The Phillies wisely continue to stick with short-term commitments in filling out their 2017 roster, picking up right-hander Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox in exchange for cab fare and a fringe prospect well outside of their organizational top-10. For Boston, this is mostly about clearing money, as well as closing the book on one of their most talented and frustrating pitchers of the last 15 years.

I suppose the trade of Buchholz will reduce the incidence of baseball-related anxiety in New England by 30 percent, as the gap between his ability and his performance could be utterly maddening. One of the most athletic pitchers in baseball, Buchholz can show an above-average to plus cutter and has long had a plus or better changeup, but his command wavers from adequate to awful, especially of his fastball, which was the pitch behind 70 percent of the homers he gave up in 2016.

I wouldn’t just hand-wave away his problems with the long ball, but his sudden descent into Jim Acker territory turned him from a serviceable fourth starter into persona non grata, and if this was merely bad luck, or perhaps an issue Buchholz had pitching at Fenway Park -- his home ERA was 1.70 higher than his road ERA thanks to nearly double the home run rate -- then a change of town and league might make him worth the pickup for Philadelphia.

The Phillies’ rotation could be set now with Buchholz, Jeremy Hellickson, Jerad Eickhoff, and the two if-healthy starters, Vincent Velasquez and Aaron Nola. Jacob Thompson becomes the sixth starter and perhaps starts the season in Triple-A to figure out where his strikeouts went, while Zach Eflin could serve as a long man or transition to full-time relief.

The Red Sox primarily get salary relief here, as there was no place for Buchholz on their staff for 2017. Infielder Josh Tobias is a fringy prospect but better than a mere organizational player -- that is, there’s a chance he’ll end up appearing in the big leagues and having a little value.

Tobias was one of the best college seniors available in the 2015 draft class, and he played well in his pro debut, but was sent to Low-A Lakewood as a 23-year-old to start 2016 because one of the Phillies’ top prospects, Scott Kingery, plays the same position and began the season in High-A Clearwater. Tobias has some bat speed and strong enough hands to hit for modest power, maybe 10-12 homers in a full season, with a high contact rate. He’s no longer much of a runner and, although he played mostly second base in the Phillies’ system, if he stays on the dirt at all it’ll likely be back at third base, where he played most of his games while at the University of Florida. I think there’s enough ability to hit here to get Tobias to the big leagues, although it’s likely as a bench option or an up-and-down guy.