Completing the first half with an 8-5 mark, the Phillies returned from the All-Star break to face 10 defining contests out of 15, and general manager Matt Klentak will base his deadline approach on these results.

Stretch drive:

While the Philadelphia Phillies faithful bemoan not dominating the National League East, they might not realize their club is one of five battling for two NL Wild Card berths. In fact, those other four franchises are at .500 or above. Under the microscope, however, no organization is the division champion just yet.

IN OTHER WORDS: “If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun.” – Leonard Marx

If you began this 162 with win-now expectations of a World Series appearance, you believed that was the guaranteed minimum from the Fightins. Realistically, capturing the NL East was a four-team competition in April. But harder with injuries, no?

Concluding the campaign is over, some fans ask if the red pinstripes should be sellers. Apparently, they either don’t consider the NL Wild Card Game as contending or assume other clubs are automatically better.

In the NL East, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals appear to be unbeatable. However, this assumption depends on Atlanta and Washington not having a cold spell. On the other hand, the hometown nine must hold off three franchises at .500 or better for the second wild card.

Regarding injuries, the good guys have lost the leadoff man who initiated many rallies, a new left fielder, and eight relievers including two top fireman. And their second-best starter will pitch through a bone spur (elbow) for three months. Basically, the offense, defense, rotation and relief corps are not close to full strength.

A gripe of some supporters is that the organization should exceed the competitive-balance threshold and give them a one-game shot at the NLDS. However, this is an annual ritual, not a one-off chance. In 2019’s five-game series, the opponent for the NL Wild Card victor will probably be the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Klentak will be a diligent buyer if the Phils have a reasonable possibility at the divisional title or to add a 2020 piece. And he’ll trade decent prospects for that two-slot hurler, or he’ll deal average MiLB talent and take on dollars for stopgap arms: a wild-card shot. So, the direction will depend on his players, and they know it.