{"id":80721,"date":"2018-01-29T18:46:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T18:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"\/rcntv\/?p=80721"},"modified":"2023-04-13T15:25:47","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T15:25:47","slug":"phillies-seasonhs-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/phillies-seasonhs-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies Off-Season\/HS Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been an interesting off-season for the Phillies<\/a>\u2014not one that has gone on without contradictions.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, the Phillies repeatedly talked about patience and giving young players like third baseman Mikael Franco, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and others an opportunity to play every game while insisting they were not going to make any big splashes this off-season.<\/p>\n

Then, in the span of a couple days they paid handsome amounts to obtain two established, veteran relievers and one of the most consistent bats in the game, in first baseman Carlos Santana.<\/p>\n

One move that did make a lot of sense was adding some depth and experience behind the plate. The Phillies signed a former Lehigh Valley standout, Matt McBride, who became a free agent this winter after playing in the Indians<\/a>, Rockies<\/a> and Athletics<\/a>\u2019 organizations.\u00a0 I talked with the veteran catcher about his approach to the upcoming spring training, the Phillies\u2019 young starting pitching staff and the changing philosophy for teams to use more relievers\u2026<\/p>\n