Examining the Phillies’ closer situation in 2025

The last time the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series, they had a lights-out closer in Brad Lidge. In 2008, he had a perfect season, going 41-of-41 in the regular season and 7-of-7 in the postseason.

Is that what they need to bring a World Series title to Philadelphia again? A perfect season is rare, of course, but having a lockdown reliever may be the missing piece to their championship puzzle.

Luckily, they have a few options in 2025. Who ultimately claims this role and finds success in it remains to be seen. Let's examine their cases.

Jordan Romano

The Phillies signed Romano to a one-year, $8.5 million deal in December, but despite his previous experience, he was not promised the closer role. 

The 31-year-old had a 2.90 ERA and 105 saves across six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, including 285 strikeouts in 229.2 innings. Romano was a back-to-back All-Star in 2022 and 2023 and has the sixth-highest saves in baseball since his debut season in 2019.

Philadelphia told him that he’d be handling “high-leverage” situations in 2025, and depending on if the club retains Jeff Hoffman, he’ll likely be called upon quite frequently by manager Rob Thomson. Even if the Phillies choose to run another closer-by-committee situation in 2025, it wouldn’t be surprising if Romano were to save most of those games.

Orion Kerkering

Since making his MLB debut in September 2023, Kerkering has been considered the closer of the future in Philadelphia. The 23-year-old has already been thrown into countless high-leverage situations, even as a rookie. Thomson and the Phillies organization have a lot of trust in him.

Another story is whether they will hand the keys over to him as their full-time closer. He’s yet to record a save in his young career but has fulfilled a set-up role, recording 15 holds between 2023-24. 

Kerkering recorded 74 strikeouts across 63 innings last season. He has the “stuff” to be an effective closer at the MLB level, with a sweeper, four-seamer and sinker making up his pitch arsenal. However, it’s a role he’d have to grow into.