Weird offseason, wasn’t it?

After finishing yet another disappointing season last fall, the Phillies embarked upon a crucial winter seemingly without direction or much hope.

The unanticipated continuation of the organization’s extended postseason hiatus prompted the end of the Matt Klentak era, but optimism surrounding a much-needed change in direction was overshadowed by uninspiring public comments about the organization’s future from managing partner John Middleton and team president Andy MacPhail.

It appeared it would be struggle to retain the services of All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and starting shortstop Didi Gregorius, while a familiar lack of creativity in fortifying the middle and back end of the roster remained a concern.

Fast forward a little more than four months and many of Phillies fans’ worst fears have been allayed.

After a sleepy start, the Phillies finished the winter at a frantic pace, spearheaded by new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Surprising and fiscally advantageous deals with both Realmuto and Gregorius were aided by the additions of reliever Archie Bradley and a flurry of other intriguing low-buys that could provide the roster some much needed depth.

Now, the team will run it back with a lineup that finished last season’s 60-game sprint among the sport’s best in on-base percentage (3rd), OPS (7th), and runs scored (5th).

The Phillies will also bring back two of the National League’s best starting pitchers from a year ago in Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, which is certainly a good starting point. The team will tell you there’s just as much reason for optimism over the continued development of Zach Eflin, whose ERA has declined in each of the past three seasons and is coming off a career best 10.7 K/9.

As for the back end of the rotation, well, the Phillies are certainly due for a secondary signing to pan out. Both Matt Moore and Chase Anderson should compete with Spencer Howard and, deep breath, Vince Velasquez (who I believe remains a trade candidate) for innings. An ideal situation it is not, but it’s a far better predicament than the team’s recent plight of coming north carrying pricey dead weight in Jake Arrieta and two lottery tickets that read “Nick Pivetta” and “Vince Velasquez.”

And, of course, there’s the bullpen.

After blowing a previously unthinkable number of games a year ago, descriptions of the Phillies bullpen this season may not include words such as “elite” or “shutdown,” but the group should move away from “historically bad” while cutting the amount of times some variation of the word “f*** ” is used in talking about it.

All of that brings us to the question that many are asking themselves as workouts get underway in Clearwater — is this enough?

In a lesser division, it probably would be. In the National League East, the outlook is a bit more ominous. Oddsmakers have the Phillies slotted behind the Braves, Mets and Nationals, and while I’m not as bullish on Washington, it’s hard to argue that this group currently projects beyond a third-place team.

That being said, after an offseason in which both ownership’s plan and desire to win were frequently questioned, the Phillies once again stayed aggressive and spent in an effort to finally get this core over the postseason hump.

Perhaps surprisingly, there appears to be a plan, and there also appears to be reason for hope.

Given where things stood for this organization just a little over four months ago, this is not a bad place to start.