Philadelphia Phillies 2018 Season Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies were in the midst of a complete rebuild. Based on their moves this offseason, the rebuild may be over sooner than we expect.

Unlike the previous year, 2017 was a struggle for the Philadelphia Phillies from the start. Whereas the 2016 incarnation of the team was at .500 on May 31, last year’s Phillies were 17-34. They fell to last place on May 28, and never climbed out of the basement, finishing with the third worst record in baseball at 66-96.

With that record, one would expect that the Phillies would not be emerging from the rebuild for quite some time. Instead, the Phillies were a major player in free agency. Their acquisitions of Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta, as well as their complete revamping of the bullpen, show that the Phillies feel they are much closer than their record would seemingly indicate.

However, the Phillies are still a work in progress. Even with Santana and Arrieta in the fold, there are plenty of questions. However, with youngsters such as Rhys Hoskins, Jorge Alfaro, and J.P. Crawford about to make an impact on the lineup, that rebuild is beginning to show the fruits of the Phillies labor. Likewise, Arrieta and Aaron Nola give Philadelphia a nice combination atop the rotation.

The Philadelphia Phillies still have plenty of work left to do. However, they are much closer to contending than they appeared to be at the end of the 2017 campaign.