Could the Phillies Use a Pitcher Like Yu Darvish Next Year?
Watching the game last night, one couldn't help but think that Yu Darvish, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, was putting on an audition for the 2018 Phillies. By the time Darvish left in the sixth inning, he had allowed only four hits, one walk and one unearned run. He struck out seven, including his 200th of the season. Despite his short outing, he looked good. A pitcher like Darvish just may be what the Phillies need in 2018. For the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and the first half of the 2017 season, a major weakness for the Phillies was a lack of offense. But the second half of 2017 saw the promotion of young hitters, such as Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro and Rhys Hoskins. Joining players such as Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr, the Phillies have shown that their young guns can hit and score runs. So much so that the conventional wisdom among Phillies fans is that the team should look for quality pitching in this off-season. The injection of one o...