By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
During his tenure as the Baltimore Orioles general manager, Andy MacPhail was often criticized for being too patient. Now the Philadelphia Phillies president, MacPhail and his handpicked general manager, Matt Klentak, heard the same criticism this offseason. It was always a silly critique, but Sunday, when news broke that the team agreed to a three-year contract with free-agent RHP Jake Arrieta, the duo, Klentak specifically, was vindicated.
Arrieta, as first reported by USA Today's Bob Nightengale, will make $75 million over the course of his three-year deal. He's not going to struggle financially, but exactly a month ago, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that "Arrieta wasn't immediately prepared to accept a six-year deal for what was believed to be for a similar annual salary [to Yu Darvish]." A month after that report, Klentak signed him to a three-year/$75 million deal, a significantly smaller deal than the six-year/$126 million deal that Darvish signed with the Cubs.
The patience shown by the Klentak in the team's offseason quest to improve their starting rotation is commendable.
The Phillies No. 1 hole entering this offseason was their starting rotation. The club explored all avenues. Tampa Bay Rays RHP Chris Archer was among the starting pitchers that they checked in on, but the team deemed the asking price in a trade to be too high. Top prospect Sixto Sanchez was never going to be traded, but by not forcing a major trade, the team now still has Adonis Medina, Ranger Suarez, JoJo Romero, Seranthony Dominguez and Franklyn Kilome, their remaining top pitching prospects. Those prospects could either be used to bolster the rotation in the coming years, or in a future trade when the Phillies find an asking price more within a range they are comfortable with.
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Though the Phillies did reportedly check in on Lance Lynn last month, there were evidently too many red flags with the 30-year-old, who signed a one-year/$12 million contract with the Minnesota Twins Saturday. Klentak and company could have caved on Arrieta earlier this offseason, but they operated with the mindset that unless Arrieta's price dropped rather drastically, they weren't going to be serious players for the former National League Cy Young Award winner. The Phillies played hard to get, and ultimately it was Boras and Arrieta who caved, meeting the Phillies desired contract length.
Even beyond the months-long cat-and-mouse game with Arrieta's camp, Klentak has had a strong offseason. Are the Phillies going to win one of the National League's two Wild Cards in 2018? Who knows. Has the front-office had an offseason that gives them a much better chance to be competitive in 2018? You bet.
First-year manager Gabe Kapler will have Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford, Jorge Alfaro and Nick Williams for a full season in 2018. Klentak signed Carlos Santana, one of the best clubhouse presences in the sport, to a three-year/$60 million deal in December. Scott Kingery figures to join a lineup that also includes Odubel Herrera and Cesar Hernandez this summer. On top of Hector Neris, Adam Morgan, Luis Garcia and Hoby Milner, Klentak used the team's excess financial flexibility to lure veterans Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter to Philadelphia this offseason, setting the team up to potentially have one of the best bullpens in the sport. A lot of how the team's season progresses will still come down to the development of Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta, but Arrieta's name being penciled into the rotation certainly gives the team more credibility.
In an era of life where patience is hard to come by, it's become an increasingly important trait for general managers and front office executives to have. For much of this offseason, Klentak displayed that patience, and was criticized for it. Sunday, he showed a trait that some weren't sure he had: an ability to pounce when an opportunity presented itself, which will at least temporarily silence his critics.
