To piggyback on what has already been said about Strahm, it does appear that his comments about the coaching staff heavily entered into the calculus to trade him

To piggyback on what has already been said about Strahm, it does appear that his comments about the coaching staff heavily entered into the calculus to trade him. It didn’t help that Strahm’s velocity and strike out rate declined, and that he was in his last year of a three-year contract, but look at these comments from Matt Gelb first, Todd Zolecki second, and then DD:

“The Phillies fielded calls on all three of their lefty relievers — José Alvarado and Tanner Banks included — but were intent on moving Strahm, team sources said. Strahm clashed with coaches and team officials; he was never afraid to voice his opinion on how the bullpen was managed and clubhouse dynamics. A productive three-year relationship had run its course with the growing friction between the two sides.”

“But Strahm’s relationship with the organization had frayed. He had never been afraid to share his opinion on a variety of topics. Strahm said after Game 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, where Kerkering panicked and [made a wild throw to home plate to end the series](https://www.mlb.com/phillies/news/phillies-lose-nlds-2025), that the team never did PFPs (pitchers fielding practice) during the season.

It wasn’t received well.”

“We did plenty and actually as it turns out we did do PFPs in the postseason,” Dombrowski said the following week. “He didn’t do them. OK? But we did.” That was a pretty biting statement by Dave.

So, it looks like a combination of circumstances, including the fact that Bowlan is five years younger, controllable for multiple years, and much cheaper, added to Strahm’s blunt criticism led the team to choose him as the piece to move rather than Alvarado or Banks.