It’s pretty clear that not all MLB franchises, and owners specifically, want the same things or have similar objectives.
Some of them are clearly engaged in building a competitive team, but others are, apparently, more interested in profiting and not much else.
If you want to run a franchise and just make money, then don’t hand out big contracts, trade players before they get expensive, fight them over raises, and prevent prospects from being called up even though they are ready to contribute just so you can gain an extra year of team control.
Hey, it has worked for the Cleveland Guardians and the Pittsburgh Pirates, right?
The Carlos Correa contract, a three-year deal worth $105.3 million (with two opt-outs), showed an ugly reality in MLB: there are a handful of teams that just don’t want to compete.
“If the Twins only employed Carlos Correa at $35.1 million and 25 players making the league minimum of $700,000, their $52.6m payroll would still eclipse the Pirates’ 2021 total of $50.3m. Cleveland was at $53m, so Minnesota gets there with expanded April/Sept rosters, too,” AP’s Jake Seiner tweeted.
If the Twins only employed Carlos Correa at $35.1 million and 25 players making the league minimum of $700,000, their $52.6m payroll would still eclipse the Pirates' 2021 total of $50.3m. Cleveland was at $53m, so Minnesota gets there with expanded April/Sept rosters, too
— Jake Seiner (@Jake_Seiner) March 23, 2022
Fans Don’t Deserve To Root For A Franchise That Doesn’t Want To Win
The Guardians saw all four teams in the AL Central division (yes, including the Kansas City Royals!) make win-now moves that could severely affect their chances of making the playoffs, which weren’t the best to begin with.
And they did virtually nothing.
The Pirates’ best hope of making some noise in the future is extending Bryan Reynolds and developing their own prospects.
But they can’t even agree with Reynolds on his salary for the 2022 season.
MLB should do something to prevent this from happening, but it won’t.
Fans of those teams are the ones suffering the most.
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