So as you mentioned before teams aren't giving up their prospects as much anymore, even for someone who isn't a rental. Things tend to ebb and flow over time, and you'd think eventually the trend will revert to teams giving up huge deals in trades, wouldn't you? Eventually there has to be some blowback from teams not going all in and holding on to prospects only for it all to fail while they didn't do everything they could.

As to Merrifield, I understand not giving him away, and it's just ridiculous that he doesn't get the recognition he deserves as one of the better players in baseball. He absolutely should warrant a hefty return in a trade. My concern then goes to what happens at the end of his contract after 2022 when I believe he'll be 33. He has an option year from what I have read for 2023. I'm of the opinion that we likely still won't be contenders by then, so it really does suck to see him wasting his entire career on subpar to absolutely awful teams.
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Which just appears to hurt the small market teams even more. Cleveland used to be able to count on the ability to trade someone like C.C. Sabathia or Cliff Lee for a haul. Now that doesn't seem possible any more. MLB took away the one loophole a team like KC used to take advantage of when they'd offer huge bonuses to coax high school players to sign with KC in the draft. If the current trend continues, how does a small market team get ahead unless they hit on the majority of their draft picks?
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I wouldn't count on that though. All these front offices are into analytics now and run by Ivy Leaguers. It's not even about how cheap an owner is anymore, well sometimes it is, but all of these front offices realize prospects are so much cheaper than any free agent.

In terms of cost efficiency and pure value, you're better off developing your own guys. It's why you see teams like the Dodgers and Yankees who have tons of money hoarding prospects like they're the Pirates.
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Cal Quantrill was, but he no longer qualifies that way anymore. Cantillo is a fringe 100 guy so is Arias. They basically got 3 guys who are fringe top 100 prospects, Quantrill and Naylor are already up and were well thought of but Naylor is what he is, he's a bigger dude that is a limited fielder and hasn't show the pop he was expected to.

I have no idea why they took Hedges though, yes he is an awesome defensive catcher and basically perfect as a backup but he is so awful as a hitter just so awful.
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They didn't really take it away, the big market teams just got smarter about who they hired.

Every now and then they'll make a big move to go for it. San Diego is all in because Preller basically has to show results or someone else will reap the rewards of his work.
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Go Padres!
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They're fun to root for and they have some former Royals so I find myself pulling for them now, they've been bad for so long they deserve a run.
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And I just came across this..hopefully this isn't what we are subject to forever...

Cleveland really messed up a core of Kluber, Bauer, Clevinger, Bieber, Lindor and Jose Ramirez. Decided it was better to sell parts with two top-10 hitters and three top-15 pitchers.

If you aren’t going to supplement that? How can you ever win it all?

I’ll tell you how: Teams like Cleveland are hoping to luck into a World Series title with a perfect season where all their prospects hit and they make a marginal upgrade or two that pays off big.

They win, then they turn around and deal everyone expensive and start it all over.

Basically, even if you build a tremendous young team that wins it all, it won’t have sustained success. That’s a fallacy. The team has no incentive to add $$$ if it won cheap. And can cash in on a win while selling off expensive guys.

Anyway, these 5-6 year long rebuilds used to sold as “this will set us up to be a perennial winner.” That’s not happening. If you’re cheap, you stay cheap.

One more thing and I'm done here, I promise. Why do we accept Cleveland has to have a low payroll? Are we really blaming small market when they have the second-richest owner in the AL?


That is scathing is pretty accurate honestly.
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THAT'S what the Padres are doing.

Very nice. Super impressed with that org and they are flat out fun to root for right now. Hope they make noise in the playoffs this year.

I feel for the Cleveland fans I know. Padres fans were so bummed about the trade last night that many felt they were out of the running for Clev. Really speaks to the job Preller has done since he initially took over (when he "went" for it like it was MLB the Show). He's fun to watch and from the time being has earned a complete pass from me (which, I'm sure, will mean a lot to him).

Good stuff.


GMDM has showed he's not afraid to add pieces to "go for it" when his window is there. His signings may not always work (I.E. Kennedy, Hammel, etc), but you have to admire that he's not going to sit on his hands (like the mid 2010's Pirates and Cleveland). For every move that didn't work, GMDM hit all 7's in 2014 and 2015 and you have to think he'll have even more flexibility to make moves like that now that he presumably won't be blocked by Glass whenever David wanted to cut costs (Glass even stipulated that Zo and Cueto's 2015 salaries had to be covered by A's and Reds for the 2015 trades to work). With a KC ownership group, it's quite possible those restrictions won't be there any longer.
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That doesn't even mention the Wil Myers trade. I can't imagine any other GM in baseball doing that now.
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Pretty much when you acquire what the Padres did and don't give up a top 5 prospect especially when you have guys rated in the top 20 in all of baseball...that shows you teams don't move top level dudes.

The Indians got a ton of quantity in the deal but there is no real needle mover in there.

Myers was what he got got dealt, 4th on the prospect list? If you did that now people would skewer you unless you got something crazy in return, like Lindor.
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Elite players aren't getting traded. That's why the elite prospects aren't getting traded.
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Even then, the Dodgers only had to give up a couple big guys for Betts and Price. One of them was Verdugo who is an elite, elite prospect for sure. But that was for a top 5 player and Price who is a Cy Young winning pitcher. There was a time where you'd get 4-5 guys for a package of two stars like that.

And even in that situation... the Dodgers figured out how to swing things around to get Graterol who was one of the Twins top prospects and throws 100 mph and is absolutely filthy. So they made out giving up a couple top 100 guys, getting one back, and getting Betts on top of everything.
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Mike Clevinger is someone id consider borderline elite. Hell id go with elite if he could finish out this season with the same stats and remain healthy. Clevinger is really fucking good.
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There was a time that getting Mike Clevinger would have cost you probably 2 of your top 5 prospects + other stuff.
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