The biggest reason to criticize the Duvall signing is he’s somewhat miscast as a short-side platoon bat—not really mashing lefties and having been better against righties in recent seasons—and the team has indicated that’s how he’ll be used. On the flipside, he’s a much better option than someone like Grichuk to start everyday for stretches of time, making him a superior depth option on the bench—so I’m assuming that’s his real utility to the FO, and the platoon canard is what they have to say to get him signed and get him semi-regular PAs.
I think the big option for most posters, when they dig these positional trenches, seems to be an inability or unwillingness to read between the lines when the FO telecasts rationale and motivation. I, for one, think it’s been pretty clear during the Anthopoulos Era that he/they say whatever is conveniently palatable in the moment, even if they have other designs that aren’t strategic to reveal.
So, I think if all the team wanted was a generic LHP-mashing platoon bat, they would’ve signed a Grichuk type a month ago (the man himself is making $1.5m this year with a near-certain-to-be-exercised $500k buyout on an unlikely $6m option for 2025—so I’d imagine $3m could’ve gotten it done). However, they clearly wanted Duvall, his price dropped, and platooning is the pretense under which he was happy to return.