Was Brandon Workman the worst pitcher on the Phillies in 2020?

The numbers

w/ Phillies only: 14 G, 13 IP, 23 H, 11 R (10 ER), 4 HR, 9 BB, 15 K, 6.92 ERA (6.96 FIP)

The good

He had five saves.

The bad

Workman was terrible in 2020 with the Phillies. There no other way to get around it. Let’s let some numbers show you how bad he was.

(all stats for RP with at least 10 innings pitched in 2020, which numbered 296 relievers)

• 3 blown saves: T-6th in MLB
• -5.12 WPA-: led MLB (when he came in the game, he did more to prevent his team from winning any other reliever)
• -9.00 RE24: 14th in MLB (if you’re unfamiliar with this stat, read the explanation here)
• 30.8% HR/FB (w/ Phillies): would have been T-15th in MLB. This feels impossible to replicate and is probably one of the ones I expect to bounce back in 2021
• 2.77 HR/9 (w/ Phillies): would have been 15th in MLB. Another one that I would expect to come back to earth in 2021

I could go on and on, but it just feels unfair at this point. Workman was expected to come to Philadelphia and help stabilize a bullpen that, at the time, was in a tremendous amount of turmoil. He did not do that. Instead, it seemed he made things worse whenever he came into a game.

The future

He’s thankfully gone. Of course, some would suggest that it was a one year thing and that he’s not that bad and could be had on a cheap rebound deal.

Don’t listen to those people.

Workman can ply his trade somewhere else and wreak havoc there. Philadelphia is probably the last place he should play.