The Phillies have entered the last two seasons with little emphasis on wins and losses, as they instead focused on developing their young players and finding out about the prospects that have begun to emerge from triple A. That should change in 2018.
“Without question,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “When you’re looking to sign free agents, they’re out there and they want to have a choice to make. To me we have to show we’re on the verge of becoming that team that we’re looking for. If a free agent has a choice between us and a team that’s perennial in the race, that doesn’t bode well.