Before pitchers and catchers even report to Clearwater, speculation for July’s end was already in an article, and it involved the Philadelphia Philles, their recently acquired starter and his former team.

The Deadline Ahead:

Decisions like bills have a due date, but what happens between the present and the future determines the choices.

Confused by the recent swap for Clay Buchholz, Double D, a poster from another site, expressed uncertainty regarding the move by general manager Matt Klentak. Well, it blocks hurlers called-up during 2016 from making the Opening Day roster. However, the first replacement last season was near the end of April, and the promoted starters showed promise.

With Jeremy Hellickson, Buchholz, Jerad Eickhoff, Aaron Nola and Vince Velasquez, the Philadelphia Phillies have their rotation. And you can almost hear an offseason call between Zach Eflin and Jake Thompson. Eflin states unless a starter isn’t healthy enough in late March, they’ll be teammates again with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. And competitors too.

IN OTHER WORDS: “It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.” – Carlton Fisk

At Lehigh Valley, Eflin and Thompson will have company: right-handers Alec Asher, Ben Lively and Mark Appel. Additionally, Double D, southpaw Adam Morgan and righty Nick Pivetta will be in the mix, but Pivetta may return to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils after only five starts last year with the IronPigs. On the other hand, Morgan could end up as a long man in Philly because he has shown improvement. And he’s a lefty.