The Philadelphia Phillies weren't sitting around on their hands after Friday morning's move to trade left-hander Matt Strahm to the Kansas City Royals. While there are suspicions that the salary dump was a precursor to a larger move, it's difficult to imagine anyone guessing the Phillies' next move would be to trade for left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It was hard for fans to wrap their heads around the Strahm deal that sent the fan-favorite reliever out of town. But just one day after finalizing the signing of Brad Keller, the trade with the Royals went down nonetheless.