Wait - for the sake of argument, wins are going for $6MM+ for FA signings this year, so 28+ wins is about $170MM. The other thing would be the upgrade isn't over Rendon. It is over ALR for a year and then the next corner infielder / 2d baseman you bring in to replace ALR.
I agree it isn't the most efficient way to spend your money, and, if SPH is right and 7 or 8 years and $175 - 200MM is still out there as a starting point, the albatross potential is huge and I would not jump to do it. I also think that money might be better spent on early signings of some of the guys who will be FAs after 2015. That said, I don't think calling Cano a 6 win player is that unrealistic, and he probably would mean something like a 3 or 4 win pick up in 2014.
I think one thing people are ignoring in all this is that there's some serious albatross potential in moving Ryan Zimmerman to 1B. He's not like an AMAZING hitter. He loses 1.5 wins in positional adjustment moving there. He would have ranked 6/8 in wOBA out of qualified NL 1B last year. I've seen no evidence to suggest that moving to 1B magically makes you a better hitter. I guess it's possible, but it's still supposition.
It would probably be best for the team to keep him at 3B if he really has his throwing thing solved.
And if we're just playing fantasy baseball and moving guys like they're puzzle pieces, I'd rather sign Choo to less years/less money, put him in RF and move WERTH to 1B. Adding Choo and subtracting LaRoche would be just as big an offensive upgrade as Cano over LaRoche, and cost $100 million less.
