Because the Phillies need four pitchers, some dollars must come via addition by subtraction, and general manager Matt Klentak realizes the organization’s financial picture has changed drastically from last offseason.

Reconfiguring the offense:

Beginning with the hot stove league, the Philadelphia Phillies brain trust has some thought-provoking decisions, and overspending isn’t a consideration. In fact, buying a pennant mostly fails, and paying top dollar for talent cannot plug every hole. No, committing $488 million more before 2019 didn’t cover the rotation.

IN OTHER WORDS: “I wish I’d said it first, and I don’t even know who did: The only problems that money can solve are money problems.” – Mignon McLaughlin

If you had expected three .300 hitters like one local radio personality or had believed overhyped predictions, you probably questioned your hopes for the Fightins. Unfortunately, some needed one scapegoat or more to blame, but did it really help?

Looking at ’19 as a whole with a .500 record, you miss the segments within the entire 162. To illustrate, Andrew McCutchen‘s days ended with a painful injury, but how did the club do up till then? And after Charlie Manuel became the hitting coach, how did they do under his tutelage? Combine both?

When you consider it, some fans dream over the winter of capturing the National League flag because the campaign usually disappoints them. But the picture here is studying Klentak’s options to figure out what’s coming. For instance, he’ll probably move some dollars from the offense to the entire pitching staff.

Basically, he could cut one player and swap two others from 2019’s Opening Day nine. And he has the in-house personnel to replace them already and lower payroll, plus the GM would still have a left-right-lineup balance as well. However, two trade-chip regulars will likely be part of a package deal or two.

Counting on the offense to average seven runs a game isn’t realistic because most hitters are streaky, and the red pinstripes need two starters and two solid firemen for the seventh, eighth and/or ninth innings. Concerning the rotation, though, the minimum requirement is a two-slot hurler.

In the batting order, the good guys have three hitters with less than three seasons under their belts. And those are the developmental years before a player makes an impact: the rule, not the exception. Aside from potential superstars, a youngster reaches that level in or after his third major league summer.