The Phillies last winter spent $3.9 million on major-league free agents. The winter before that, $7 million. They spent more ($11 million) last Thursday just to rid themselves of two players, Ryan Howard and Charlie Morton, through buyout payments.
So the payroll slate is clean. Cleaner, maybe, than ever before. But this Phillies offseason, which begins this week with the commencement of free agency and the annual general managers' meetings, could be less about signings and more about trades.
And patience.
The Phillies are not likely to apply drastic alterations this winter because there are few moves that can morph a team outscored by 186 runs one season into a contending group the next.