In Cotham we trust. That’s what the Phillies seem to be saying with the signing of journeyman reliever Trevor Richards. The right-hander has pitched in all or part of eight major league seasons with seven different teams – the very definition of journeyman. Richards went undrafted and came to the majors through independent ball when Miami signed him off of the Gateway Grizzlies roster. His MLB debut came with the Marlins in 2018 and since then he has pitched for Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Toronto, Minnesota, Kansas City and last season with Arizona.

Last season, Richards went from being released by the Cubs in early May to signing with the Royals, being released again in mid-June and signing with the D-backs. In all, he pitched in the majors with KC and Arizona for a total of five outings, covering 5.2 innings that resulted in an ERA of 7.94. After two outings as a member of the Diamondbacks, Richards was designated for assignment and wound up back at Triple-A Reno for the rest of the season.

His full MLB statline: 24-28, 4.53 in 61 starts and 234 relief appearances. 1.338 WHIP, 8.1 H/9, 1.3 HR/9, 4 BB/9, 9.8 K/9.

In 2021, Richards pitched for Tampa, Milwaukee and Toronto for a combined 53 games and went 7-2 with a 3.50 ERA with 3.1 BB/9 and 10.9 K/9 on his record. Richards had seemed to put things together when he went from Miami to Tampa Bay. With the Rays he had a 4.28 ERA in 15 relief appearances and seven starts, but over the past four seasons Richards has a 5.03 ERA in 178 games (nine starts.)

The Phillies are hoping that pitching coach Caleb Cotham may be able to figure out something that would get him back on solid footing and that he gives the Phillies either a reliable righty to pull out of the bullpen or serve as a swingman with the team.

Richards, 32, has a changeup that he uses for an out-pitch thanks to it’s deep dive and his ability to get high strikeout numbers with the pitch. He also features a four-seam fastball and to a much lesser extent, throws a slider and cutter. The velocity on his fastball has dipped, previously being near the 94 mph point but now sitting more around 92 mph. Combined with a 79 mph change, it isn’t hard to see how he gets swings and misses with the pitch. He needs to mix his pitches well and keep hitters off balance to be successful.

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