The Phillies have swapped in veterans over the years, having climbed over the bodies of countless Jeff Francoeur’s, Delmon Young’s, and Daniel Nava’s to get to this point. With a three-year deal signed just before Christmas, the Phillies gave 31-year-old Carlos Santana a longer, more intentional look than his predecessors, and in doing so sent waves of chatter through the rumor mill.
Eventually, it died out when the Phillies did none of the predicted follow-up moves over the course of many, many weeks: They didn’t sign a starting pitcher. They didn’t trade one (or more) of their young outfielders.