I've backed off the ledge from my original emotional reaction to the trade and can certainly see the upside—Newcomb looks to be damned good. Still, he's a pitching prospect, and the attrition rate there has got to be of some concern. There's a chance that we'll have the Young Guns 2.0, and a not insignificant chance that we'll end up having traded our last cow for a handful of magic beans that never sprouted.
I really do agree that the future is bright, but right now that future looks to start early in the next decade . . . which makes things like the Olivera trade and the Markakis signing look less than sly. I'm with Meta in that I think this is a move that is alienating to the fanbase, particularly coming in the middle of this nebulous "complete teardown vs. competitive 2017" dynamic, for which the FO's plans appear to be completely opaque. If the next move, per Enscheff, is to trade some young, cost-controlled pitching for hitting, then I might jump back on board and wave the flag. Right now, though, I just feel kinda unenthused about the team and its direction.
The silver lining of another couple of years of stinkage is that we'll draft high, and if this year is an indication, we'll draft well. I think we'll get there. At this point, though, I'd rather trade everything that isn't bolted down and play Castro, Peterson, Garcia, and the kids instead of ****ing around with band-aids and 30+ FAs with 8-figure deals. Don't sign any free agents that aren't from the dented can bin. Trade Aybar. Trade another starter. Trade Freddie if the price is right. Rip the band-aid off.
But hey, we got AJ for another year, so there's bound to be some comic relief on the horizon.
