PHILADELPHIA -- When the Phillies signed right-hander Brad Keller on Thursday to a two-year, $22 million contract, an obvious question followed:
Why would they spend so much money on another late-inning reliever?
Sources had said since the Winter Meetings that while the Phillies still hoped to re-sign catcher J.T. Realmuto, they were mostly finished spending in free agency. Keller seemed like a splurge -- especially after they signed right fielder Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million deal on Tuesday -- considering they already had closer Jhoan Duran; left-handers José Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks; and right-hander Orion Kerkering returning in the bullpen.
But the Keller deal made more sense on Friday, when the Phillies traded Strahm to the Royals for right-hander Jonathan Bowlan. Strahm will be paid $7.5 million next season. Bowlan, who has less than a year of MLB service time, will be paid around the league minimum ($780,000).
The deal clears nearly $7 million in payroll.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Friday, however, that the trade had everything to do with bullpen balance and nothing to do with payroll flexibility to help re-sign catcher J.T. Realmuto and make other moves.
“Our ownership is tremendous,” Dombrowski said. “You always are cognizant of where your payroll will be. They would have never forced me to do anything that we didn’t feel comfortable with. We still have the ability to do some things. You know? We’re still in that spot. We’re still looking for a catcher first and foremost. But this doesn’t have anything to do with us having more or less money to go ahead and spend for a catcher.
“Ideally, we would rather have two lefties, two righties. We really like Keller a lot. We think he really fits. We’ve been looking either through trade or through signing to acquire someone. With that [Keller deal], we’re able to balance this more than we felt from the left-hand side.”
Cot’s Contracts projects the Phillies’ 2026 payroll for luxury tax purposes to be $301 million -- without Realmuto -- which is $3 million shy of the fourth Competitive Balance Tax threshold. Currently, at $301 million, the Phils will be paying more than $39 million in penalties.
They will pay a 110 percent tax on every dollar they spend over $303 million.
Strahm, 34, went 17-10 with a 2.71 ERA in 188 appearances over three seasons with the Phillies. He recorded the save in the NLDS-clinching victory over the Braves in 2023. He made the 2024 NL All-Star team.
He was reliable. He was durable. He pitched fearlessly.
Strahm connected with Phillies fans, donating time, gloves and even a scoreboard to the Newtown Edgmont Little League Challenger Angels, a special needs program that plays every Sunday in Delaware County.
But Strahm’s relationship with the organization had frayed. He had never been afraid to share his opinion on a variety of topics. Strahm said after Game 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, where Kerkering panicked and made a wild throw to home plate to end the series, that the team never did PFPs (pitchers fielding practice) during the season.
It wasn’t received well.
“We did plenty and actually as it turns out we did do PFPs in the postseason,” Dombrowski said the following week. “He didn’t do them. OK? But we did.”
Asked about the organization’s relationship with Strahm, Dombrowski said on Friday, “Well, I can’t speak for others in our situation, but if Matt would have come back with us, we’d have felt very comfortable. We wouldn’t have made a move unless we felt good about the return that we received. I’ve always had a good relationship with him myself. I’ve loved talking with his wife and his daughter. I’d have to say other people, they’d have to speak on that, but that’s from my perspective.”
Bowlan, 29, made a career-high 34 appearances (one start) with Kansas City this year. He posted a 3.86 ERA in 44 1/3 innings with a 1.22 WHIP and a 25.6 percent strikeout rate. He held right-handed hitters to a .182 average.
Bowlan is out options, meaning he is a heavy favorite to make the Opening Day roster.
“He definitely is a guy that we’re counting on to be in our bullpen,” Dombrowski said.
The Phillies on Friday also traded Minor League outfielder Avery Owusu-Asiedu to the Diamondbacks for side-arming left-hander Kyle Backhus. Backhus has options remaining, but he will compete for a job in the spring.