Yep.
If our GM decides to hamstring the team's competitiveness in 2022 the team will be less competitive in 2022.
I'll agree with you on that one.
I won't agree that trading one or both makes being less competitive inevitable.
No, lazy is thinking you can’t replace around 5ish WAR. That’s what you are saying and doing. What I’m saying is the exact opposite of lazy. It’s making several different moves to set yourself up now and for the long term. Standing pat is lazy.
Not only do I think they can do this, this is the scenario I expect to happen.
That's immaterial. What I'm saying is that if we trade Santander and Mancini, we're not replacing them for 2022, which means we're less likely to be competitive in 2022.
It's arguable whether we should do this, but the effect would be a less competitive team in 2022.
Nope, because Elias has shown a strong tendency toward slow rolling promotions and prioritizing gaming service time.
Would you agree that if a bat first college player is selected high in the first round he should not need much time in the minors?
He hasn't taken a minor league at bat yet and you have him replacing one of our best hitters for next season?
Do you want to make a friendly wager on some counting statistic that Kjerstad will exceed those guys in the major leagues next year? Games? Total bases? Home runs? Hits? Walks? Anything at all?
[Edit: I'd love to lose this bet, which is basically that Kjerstad has a Torkelson-like hitting profile AND he checks every box along the way, which basically entails blowing our staff away from the minute he shows up in whatever camp he's invited to.]
Why probably not?
The only reason I can come up with for why he wouldn't be ready is that Elias is still playing service time games.
You pick a bat first college player high in the first round he should be ready quickly. If he isn't you don' messed up A-Aron.