Given the money coming off the books, is there a better target than Bauer? Assuming he adjusts and shows that his short time in Cincy - and that he's still interested in going year to year - he seems to make some sense, particularly if AA wants to keep his precious "financial flexibility". I get that his asking price will be steep if he has a strong half season, but you've got $32 million coming off the books in Hamels and Melancon, and if Pache and/or Waters take over at least one of the OF spots you can use all of Ozuna and Greene's money to pay for arb raises and the salary increases for Acuna and Albies.

The hope is (of course) that Soroka and Fried continue to develop and Wright and Anderson take their next steps, but AA (and Liberty) have shown that they're not afraid to pay for big deals as long as they come with no long-term commitments.