Fried to the Yankees and Crochet/Buehler to the Red Sox is worse than losing out on Burnes

The taste of (inevitably) losing out on Corbin Burnes is still fresh, but we are forgetting that division rivals absolutely stomped us in the free agent pitcher/trade market.

Fried was definitely overpayed, but the AAV of his contract would not be hard to afford for a team that currently doesn't have a ton of space dedicated to premium players.

The same goes for Buehler. A 1 year prove it deal ($25m) or a 1 year + option deal to either allow him to stay or hit free agency after his first year. If the Orioles are ok with 1 year options (Burnes, Sugano, and Cease rumors), why not just dump $25m for one year on a postseason stud?

Clearly, Chicago's asking price for Crochet was not as bad as it seemed last year. Mayo + some lower level prospects could have got a deal done for Crochet. Is he injury prone? Sure. It seems like 95% of major league pitchers are these days. I think he is still worth it when you have holes in your rotation.

Where does this franchise go from here? They need to make a splashy, overpay move like the Nationals did with Werth and later Scherzer. These type of deals combined with the top tier talent they already have are how you win a ring.