The Final Word on the Lee Fiasco
There are two aspects to the "baseball" side of this trade, and neither makes sense.First, there's the Lee side of it. They made him a good offer, yes. But we all know that Lee wanted 5 or 6 years. It seems that the money wasn't the problem, it was the years on the deal. If Lee could have been had for 1 extra year at $12 million (or 10), then this entire trade is completely indefensible.
Why? Because the two unneeded outfielders they picked up cost $8 million. What's the difference paying Lee $12 million for an unproductive season in 5 years and paying two stiffs $8 million for an unproductive season now?
The difference is $4 million.
If my above assumption is true, then they let Lee go because they didn't want to spend the extra $4 million.
But, what if Lee would not have accepted 5 years, $12 million. What if he was set on trying out free agency? ...then you trade him. And the first part of my criticism goes away. But then you have to get something for him, ...and we did not.
Second, there's the players they got. No one has yet explained to me how we had a need for an average outfielder (Mensch) and a below average AAA outfielder(Nix). It seems we're kinda full-up on average outfielders (Clark, Gross, Jenkins, Hart, and Gwynn), don't you think?
Why did we need these two guys?
And say what you will about Nelson Cruz, his stats are far superior to Nix's.
The talking points out of Miller Park say, "Hey look! We got REAL MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS!" like we're supposed to be impressed by that.
"This shows we're not giving up on the season!" Then you need your head examined.
"We didn't want AAA prospects!" Why not? I'd rather have one good solid player, even if he's in AAA, then a bunch of rabble that DOESN'T HELP THE TEAM NOW OR IN THE FUTURE!
"But they cost $8 million! That means we're not cutting salary!" And that's supposed to make me feel better? That's just another reason why this trade is so indefensible.
But we got a pitcher! He has Turnbow syndrome and costs $5 million a year. He likely won't even be on the team next year.
BUT, if Mensch hits 30/100 and Nix makes the roster and contributes like a Gabe Gross, or Cordero plays well AND stays with the team, ...I'll eat my words.
I feel pretty safe about that bet.
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