McCaffery

He pitched through the seventh, didn’t allow a run, won 9-0 and went on to what has been, and might continue to be, a satisfying major-league career.

Moore was talking about that Wednesday, and about why he dismissed some recent big-league offers for a one-year deal with the Phillies. Out of the big leagues since injuring his knee in 2019 while with the Tigers, Moore spent last season in Japan, striking out 98 in 15 games for Fukuoka, which went 73-42 in the Pacific League.

‘’They dominated, especially the last three months of the season,’’ Moore said. ‘’It had been a long time, probably since amateur baseball sometime, where I had that feeling. We were supposed to win every game.’’

Moore was remembering that first year in Tampa and his most recent season on Japan’s third-largest island. He was remembering that he was taught not in one culture but two, that winning matters. And he was convinced that his latest career choice would give him that opportunity.

‘’It’s just my opinion, but of the teams I had the opportunity to pitch for this year, this is the one that had the best chance of competing at a high level this year,’’ Moore said. ‘’I have played on some pretty good teams and I have played on some teams that have had long seasons. That feeling is pretty invigorating. ‘’For me, that decision was easy.’’ Any player will say something similar joining a new team, so there is time before the stadium staff must hang the protective plastic curtains for all those champagne celebrations the 2021 Phillies expect to unload. But not unlike Archie Bradley or Sam Coonrod in the bullpen, or Ivan Nova or (soon) Chase Anderson at the back of the rotation, the Phillies’ pitching staff has gone from messy to sensible. And that’s all that was necessary after the flubbed era of Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak: An idea that the people in charge have enough of an eye for pitching to know better than to trust Brandon Workman.

Tacking a 31-year-old, knee-repaired Moore onto the rotation wasn’t exactly like blending Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt into the work schedule. But the pitching staff reformatted by Dave Dombrowski and Sam Fuld should be useful to a team with an explosive offense.

‘’I played with Matty for parts of three years,’’ Fuld said. ‘’When he came up in ‘11, we were all excited to see him. He’d set the minor leagues on fire that year. In September, he stepped right in and was arguably like the best pitcher on the planet. I mean, he was unbelievable. So I have pretty vivid memories of that.’’

It was a little biting that the new general manager’s best memory of Moore was from the last season that the Phillies made the playoffs. For Moore, it was literally a baseball lifetime ago. But he was impressive enough overseas to pick up a number of offers, none of which he chose to share, and Dombrowski long has shown the ability to know when a player can help.

Moore is no threat to dislodge Aaron Nola or Zack Wheeler from Opening Day honors, or to take an inning away from Zach Eflin. More than once, though, Wednesday, Dombrowski hinted that a current starter could be pushed to the bullpen. It shouldn’t take a monster leap to assume that that would be ‘’Five Inny’’ Vinny Velasquez. So ticket Spencer Howard for the No. 4 spot, make Moore the morning-line favorite for No. 5, and use Nova as insurance. If Velasquez is No. 7, that sounds about right, too.

‘’I’ve never been much on prognostication,’’ Dombrowski said. ‘’I figured that stuff always works itself out. But I like the club we have and are putting together. A lot of things have to go well for you in a year to win. Winning is tough. You need not only to perform, but you have to stay healthy. You have to stay focused. You have to do little things.

‘’Those things will take care of themselves. But we like the team that we’re putting out there and we’ll see what happens.’’

That has been the Phillies’ messaging this week, as they load the equipment truck for the made-for-TV run to Clearwater. J.T. Realmuto projected it after committing to a five-year contract. Bryce Harper implied it with his ‘’Let’s go,’’ text to the catcher, multiple exclamation points included.

Soon, the Phillies will formally re-introduce Didi Gregorius, a winner. Moore is a winner. Bradley has been on playoff teams, including last year with the Reds. Nova has Yankees baseball DNA. So does Joe Girardi.

‘’Acquiring pitching depth is important, because you know at some point you are going to need that depth,’’ the manager chipped in. ‘’And I like where we’re at.’’

As Moore learned long ago, it’s an attitude that can be infectious.

CHRIS O’MEARA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pitcher Matt Moore, seen in his last major league port of call with Detroit during spring training in 2019.