The heavy lifting for 2017 is more or less complete, the final nail driven home on Thursday afternoon with the promotion of slugging first base prospect Rhys Hoskins from Triple A. The Phillies do not figure to be busy during the August waiver trade period, with reserve outfielder Daniel Nava the only potential candidate to be moved. What you see is what you are likely to get for most of the rest of the way.
This offseason, though, figures to be an interesting one, for reasons foreshadowed by Thursday’s promotion of Hoskins. The Phillies seem to have known for much of the last couple of months that they would need to find a way to get Hoskins’ bat to the majors, despite the capable contributions of 25-year-old Tommy Joseph at first base.