Those comparing MAB to MM have never actually seen MAB play. Matheson is much better both offensively and defensively. Also, people need to begrudgingly accept that it is nearly impossible to be successful without some veterans, even if overpaid (and MM is certainly not that). Players like Armia, Gallagher, and even Anderson can be useful in the playoffs. It's a feature of the salary cap era that teams will overpay aging players, not a bug, and yet it's almost impossible to get around this problem without giving up on players in their primes. Huberdeau is an extreme case of this problem, but Nylander may trend in this direction at some point. It's simply not possible to build a team of 26 years olds with everyone in their primes. If you trade MM for prospect, how does that help the team make the playoffs in the years to come? And then when the prospect is ready to contribute at MMs level, Suzuki is hitting 30, and he becomes the guy you trade?
Evaluating when a team is ready to be competitive in this stupid era of mediocrity is not an exact science, but Hughes seems to be doing a great job with trades for Newhook and Dach, who immediately fit into the lineup in the right age group. I'm not willing to waste more years of my life on earth to not start pushing the accelerator and trying to reach the playoffs. Those advocating for MM trade need to explain how the complete picture will come together, at some point, towards a competitive team, while capitalizing on Suzuki's peak years. The question of when the team will be "competitive" keeps getting pushed forward year after year. If you look at threads from 2019, we would be competitive in 2022-2023. Now it's 2026-2027?
Time to push the accelerator, not get in the slow lane.
