In a rebuild, the first thing you should demonstrate is patience.
My point on the spending in International was that if the allocations were available (and when, I suspect teams hold on to them for their option value until late in the process since the opportunity cost, 3rd tier prospects, is so low), the impact is negligible and delayed for six years - so there is no impact on the rebuild.
Klentak may have a list of guys he wants to bring in, but he's also constrained by informal hiring rules that turn out to be part of legal collusion (that is, you're not supposed to start a bidding war for scouts and coaches). So this may be a process he has to negotiate (i.e. there may be personnel he knows that he'd like to bring in, but has to wait until the time is ripe to avoid alienating other GMs).
Bringing in Matt Stairs was a pretty clear statement of intent, hiring a analytics group, also the promotion of Wathan with his Reading prospects (setting him up a a possible replacement to Pete). McClure seemed to be doing a good job last year, but if he doesn't reverse the young pitcher implosion this year he's probably gone. Pete was probably kept around because he seemed to have patience with the kids, speaks Spanish, and given his age is seen as a placeholder for the losing seasons (easier to recruit a top manager in a couple years when they turn the corner than right now).
I don't see drastic moves because that's not that type of situation. When you have a veteran underachieving team you want to shake them up. When you have a lot of kids pressing, extending the manager for a year provides stability at low cost (not enough money to impact a decision to make a change down the road). I'm sure Klentak is taking notes at both the major league and minor league levels, but who exactly is at fault?
For example, Wiliams and Alfaro were known to lack plate discipline, which is why Texas traded them, and not similar prospects at the same positions.
Velasquez was very raw and wild, which is what we've seen so far.
On the other hand, Cozens has made real progress, Pullin, Perkins, Canelo and Tocci have become more patient at the plate, etc.
The Phillies have drafted far fewer free swingers the last couple years, so that seems to be more of an organizational priority.
It's hard to properly allocate blame in an organization that Klentak has little over a year to influence, which was staid and conservative for decades before he arrived. Jordan joined after the 2011 season.
Drafts did improve, starting in 2012.
Interesting comment by Jordan on Pullin suggests they're pushing Stairs' philosophy down to lower levels (and that he's recovering from an elbow injury which may explain the "weak arm"):
A guy that has had a strong April is Andrew Pullin at Double-A (.358 avg, 5 HR, 14 RBI in 16 games). It seems like all he does is hit since he got there last year. He's been remarkable and a big part of the Reading lineup. Can you talk about him a bit and maybe what his secret is?
Well, he can hit. Bottom line. He's got a fast, short swing and he can hit a good fastball. He can hit a big fastball. He's just developing as a hitter. If he uses the left-center gap to the right field line, he's going to be a complete hitter. He really, really is. And if he can just stay in the center of the field enough to keep through the baseball-- you know, but I don't know what else he can do. He's off to another good start, building off of another good year last year. So, he's healthy. His arm's strong, he's getting stronger. Coming back from an elbow injury. So, it's all good news so far and I like what I'm seeing. I'm here with the club right now.
