Aug 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering (50) hands the ball to Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
There's no doubt that the Phillies have done a decent job improving their bullpen enough to make it competent heading into October.
What was an open wound at the All-Star break has has closed up, but the scar definitely remains.
The Phillies will carry 13 pitchers in October - although it's possible they can narrow that to 12 early in the playoffs because the playoff calendar may only require three actual starters through the NLDS - even if they have to play the Wild Card series.
So, rest assured, they plan to have all five starters - Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo and Taijuan Walker - on that roster.
That leaves seven or eight bullpen spots open.
From the left side, You can write in Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, and now Tim Mayza - who the Phillies claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Mayza will be the lefty that replaces Jose Alvarado in October, as he is ineligible for the playoffs thanks to his violation of the MLB performance enhancing drug policy.
From the right side, the only locks are Jhoan Duran, David Robertson and Orion Kerkering.
And while there will be debate about the remaining spot or two - could it be either of the two guys with the team now: Daniel Robert and Lou Trivino? Could they recall Max Lazar? Could the other guy they added on Sunday, Walker Buehler, convert from a starter to a reliever? After all, he closed out the World Series clinching Game 5 for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year - those are guys who aren't pitching high leverage.
Could it be Jordan Romano?
Kidding. Promise. At least I think I am.
But this isn't about those guys. This is about the guys who the Phillies will count on for those more important outs. Specifically Kerkering.
Because right now, there has to be a little bit of concern beginning to brew in the mind of manager Rob Thomson and pitching coach Caleb Cotham about Kerkering.
Earlier this season, he was their go to guy in tough spots. He even was called on to fill the closer's role for a hot second once Alvarado was suspended and Romano failed for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
And Kerkering was good. He went for a stretch from May 1 to June 24 where he appeared in 22 games and allowed exactly one earned run.
But things started to slowly change for Kerkering from there. It has been more and more noticeable since the All-Star break, and frankly, the last couple of weeks have been the most alarming.
Orion Kerkering has been less than stellar lately. In his last six outings... 3 2/3 innings, six hits and five walks. I'll update the runs after we see if Tanner Banks can clean up his bases loaded, no out mess.
In his last six outings, Kerkering has gone just 3 2/3 innings. Some of that was by design but others - like Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Braves - he came into a clean inning and couldn't get through it.
In those 3 2/3 innings he's allowed five runs on six hits and five walks. Even more concerning is he only has two strikeouts, meaning he's not generating much swing and miss.
“He’s just misfiring. 2 walks…he’s gotta trust his stuff and attack the zone”
- Rob Thomson on Orion Kerkering
Thomson confirmed that both Jhoan Duran and Matt Strahm were not available tonight after pitching on Friday and Saturday pic.twitter.com/KQOlDIvKGr
"He's just misfiring. Two walks tonight. He's got to trust his stuff, attack the zone and go after people," Thomson said.
This isn't the first time this has happened to Kerkering. He's run into this problem in the past where all of the sudden, after going well, he either loses command of his pitches or starts getting out of the zone too much and it ends up hurting him.
He had a five-game stretch at the end of April where he allowed nine runs - only six were earned - on eight hits and three walks while blowing two saves.
Last year, he had a post-All-Star stretch that spanned a dozen games into mid August where he allowed 20 baserunners in 12 innings with a 6.55 ERA that the Phillies surmised was a dead arm.
And over the last two seasons, Kerkering has appeared in 11 playoff games for the Phillies, and while his ERA is a respectable 3.00, He has allowed 16 baserunners in nine innings.
Kerkering wasn't available to talk after the loss on Sunday because the Phillies were hustling to catch their plain to Milwaukee for an afternoon game on Monday. He wasn't the direct reason for the loss, but he entered the game in the seventh inning with a one-run lead and promptly loaded the bases with no outs on a hit and two walks.
Banks relieved him after those three hitters and got out of the jam allowing just one of the those runners to score. They would lose in the ninth when Alvarado gave up a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin.
But he needs to get back being the most trusted righty setup guy in the Phillies bullpen if the team is going to put together a long run in October. Robertson is a fine fallback option and has pitched really well since he was added to the bullpen, but at 40, he's better suited for a middle relief role than be the high leverage hammer he has been throughout his long major league career.
Orion Kerkering for the Phillies this season is 7-4 with 2.98 ERA and 1 WAR. Most teams die for a reliever like that. Past 7 games he’s not been himself.
Easily rattled by bad calls or cheap hits. Then getting in his own head.
He needs a week of not pitching to get it back.
There is no other righty looming to fill those shoes. The Phillies have left themselves very little wiggle room in the bullpen. It might be better now than it was six weeks ago, but that's counting on guys like Kerkering to be themselves and not a shell of themselves.
Pitchers aren't going to be perfect. Nobody carried a 0.00 ERA for a reason - sometimes the hitters are good too. But there needs to be a consistency among the guys getting high leverage outs. Kerkering has done it before. He has one month left to get back to that, because the Phillies are going to need him, desperately.
