SPORTZONE27

Over the past week, the Philadelphia Phillies have suffered two significant setbacks that could jeopardize their hold on an NL Wild Card position.

First, Aaron Nola — enduring another one of his puzzling down years — was sidelined indefinitely with an ankle injury. Shortly after, star closer José Alvarado received an 80-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs.

With a 28-18 record and a spot as the second-best team in a competitive NL East, the Phillies are likely to find themselves protecting plenty of leads this summer. That makes the closer role critical — especially with Jordan Romano currently sporting a rough 7.27 ERA in 2025 and looking far from his All-Star form of 2022-23.

Although the trade deadline is still a ways off, it would be wise for Philadelphia to act early and aggressively pursue a high-leverage reliever before the rest of the market heats up.

3 Relievers the Phillies Could Target via Trade to Replace José Alvarado

Devin Williams – New York Yankees

While not the flashiest name, especially given his recent struggles, Williams still boasts one of the most impressive résumés among current relievers. He’s had a rough 2025, posting a 7.80 ERA over 15 innings, a sharp contrast to his dominant 1.70 ERA and 68 saves from 2020 to 2024. His fastball has lost some zip — down to 93.6 mph — and his signature changeup has been hit harder than ever (.309 wOBA).

Despite these issues, Williams continues to miss bats at a strong 31.5% clip and ranks in the 92nd percentile in limiting hard contact. In his last four outings, he’s allowed just one hit and no runs, striking out the side twice.

Because he’s a rental and hasn’t thrived in New York, Williams wouldn’t require a major haul. If the Phillies believe his 3.17 FIP is more indicative of his ability than his ERA, a move back to the National League might unlock his elite form again.

Mason Miller – Oakland Athletics
Miller’s surface numbers (4.50 ERA) don’t tell the full story. Removing one rough outing — five earned runs in Miami on May 3 — would drop his ERA to 1.69, potentially putting him in All-Star territory.

He’s been electric this season, striking out a staggering 47.0% of batters and lighting up radar guns with a fastball in the 100th percentile. He’s a flamethrower with elite stuff and years of team control remaining, as he isn’t arbitration-eligible until next season.

Naturally, all of this makes Miller a costly trade target. And with Oakland hovering around .500 before a recent slump, they might not even be sellers. If they are, though, Miller would be the top-tier replacement the Phillies could land — but it would likely take one or more Top 100 prospects to get a deal done.

Ryan Pressly – Chicago Cubs
Pressly would be the most affordable option of the three and has the veteran experience to handle high-leverage innings, with 116 career saves under his belt. However, he’s no longer the elite arm he was during his tenure with Houston. His velocity is down to a career-low 93.1 mph, and most of his peripherals have slipped outside of a decent groundball rate.

That said, if you take out one disastrous outing — giving up eight runs without recording an out against the Giants on May 6 — his ERA drops to a respectable 1.65. His 4.86 FIP suggests there are still underlying concerns, but he hasn’t been quite as poor as his raw numbers might imply.

Ultimately, Pressly could be a short-term patch for Alvarado, but if the Phillies want to contend deep into the summer, they’d need to aim higher.