Guys arguing "why didn't he sell" make it sound like Cabrera or Eaton would have netted some value in return. They wouldn't have, so it really wasn't worth trying to give them away. The mistake I see at this point is playing guys like Holt and Thane. I would have Kieboom, Andrew Stephenson, some of the AAA/AA pitchers up and playing. They aren't making the playoffs and won't be near .500, which is fine in this season where no one really cares. They need to be in a position to win next season, so now is the time to see what you have at corner infield, right field and pitching for next year.
Is it embarrassing to have the crew that just won a World Series playing so poorly? Yeah, but with so many players out, it's understandable. The team was rebuilt a bit over the winter but it's mostly fan service to keep all of the guys from last year. I honestly feel that the 2019 team was maybe the 5th or 6th most talented team since 2005. Which means, from a talent perspective, it's behind the other 4 that made the playoffs and maybe the 2013 team. The goal was to start the season with the same team and swap guys out if/when needed during the long season. We don't have a long season this year, so that plan went to crap. It happens.
As usual for me, I do like to remind guys like Slate that baseball trades aren't like fantasy league, where you can bundle three guys playing
poorly into a trade for guys who aren't playing poorly.
