Will Phillies keep playing the rent-a-veteran game?

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Phillies assembled here, a different team now past the melodrama that is the annual July trade deadline. Their oldest active player is 33-year-old reserve Andres Blanco. The highest-paid active player is Freddy Galvis, at $4.35 million. The veteran influences acquired last winter to stabilize and guide a young roster have departed.

That, Pete Mackanin admitted, is fine.

He surveyed their contributions. Howie Kendrick provided a professional at-bat, but he appeared in just 39 games. Michael Saunders failed to do his job. Jeremy Hellickson took the ball every fifth day and ate innings. Pat Neshek and Joaquin Benoit were solid late-inning presences, but relievers are not clubhouse leaders.

"So their effect on everybody wasn't as big as it could have been had we been more competitive," Mackanin said before Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. "The younger guys are taking on a personality of their own without those guys because they didn't have that much of an influence."

Last summer, after the deadline, Mackanin campaigned for two "professional hitters" to add to his lineup. This year? He will refrain. There is, in his view, not as much of a need in 2018.

"I'd like to think so," Mackanin said.

The Phillies have time to decide that. They may not pursue a veteran on a multiyear contract through free agency or a trade this winter — even though the money exists to make such a move. They could seek a veteran starter on a short-term deal to bolster the rotation. They could mine for upgrades to the bullpen.

The delicate balance, for general manager Matt Klentak, is to determine how much the Phillies should rely upon younger players in 2018.

[Sizing up the outfield for the remainder of the season]

It is too premature, Klentak said, to know if the Phillies will reprise the plan from the last two winters or if they would target players on multiyear commitments.

"As a general rule, I don't mind the one-year deals, whether you're a rebuilding club or a win-now club," Klentak said. "There's some value in these kinds of deals, as evidenced by the trades we made this week. So I would not say that we're out of that, though I don't think our offseason plan changes by virtue of the fact that we made these four trades."

Klentak acquired nine veterans on major-league deals, through trades or free agency, in his first two offseasons. The Phillies spent $85.6 million and traded three single-A players to net those veterans. The pitchers — Hellickson, Neshek, Benoit, Clay Buchholz, Charlie Morton, and David Hernandez — produced a 3.93 ERA in 481 innings. The hitters — Kendrick, Saunders, and Peter Bourjos — hit .256 with a .698 OPS in 753 plate appearances.

They yielded six minor leaguers, most in A-ball, and $1 million in added international bonus money. If one of those lottery tickets reaches the majors, the Phillies could feel good about their haul. They will not know for years.

[Minor-league stats for the Phillies top prospects]

Mackanin said his stance on adding veteran hitters has changed because the current roster has gained experience. Maikel Franco, in 2018, will be in his third full season. Odubel Herrera will be in his fourth. Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez will be veterans. The Phillies could add Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery to the mix. Aaron Altherr and Nick Williams, too.

The at-bats for a veteran in 2018 may not be available.

"I felt it was important for the younger guys, to not put so much pressure on Franco and Herrera," Mackanin said. "Those middle-of-the-lineup guys, so they could feed off of somebody giving you professional at-bats. Kendrick gave us professional at-bats in the 30-some games he played. If Saunders worked out, with him and Kendrick somewhere in the middle, that would have helped the younger guys."