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Originally Posted by bluejays
I'm in no way arguing if they can or can't sign Soto. I'm saying that they shouldn't because there's a time and a place for that and they simply are far from contenders. So you're spending money on a top heavy lineup without drafting. So you're going to be in limbo with huge contracts on the books. If you're not a contender, is there really an expectation to push hard each night if you're a guy like Soto, or do you know you can get away with simply being better than average? I ask all these questions because it's a disaster when it comes to long term contracts (personally I don't believe any players should be getting that absurd money), more even more than that, certain moves need to be done to recoup prospects that aren't there which should be there. So perhaps this is all a blessing in disguise, to hit the reset button. If we had numerous prospects on the cusp of coming up, this would all be fine - buy a season or two and go for it again. But there really aren't any game changers expected soon, so you have to look to the future of 3-4 years, getting new young potential, drafting well, and hoping it all aligns again. One thing for sure is you just can't continually deal young guys for a quick push. Baseball continually shows us teams can age in a blink of an eye, and guys at their mid careers can just fall off. You trade enough prospects and suddenly your team looks old. It happened with AA's moves at the end, and it's showing even worse with Atkins' moves all this time. They really do have to create sustainability.
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What would you do instead though? Signing lower end free agents on 1 year deals doesn't get you much in terms of prospect value in trades. If they sell at the deadline how much do you think they get for KK?
If you can sign a guy like Soto I think you do it. You won't get the #1 guy to come to Canada very often, so whenever you can I think you should. This year they signed IKF, Turner, and KK for $31 MM. I'd rather have Soto, and 2 internal choices even if they're only so-so (eg Soto takes KK spot in the OF, put Barger at 3B and DH Horowitz) instead of IKF/Turner/KK. Maybe $31MM isn't enough for Soto, but I bet it's close, and that lineup probably wins more often and is more exciting to watch.
Obviously being able to promote quality prospects is key to any success, but I don't think sucking to draft high is that big a requirement for MLB. Take the Orioles - sure, Adley was a #1 pick but Gunnar Henderson was the second rounder, which means every MLB team passed on him at least once. Or Elly De La Cruz and his sub-$100k signing bonus.