The Phillies find the pitching swingman they’ve been looking for with the signing of Joe Ross

Phillies find the pitching swingman they’ve been looking for with signing Joe Ross originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Two days before the Phillies traded Jesus Luzardo, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned a starting and reliever swingman as an item on their offseason wish list.

Their rotation is now loaded with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, but the Phils still added that swingman, agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran right-hander Joe Ross on Monday.

The deal, worth $4 million according to The Athletic, is similar to the one the Phillies signed Spencer Turnbull last offseason.

Ross appeared in 25 games as a Brewer last season, including 10 starts. As a reliever, 12 of his 15 appearances were scoreless and he lasted at least five innings in seven of his 10 starts. Overall, he posted a 3.77 ERA in 74 innings.

Ross becomes the eighth member of a Phillies bullpen that includes Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks and Jose Ruiz. Barring an injury or drastic underperformance from Ruiz in camp, it looks like there’s only one bullpen spot up for grabs.

Other pitchers on the Phillies’ 40-man roster include:

• Taijuan Walker, who is due $18 million each of the next two seasons and is in the midst of an offseason throwing program aimed at improving his velocity. Signing Ross makes him even more unnecessary if Walker’s speed isn’t back to reasonable levels.

• Max Lazar and Michael Mercado, who starred with the Phillies last season.

• Offseason additions: Nick Vespi and Devin Sweet.

• Pitching prospects Mick Abel, Moises Chace and Jean Cabrera will almost certainly continue to start in the minors rather than serve as the last backup spot in a big league bullpen. The same probably applies to Seth Johnson. Tyler Phillips, Kyle Tyler and Alan Rangel are on the 40-man roster but have so far been used as starters.

The Phillies’ four key offseason additions were Romano, outfielder Max Kepler, Luzardo and Ross. The four will collectively earn about $28.5 million in 2025. The Phillies’ payroll totals about $305 million from a luxury tax perspective, exceeding the fourth and most expensive threshold of $301 million. This is the third year in a row that they are expected to exceed the luxury tax and therefore face the harshest financial and draft pick penalties.