Looking at this offseason on a MLB-wide scale, few would bring up the moves the Phillies made. The White Sox kickstarted their rebuild with two blockbuster trades, and several closers earned record-breaking contracts. Comparatively, the moves made by Philadelphia were rather minute.
However, Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein took note of the moves made by general manager Matt Klentak. She gave the club an A- grade, saying “they accelerated their rebuild with an eye on bigger moves in the years to come.”
The first move Apstein highlighted was trading for Clay Buchholz in exchange for “middling” second base prospect Josh Tobias.