Originally Posted by
Horsehide Harry
I think I fall in the middle between what you are saying and what Smoot is saying. I think you evaluate a player and determine how easily they are replaced. IF you think you have a true ACE or a player with the makings of a True ACE pitcher, then I think you do everything you can to hold on to them because of scarcity. Same thing goes for a top three in baseball at his position type hitter. You also have to temper that with an understanding of what you have available in your own minor leagues.
For example, if you think, as I do, that Teheran is a good #2 and unlikely to get significantly better than that and very likely to tail off from that over time, then you have to decide how difficult would it be to replace his presence with an equal or better player either from within the organization or outside through trade acquisition or FA signing? Since the Braves have a number of pitchers believed to have AT LEAST that kind of upside, then I would say he's very much tradable, especially considering that the Braves aren't likely to be playoff competitive WITH him in the next two years.
However, I also think you can reach a point as an organization where as a FO you have to be willing to "go for it" or else you begin to lose the interest and loyalty of your fanbase. Take Pittsburgh as an example. They were horrible for 20 years. Then they started getting it right and building within. However, they haven't been able to push over that final hump and are now shopping players instead of adding players. It will be interesting to see how their fan base reacts. I think there is a danger that you could settle into baseball purgatory, never good enough to win anything nor bad enough to be forced to clean house and rebuild, by being too aggressive on shipping out talent for prospects in effort to remain close to competitive and keep payroll at a "manageable level."