The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen suffered a major blow when José Alvarado was suspended for 80 games for violating the league's drug policy. He will be ineligible for the postseason.
The Phillies are in need of a closer with Alvarado out. They are in a tight race with the Mets in the National League East, and having a lockdown closer could be key in making a deep run. Jordan Romano has struggled as the closer, and Matt Strahm is currently getting looks at closer as well.
Newsweek's Tim Crowley suggested the Phillies solve their closer dilemma by trading for Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are in danger of falling out of contention and could become sellers at the trade deadline.
"The Phillies responded nicely from a concerning start to vault themselves toward the top of the National League East standings," wrote Crowley. "They'll always hit in the playoffs, but that bullpen threw a lot of innings the last three Octobers and lost vital arms in the offseason. The group currently holds the fourth-worst bullpen ERA in the National League. An arm like Chapman could stabilize the unit and add more firepower for another shot at Philadelphia's first championship since 2008."
Chapman is going to be a free agent after the season anyway. He would be a great rental arm for the Phillies. He is a seven-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and a Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award winner.
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He has a 1.29 ERA in 38 games and has notched 15 saves. The 37-year-old is still lighting up the radar gun with his electric fastball and could end up having one of the best years of his career.
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