The most recent example of this was Ken Rosenthal’s column for Fox on Sunday, headlined, “Not every team that’s rebuilding should be accused of tanking.” The implication of the headline is that teams like the Braves, Brewers and Phillies are not tanking, and do not deserve pejoratives to describe what they are doing in 2016.

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Rosenthal details why they do not deserve pejoratives, and why what these teams are doing is in their best interests, but the argument that they are not tanking falls flat.

“The Phillies, likewise, are not trying to lose – they traded for right-handers Jeremy Hellickson, Charlie Morton and Vince Velasquez to fortify their rotation,” Rosenthal writes.   With all due respect to Hellickson, the 2011 American League Rookie of the Year, the Phillies did not acquire him to win. They acquired him because he is entering his age-29 season, making $7 million in the year before he hits free agency, and he can soak up a bunch of innings. If he recaptures the form of his first two years in the majors after struggling the last three, the Phillies will trade him in July for whatever they can get to maximize their investment.

Morton is a low-risk arm with a 2017 option who could fit the Phillies’ plans as a back-of-the-rotation arm if they’re ready to step forward as contenders a bit ahead of schedule. Velasquez is 23, not eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season, and fits the youth movement as much as any prospect Philadelphia could acquire – he just happens to have a bit of major league experience.

The Phillies are not trying to win in 2016. The players on the field will not actively be trying to lose, but the organization is tanking. There’s no other way to look at it.

The question to ask is why we think tanking is a bad thing. By the very fact that tanking indicates intent, to say that a team is tanking means that there is a plan – like the one followed by the Astros and the Cubs before their rise to contender status in 2016, and for the foreseeable future.

Unlike the NBA, the NFL and the NHL, tanking is not just about hoping for the top draft pick, because draft picks take so long to pan out. Tanking in baseball is about tearing down the major league roster to the bare bones, then building back up anew with prospects acquired during the teardown, freed up payroll space to acquire free agents and then, yes, a draft pick or two.

Freddie Freeman is young enough (26) and signed long enough (through 2021) that the Braves can keep him and build around him. The Phillies’ centerpieces are younger – third baseman Maikel Franco and right-hander Aaron Nola – and were acquired before tanking was part of the plan.

There is a big difference between tanking, which involves an idea of how to emerge from the tank, and simply putting together a terrible team, like the Pirates did for two decades. For those who look at the Brewers and see a $40 million payroll cut from last year, and wonder why not spend a bit more on free agents until the propects are ready, to have a more competitive team, there are two counterpoints.

First is the Rockies, who will spend $110 million this year to finish under .500 and fight with the Padres for the basement in the National League West. Spending is not a guarantee of even being competitive. More importantly, there’s long-range financial planning. Major League Baseball not having a salary cap allows for much more flexibility in year-to-year payroll than other sports have, and a smart team can extend its contending window by stripping down early and saving that money to pay what might otherwise be a bit beyond its means as young stars get toward arbitration and free agency age.

So, it’s true. Not every team that’s rebuilding should be accused of tanking, but the smart ones sure are doing it.