FanSided Offseason Simulation: Phillies final move and wrap-up

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Manager Pete Mackanin #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies fist bumps Nick Williams #5 after the game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on September 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Mets 6-2. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Manager Pete Mackanin #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies fist bumps Nick Williams #5 after the game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on September 29, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Mets 6-2. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
3 of 4
Phillies
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 21: Cesar Hernandez #16 of the Philadelphia Phillies high-fives teammates after scoring in the fifth inning during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on September 21, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Infield

The infield saw the most overhaul of any position group at the meetings. Three Opening Day starters from 2017 were traded to various teams. Hernandez was sent to the Angels, Joseph to the Indians, and Rupp to the Pirates.

More from Phillies News

All of these moves were motivated by logjams at their various positions. Hernandez was the easiest to trade of the middle infielders and fetched a decent return. There were better options behind the plate in Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp, so Rupp was expendable. The same thing happened to Joseph at first base as Rhys Hoskins stole the show in the last two months of the season.

On Opening Day, J.P. Crawford and Freddy Galvis should be the starters up the middle with Pennington, Jesmuel Valentin, or Pedro Florimon backing them up. This will allow No. 3 prospect Scott Kingery to get his feet wet in Triple-A before (hopefully) coming up to the majors midseason. The team will still have to find someone as a backup first baseman, but those aren’t hard to find.

Schedule