Or they could have instead tried to sign good but not big-name players to short-term deals that maintain your flexibility, like they did before the 2013 season. Just throwing a huge contract to the currently best-available free agent to fill a current hole is almost always a mistake. Being creative, open-minded and keeping flexibility is a better long-term strategy.
I think this team currently has a strong enough core that they don't need to sign bad long-term contracts that could hamstring us for years and years like Sandoval and Ramirez have. They should be looking for singings that fill holes but don't risk albatrossing you for years, like in the past when they found Bill Mueller/Shane Victorino type of short-term deals.
I think this team currently has a strong enough core that they don't need to sign bad long-term contracts that could hamstring us for years and years like Sandoval and Ramirez have. They should be looking for singings that fill holes but don't risk albatrossing you for years, like in the past when they found Bill Mueller/Shane Victorino type of short-term deals.