Think back to the 2017-18 off-season:
- The Phillies had spent the past six years either trying to compete and failing, or trying to rebuild and failing and not even hoping to compete.
- Aaron Nola was showing flashes of stardom.
- Rhys Hoskins had just come up and gone on a tear, setting records for home runs at the start of a career.
- The Phillies’ farm system was ranked among the best in the sport.
- J.P. Crawford, Scott Kingery, and Sixto Sanchez were all top 50 or better MLB prospects, and the Phillies had anywhere from four to seven on the most-referenced Top 100 lists:
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There were still many unknowns about the future, but whether it was because they wanted to return to relevance in the city’s sports scene, or simply because winning baseball is more fun and exciting, Phillies ownership made the decision that there was enough talent coming up from the farm system to begin competing once more.