GM’s Plans for 2018’s Phillies

If you can envision the non-traditional options available to the front office, you can understand the logic of general manager Matt Klentak of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alternatives:

Sometimes, the answers are right in front of you, but you will only realize them when you consider another’s point of view.

When many fans listened to Klentak over the campaign’s final weekend, they incorporated their perception of upcoming moves with the GM’s comments regarding the offseason. Unfortunately, their conclusions are more their thinking than Klentak’s. They hinge on their negative or positive view of the Phils for next summer: For instance, a losing 162 ahead means adding veterans to flip next July. On the other hand, if they expect a possible Wild Card, those fans believe a trade for Giancarlo Stanton is a possibility. Perception gets in the way.

For some reason, the faithful have difficulty with the business side of baseball. As an example, management isn’t swapping a regular to make room for a rookie with zero MLB at-bats: second baseman Scott Kingery. Translation: Rhys Hoskins earned his playing time and J.P. Crawford still has to.

"FOOD FOR THOUGHT “When the Supreme Court says baseball isn’t run like a business, everybody jumps up and down with joy. When I say the same thing, everybody throws pointy objects at me.” – Bill Veeck"

From now through October, Klentak will be agonizing about whom to leave off the 40-man roster for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. The exec won’t be able to select and carry anyone for an entire year because he already has better talent in the pipeline. Ergo, same as 2017: zero picks.

When locals look at the schedule, they don’t consider the endurance level physically required to handle it. And most organizations don’t have more than one top player at each position. But if they did, those clubs could field a fresher squad, win more games, and have a better bench.