How have the Phillies spelled and brought relief lately ?

It’s not Rolaids like the legendary commercial, but they have been busy in the last two weeks revamping their bullpen.

In this version of my Behind the Plate column, I’ll take a look at the current Phillies’ bullpen, the J.T. Realmuto contract standoff, the Mets and Yankees, and a former Lehighton baseball star.

And there’s a trivia question about a former Phillies’ reliever you may have forgotten.

Fixing Their Backend ... Recently signed free agent Brad Keller will be the Phillies set-up man for Jhoan Duran. He and newcomer Jonathan Bowland are both seen as strikeouts pitchers with low walks and will form the six-man bullpen with lefthanders Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks. Orion Kerkering looms as the final piece.

Heading into spring training, Keller has the biggest upside with a returning 2.07 ERA in 68 games. Bowland had a 3.86 ERA in 44 games with the Royals last season, and the Phils sent Matt Strahm to get him. Strahm will be a free agent after this season.

The Phils also could have potential competition with the additions of Zach Pop, Kyle Backhus, Zack McCambley, while Max Lazar will make a push.

President Dave Dombrowski certainly has laid the initial groundwork for a successful bullpen, and it will be interesting to see if it plays out.

In 2025, the Phillies’ bullpen ranked 20th overall with a 4.74 ERA, a WHIP of 1.34, and 47 saves. They had a save percentage of 63.5 and had 27 blown saves.

In the postseason, the Phils’ bullpen had an ERA of 4.50.

Trivia Question: What Phillies’ reliever nicknamed “Flash” led the team in saves with 34 in 2006? Answer below (Don’t peek or look it up.)

Keeping it Real-muto ... The main priority left for the Phillies before spring training is signing catcher J.T. Realmuto, and neither side has wanted to budge.

At 35, Realmuto won’t fetch a long-term deal, but the Phils should try and ink him to their proposed two-year, $30 million pact. Realmuto previously had a five-year, $115 million deal.

His power numbers have dipped in the last two years, but he played in only 99 games in 2024 as opposed to 134 last year. Realmuto has kept his average hovering around his .270 lifetime mark. However, Realmuto hit .353 in the postseason last year.

The issue is the Phillies don’t have a viable in-house option to replace him with Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan. Stubbs spent the majority of his time at Lehigh Valley and played in only five games with the parent club, while Marchan saw action in 42 games.

There is little to offer on the free agent market unless the Phils want to take a flyer on 33-year-old Gary Sanchez, who was a catcher and DH with Baltimore last season.

Boston reportedly is in hot pursuit of Realmuto, and the Phils have been linked to 27-year-old Astros’ catcher Yainer Diaz, who hit 20 homers last season, as a replacement via a trade.

The Other Hays ... When he was with the Phillies in 2024, Austin Hays was a non-factor. He was acquired in July from the Orioles for Seranthony Dominguez and Christian Pache.

Hays battled injuries and appeared in just 22 games and hit .256. He hit free agency and signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Reds.

Last season, Hays hit 15 homers and drove in 64 runs with a .266 average.

Now, Hays is suddenly a hot commodity on the free-agent market, being pursued by the Yankees, Mets and Royals. He surprisingly hit 13 of his 15 homers against right-handers.

The Yankees see Hays as an alternative if they don’t sign Cody Bellinger, who wants a minimum four-year deal. Hays, who can play all three outfield positions, would likely be in a platoon position with Jason Dominguez and Spencer Jones.

With the Mets, Hays would be an everyday player, as they have two outfield spots to fill. Signing Bellinger looms as a longshot.

By the way, Pache spent two seasons in Philly (2023-24) as a backup outfielder, and he recently signed a deal with the Mets.

Spending Abroad ... The Yankees will start the season without Garrit Cole, Clark Schmidt and Carlos Rodon, all of whom will be on the injured list.

There have been reports of Japanese pitcher Tatsuba Imai heading to the Bronx for depth, and he would round out the opening five-day staff. Imai went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA and struck out 178 and walked 45 in 153.2 innings. In nine seasons, Imai has a slate of 66-49, 3.07.

Recently, though, Imai appears headed to the Cubs, who have had success with Shota Imanaga, who is 24-11 over the last two seasons.

The Yankees’ last Japanese pitcher and most successful was Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched seven seasons there and logged a 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA, last appearing in 2020. Others in pinstripes through the years were Hideki Arabu, Kei Igawa, Ryota Igarashi and Hiroki Kuroda.

Scrapbook ... Each column, I’ll peel back the pages to review the career of a former local standout.

George Harris excelled in baseball and golf at Lehighton High School, and he was named school MVP in both sports in his senior year. In baseball, Harris was a pitcher and center fielder.

Harris went on to play at Moravian College and set a freshman pitching record there with a 7-0 record.

The following year, Harris pitched for Kutztown State, posting a 5-1 record. While at Moravian and Kutztown, Harris compiled a 4-0 overall record against Lehigh.

After college, Harris continued to shine playing in the Blue Mountain League, where he recorded a 49-19 record with 301 strikeouts from 1977-88.

He also played for the Allentown Wings of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, where he had a 30-4 slate from 1983-88 including an 11-0 record his final season. Harris played an integral part in the Wings’ three league championships.

Harris had tryouts with the Phillies, Reds, Dodgers and Pirates. He later served as an umpire in the greater area, and also guided Lehighton to a District 11 championship during his tenure there from 2007-09.

Trivia Answer ... Tom “Flash” Gordon spent the 2006-08 seasons with the Phillies, registering 42 saves overall. Gordon played for eight different teams over his 21-year career and notched 158 career saves.

Final thoughts ... With the new year within days, there are 56 days from today when the Phillies play their first spring training game on Feb. 20 against Toronto in Dunedin.

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