3 months ago, none of us imagined that the Phillies would be knocking on the door of the division title and in serious contention for the wild card spot - and I think a lack of expectations/pressure may be the reason. I, for one, hope the future isn't mortgaged for a major push for this year.
The concerns are:
3B - Franco is Franco. Going to hit .250 and hit 25 homers - is that the end of the world? His OBP is killer though, but he is still only 25. The upgrades are Macahado, which will cost a fortune, Moustakas and I guess Adrian Beltre might be available.
Bench: Walding, Cozens, Valentin, Florimon ....... I wish Quinn could stay healthy because he is what the team needs, especially since Herrera and Hernandez don't steal bases like they should be. A base running threat can help a team late in the game. Billy Hamilton is available and won't cost much. He is not an everyday player, but can play 2B, SS and CF and can run.
RF: The Williams and Altherr platoon is not producing like we had hoped. I still think Williams has a much higher ceiling than what he is displaying right now.
and then there is SS: Crawford has not become the stud many of us had hoped for when he was the first round draft pick. He hit .308 and .285 in single A and then .265 in AA and .244 in AAA, yet the reigns were handed to him to be the everyday SS. Glavis for DeLos Santos looks like it may have been a fantastic trade, but...
A rebuilding team can afford to have Crawford and 2B Kingerey struggle at SS and can give Franco and his OBP another year and can let a RF platoon hit like they are, but a contending team cannot.
I am not as high on Crawford as others are and I want to see Kingery back at his natural position and I am nowhere near giving up on Williams.
So the only tinkering I hope they do is maybe adding a Hamilton to join Valentin on the bench or perhaps and A.J. Ellis to work along side young Knapp and Alfaro.
On the mound: Nola and we know Arrieta will right the ship very soon and even Eflin look like a pretty darn good top 3 for a contending team. We all know that Pivetta and Velasquez lack consistency to say the least. So do they trade for and bring back Happ or Hamels? Is Tyson Ross an upgrade? What becomes of Lively, De Los Santos, Irvin and even Anderson at AAA - do they get a shot before they trade for a starter? and Eickhoff will be back sometime this year, too. That is a crowded starting rotation puzzle.
Ramos, Dominquez and Arano are a great thresome in the pen. Hunter.... then there is a big drop off to Morgan, Rios and Thompson and we don't know what Davis will do- hopefully take some pressure off of Morgan. I still think Thompson has some real potential to be a Ryan Madson in the pen. Neshek and Garcia should be back, too. Leibrandt, Windle and even Curtis and Milner are in AAA throwing pretty well. They could check in on Brad Bach in Baltimore or Shane Greene in Detroit, but again Garcia and Neshek will return soon and Rios goes back and so will Thompson.
Do they need a closer? I don't think it will be worth what a Brad Hand or Iglesias will cost.
So with what is available at AAA and the future, I maintain they do very little tinkering except maybe a very low cost Hamilton and Ellis type trade.