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The Philadelphia Phillies are among a trio of teams confirmed to have scouted Chicago White Sox reliever Michael Kopech, according to a new report.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports that the Phillies, among other clubs, have their eyes on the 28-year-old righty.
“One of those drawing a good deal of interest is White Sox reliever Michael Kopech, as many clubs have sent scouts to watch him in recent weeks. The Yankees, Royals and Phillies are just a few of the teams that have been doing their due diligence on Kopech lately.”
Kopech was a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2014 MLB Draft. While current Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn’t in the organization when Kopech was drafted, he was in charge of Boston’s front office when Kopech was sent to the White Sox in December of 2016 as part of the package that netted the Red Sox Chris Sale. Given that Sale helped pitch the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 wins and a World Series title, which he closed out, in 2018, it’s hard to argue with the results of that trade.
That doesn’t mean, however, that it didn’t burn for Dombrowski to give up Kopech in a deal that also saw the Red Sox trade away Yoán Moncada, among others. Kopech is still on the right side of 30, and Dombrowski probably remains intrigued by his potential as he tries to chase another World Series title.
Kopech has had an uneven career, as he missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and then opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. After pitching mostly out of the bullpen in 2021, Kopech primarily started for the White Sox the last two seasons, posting a 4.52 ERA and 5.52 FIP over 55 games, 52 of which were starts. Kopech has exclusively pitched out of the bullpen this season, and hasn’t gotten great results, as he has a 4.91 ERA and 5.67 FIP across 29 games.
So given that the back of Kopech’s baseball card hasn’t been pretty for the White Sox in recent years, why would the Phillies be interested? Well, Dombrowski has often targeted high-velocity relievers during his time leading the front office, and Kopech’s fastball has averaged 98.7 mph this year. The Phillies may feel like pitching coach Caleb Cotham and their staff can get the most out of Kopech’s fastball, cutter, slider repertoire.
What’s also worth pointing out is that Kopech has one more remaining year of arbitration eligibility after 2024, so he could be insurance if the Phillies don’t retain Jeff Hoffman and/or Seranthony Domíguez after this season. Or maybe they could use him out of the bullpen the rest of this year and stretch him out as a swing man capable of making starts in 2025.
Obviously, there will be those who believe the Phillies are eyeing Kopech as a secondary piece in a potential trade that would net them center fielder Luis Robert Jr., although the price of such a deal would be exorbitant. But you never know.
