Coaching at the big league level means more than it used to. Development at the minor league level means more than it used to.
Our best hitter is Justin Turner because he has no exposure to our coaching. Most (literally all?) players on our roster have experienced gradual declines.
Guys can even pop during rookie years and decline from there like Kirk and Manoah.
A good mlb transaction is a nice skill to have but ultimately is very low on the most important skills because eventually those guys get exposed to your system and decline.
Like I said, I'd rather be the team that churns out coachable 40+ FVs and bumps them to 50s with coaching and preparation than the team constantly trying to add via FA or trade.
Also I don't care what anyone says, Mattingly knows nothing. Pete Walker knows nothing compared to other pitching coaches. No one here can seriously believe they are cutting up edgertronic video and forming excel databases. Montoya and Hudgens were clowns. We hire dinosaurs.