I think most people would disagree with whether they're trying to "win now" if your position is that they're not. I believe they're trying to win the World Series not only now, but attempting to keep that window open for as long as possible.
There's an upper limit to your odds of winning a World Series. The Nationals right now might be rated as having a 10% chance, let's say. Robinson Cano might increase those odds to 11-12%. No more that that. It wouldn't change the fact that we (a) have no more than a 60% chance to beat the 96-win Braves, (b) have no more than a 60% chance to win a one game play off if we lose the division to the Braves, (c) have no more than a 55-60% chance to win any of 3 series you need to win to win the World Series.
If having Robinson Cano for the next two seasons, and dropping Desmond and Zimmermann as a result, takes us out of the playoffs in either 2016, 2017, or 2018 in a year we would have made it WITH those guys, then we better fricking win a World Series one of the next two years because our OVERALL chances of winning a World Series in the next 5 years would be lower than if we had never signed him.
in that case, then will we see Desmond and Zimmermann extended after Cano signs elsewhere? (if you think Cano is the difference between a 10% chance and a 11-12% chance, then how do you figure that Desmond and Zimmermann leaving together take the team down from 11% or 12% to 0%?)
