Grading Phillies biggest acquisitions for 2018 season

With the end of the season less than two weeks away, let’s take a look back and grade the majors moves the Phillies to improve the team this season.

While the 2017 season started off terribly for the Phillies, they bounced back in the second half as younger players blossomed into new roles in the majors. They still finished the year 66-96, but a 37-38 record in the second half provided hope that the team could improve in 2018.

To aid their improvement in 2018, the team signed two of the bigger free agents on the market, Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta, to three-year contracts. Arrieta didn’t even sign until spring training as this past offseason was incredibly slow to develop.

These signings and improved play by those already on the team led to a huge first half for the Phillies, climbing all the way to first place. The club saw the opportunity to make the playoffs and made several trades before after the waiver deadline to patch some of the holes on the roster. They did not go out and land the big fish, deciding not to break the bank for a team that even at its peak wasn’t a World Series contender.

Now that the season is reaching its end, let’s take a look back at these acquisitions and see how they impacted the team this year.