting a 34 percent strikeout rate against lefties this season, striking out 28 of the 83 he’s faced in 2024, according to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark on X. Lefty batters have just one home run and are hitting a paltry .184 against Banks this season.
With the improvements to the bullpen at the trade deadline, along with the addition of outfielder Austin Hayes from the Baltimore Orioles, the Phillies have a reasonable claim as the most complete team in baseball. Philadelphia owns the best record in MLB entering play on Tuesday. Although the Cleveland Guardians have made up some ground and are now just half a game behind the Phillies for the best record in the majors.
The White Sox on the other hand are the worst team in baseball at 55 games below .500. Chicago was expected to be among the biggest sellers at the trade deadline. The team did move some of its trade chips, including shortstop Paul DeJong who was sent to the Kansas City Royals, outfielder Tommy Pham and starting pitcher Erick Fedde who went to the St. Louis Cardinals and reliever Michael Kopech who was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, the White Sox didn’t end up dealing two of their biggest assets, starting pitcher Garrett Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. While Robert Jr. is dealing with an injury, Chicago’s asking price for Crochet might have been a deterrent. Both players could be traded during the offseason.
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