Spring Training is underway down in Clearwater, Florida and according to Matt Gelb, right handed pitcher Dillon Maples arrived at camp today wearing Philadelphia Phillies gear, marking the first real signal that he was a part of the club to begin with.

While the move flew completely under the radar, Dillon Maples seems like a pretty solid pickup for a bullpen that is in constant need of new arms to provide any type of productivity throughout the 2022 season. Maples will join the Phillies from the Chicago Cubs.

During the 2021 season, he pitched 31.1 innings, posting a 2.59 ERA and a 11.5 K/9.

Everything I’m reading about this guy is that he has some of the “nastiest stuff out there” and makes batters miss, but sometimes he misses too and can’t keep the ball anywhere close to the strike zone.

On paper the only issue, although a big issue, that I’m seeing is his FIP, which was a miserable 4.61 thanks to a really bad 7.2 BB/9. Regardless, outside the obvious command issues, Dillon could be an interesting piece to add later in the season to an already improved bullpen.

Phillies Projected Bullpen

• CL: Corey Knebel 
• SU8: José Alvarado 
• SU7: Jeurys Familia 
• MID: Brad Hand
• MID: Connor Brogdon
• MID: Sam Conrad 
• MID: Seranthony Dominguez
• LR: Bailey Falter / Nick Nelson

We can chalk Dillon Maples up as a low-risk, high-reward guy. Lets see what Caleb Cotham and the rest of the Phillies pitching staff can do with the kid, shall we?

The Phillies bullpen last season was better than the disaster we saw in 2020, but honestly, that’s not saying much. They still managed to blow a league leading 34 saves and had a combined 4.60 ERA, which was good for the sixth-worst in the MLB. Their combined 4.61 FIP was the fourth worst and the entire bullpen was worth 1.1 fWAR, good for 28th in the MLB.

So apologies for being somewhat intrigued over Dillon Maples but at this point, we’ll literally take anyone who has even the slightest upside, right?

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