2021 Philadelphia Phillies: Archie Bradley Signs

Last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds, Bradley posted a 2.95 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and three walks in 18.1 innings pitched. He struggled during his time in Arizona during the 2020 season posting a 4.22 ERA, however, when he went to Cincinnati his numbers drastically improved. His ERA with the Reds was a 1.17 which evened out to bring his seasonal ERA to a 2.95.

What does he bring to the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies?

This move will help the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies drastically. The bullpen from last season consisted of Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, Blake Parker, Adam Morgan, and Brandon Workman. Now they are bringing in pitchers such as Jose Alvarado and Archie Bradley and that bullpen doesn"t look that bad. Yes, it still needs some work, however, this is a good start for the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies.

Bradley"s pitching arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball, curveball, changeup, and sinker. His most relied-on pitch is the four-seam fastball as he threw it 59.8% of the time that he was pitching. The other pitches in his arsenal, however, are very reliable. His curveball and changeup are not very fast pitches by any means, however, they get the job done getting a lot of hitters off balance. Even though he throws his sinker the least it is still very reliable for Bradley to pitch at a high level.

The 2021 Philadelphia Phillies are looking solid after this signing. This is an improvement from where their bullpen was last year. With the acquisitions of Jose Alvarado and Archie Bradley, the Phillies bullpen is looking younger and better. This is quite the underrated signing as Archie Bradley has shown that he is a good relief pitcher in the Major Leagues. He has been very consistent and reliable whenever he was called on throughout his seven-year tenure during his time in the Major Leagues.

With this acquisition, the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies now have someone that they could rely on late in ball games in the eighth and ninth innings of close games. This may be the first time in a while that the Phillies have had someone they can truly rely on late in games. Recently they have used Hector Neris as the closer, and there have been many instances where he would blow a save and ultimately lose close ballgames.

Can the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies Compete?

The 2021 Philadelphia Phillies had to address the bullpen this offseason, especially with the Atlanta Braves being so dominant and now the New York Mets acquiring Francisco Lindor from the Indians. The NL East is a difficult and skilled division and hopefully, this move to sign Archie Bradley could help the Phillies" chances to compete in the division and maybe even a playoff spot.

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