Flexibility is key. That's a statement i am constantly making and especially in baseball, a sport where high-end talent goes nowhere unless it's surrounded by a good supporting cast, Votto, Stanton, and Trout will agree to that,
The importance of flexibility cannot be overstated, but the issue is, whenever you get it, the media and fans press you to give it up.
Two very good examples are the Brewers and Twins.
Both teams experienced success for the first time in a while, Minnesota made the playoffs as a wildcard, Milwaukee came within one game of a postseason berth.
Now both fanbases are very optimistic about the future, looking at young talented rosters, light payrolls, opening up all sorts of possibilities
There's a fine line, these 2 teams must learn to walk it. This goes for every situation, always make a move that's in the team's best interest, don't let circumstances dictate your actions, making a splashy sign, because your rival did, bad idea.
Do not pull back on a trade nor free agent offer, because it will chip away at your flexibility, the entire point of having it is being able to use it to improve your ballclub in the future.
But also don't give Yu Darvish 175 mil over 7 years, just because you can.
The flexibility these 2 teams have right now, goes beyond the prospect of budget room to spend, the way these 2 rosters stand right now, you can find a lot of talent, but there's room to improve everywhere, starters, relievers, catchers, corner infield, middle infield, corner outfield.
All except for:
Twins 2B, Dozer. CF, Buxton
Brewers SS, Arcia.
These are the three spots you'd avoid acquiring a player for and even then you can maneuver around with the DH spot, (Dozier) and a corner OF (Buxton), the majority of Brewers position players can play multiple spots.
Here's my suggestion on what they should try to do.
The Miami Marlins are doing a full rebuild, the team is looking for ways to free up the payroll in the hope of not losing a boatload of money, Loria made a mess with that franchise, got two rings and walked away with a huge profit.
One of the main guys they're looking to get rid of, is Martin Prado he's set to make around 28.5 mil over the next 2 years, and he is coming off a down year which causes a lot of people to assume he is washed up.
But looking at his production all the way to 2016, he has provided solid value throughout his career, both Steamer and Zips project him at around 1-1.5 win for 2018 which is solid.
Miami has two prime assets, that they'd happily keep around for now, but with the right offer, they could easily deal them, Cristian Yelich and JT Realmuto
You see where I am going with this.
Both Milwaukee and Minnesota have the roster flexibility to give Prado playing time and open spots to plug in Yelich or Realmuto.
Looking at both rosters it'd make more sense to pursue Yelich, but Jason Castro and Manny Pina aren't exactly cornerstones.
Going over specific offers doesn't make much sense as you never know which prospects the other team is interested in.
But both teams have the farm to make a compelling offer.
The Twins could offer one of their imtriguing 2B/SS prospects, Nick Gordon or Wander Javier and a SP Fernando Romero or Stephen Gonsalves as the headliner.
The Brewers could dangle one of their outfielders Lewis Brinson, Corey Ray, Keston Hiura along with a starter like Luis Ortiz or Brandon Woodruff as the main piece.
Both of these teams should really consider this, they have the money, it's not a big commitment, Prado still brings valie, Yelich is a game changer for either of them and they have the farm system to do it.
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I"ll see you for the next one.