The Philadelphia Phillies made some big moves this offseason, and while the starting rotation and lineup have some question marks, the bullpen appears to be as strong as ever.
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But in the bullpen, thanks to the Matt Strahm trade, there is an open spot on the roster for a third left-handed reliever. In addition to Tanner Banks and José Alvarado, the Phillies could use one more lefty in the bullpen.
MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki identified a “dark horse” who could make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster this year in former New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals veteran Génesis Cabrera.
Phillies’ Genesis Cabrera named ‘dark horse’ to Opening Day roster
“If Cabrera can regain his 2021-24 form (3.94 ERA in 202 appearances), maybe he can land one of the last two bullpen jobs available,” Zolecki writes.
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Cabrera is a 29-year-old left-handed reliever who spent most of his seven-year career with the Cardinals. He had a 4.14 ERA in 174 games for the Cardinals, but had a solid 2020 and 2021, pitching to 2.42 and 3.73 ERAs in two of the best seasons of his career.
Then, in 2024 with the Toronto Blue Jays, he had a good 3.59 ERA in 69 appearances. But, in 2025 with the Mets, he had a 3.52 ERA in six appearances, and then an 8.68 ERA in nine appearances with the Chicago Cubs.
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He left the Cubs to join the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he posted a 4.91 ERA in nine appearances, before finishing the 2025 season with the Milwaukee Brewers with a 7.98 ERA in 16 appearances.
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While Cabrera has shown some promise in his career, he was on four teams last season and posted a 6.54 ERA in 40 starts.
But if he has a great spring training and Kyle Backhus, the current favorite to be the third left-handed reliever, struggles, then Cabrera could work his way onto the Opening Day roster.