TAMPA, Fla. -- Before the Phillies faced the Yankees in an exhibition here Wednesday, some folks within the Philadelphia organization had nice things to say about Rule 5 selection Odubel Herrera, who was plucked from the Texas Rangers after winning a Double-A batting title last season.

Then Herrera had another good day, reaching base four times and stealing three bases, as Matt Breen writes. Check out some video of his day's work here.

The Phillies are in for a very difficult season, and they play in a tough division that has at least three good teams in the Nationals, Marlins and Mets, so it's possible Philadelphia will at least flirt with 100 losses. But 2015 should be when the roster turnaround begins, the shift to get younger players to make the team better down the road, and the Phillies are in position to take a shot with somebody like Herrera.

If the Phillies think he could be someone who can help them in the years ahead, they should play him. They should make all their personnel decisions through that prism. In some respects, the lack of expectations for the team this year frees them as they make these types of choices.

If they believe Darin Ruf could be a guy who could help them for the next three or four years, what's the point of running out Ryan Howard into the regular season. If they think Ken Giles is their closer of the future, there isn't much point in keeping Jonathan Papelbon in the role.

They also should at least explore all of the ideas that could be on the table in possible trades of Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.