To continue my celebration of the Festival of Lights, I chose one of the team’s Jewish players to review today.
Righthanded reliever Max Lazar was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017, but
due to COVID and an injury requiring Tommy John surgery, he lost the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He was able to return to action in 2022 but was unable to rise above the AA level in the Brewers system over the next two years.
He became a free agent after the 2023 season and signed a minor league deal with the Phillies. He pitched well enough in the minors that they called him up to the majors for an eleven-game stint in August 2024. His career began with seven consecutive scoreless outings, but after a few rough appearances, he returned to the minors.
He came to camp with the Phillies in 2025, but couldn’t make the Opening Day roster, starting the season in Lehigh Valley. He was called up to the majors in May, pitching mostly in low-to-mid leverage situations. There were mixed results, but after a particularly bad outing against the Nationals, he was returned to the minors for a couple of weeks, before finishing the season with the big league team.
The stats
36 games, 41.1 IP, 1-1 W-L, 4.79 ERA, 1 save, 5.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.3 bWAR
The good
Lazar had a few highlights during the year. He earned his first career save with a scoreless eleventh inning against the Braves in May. And his first career win came when he pitched a scoreless tenth inning against the Red Sox in July.
After the effective outings began to pile up, he started to gain a little more trust from the manager.
The bad
Trust in Lazar faded after a couple of particularly bad outings. On July 30, he was called upon in the seventh inning of a tie game against the White Sox. He faced seven batters, and all seven got hits and eventually scored.
In mid-August, he was asked to protect a five-run lead against the Nationals in the ninth inning. But after five batters, the Nats had the tying run at the plate, necessitating the use of closer Jhoan Duran.
Lazar’s biggest issue is he doesn’t have outstanding stuff. His fastball tops out around 94 MPH, and he doesn’t have a great spin rate. As a result, he doesn’t have the high strikeout totals that you’d like out of your better relievers.
His future with the Phillies
Lazar will be one of the favorites to win a middle relief job with the Phillies in camp. He’s only 26, so it is possible he can take another step in his development, but that will likely hinge on whether or not he can find a way to strike more hitters out.
