The fact that the Devers thing surprised people says everything one needs to know about the lack of understanding of the plan.
When a team has enough cost-controlled talent ready to contribute, large contracts for good players aren't anchors weighing down the team but tentpoles helping it reach a higher level.
Prospects & organizational depth is a #s game combined with a scouting & development game. The more legitimate people you bring into the building, the better you are at selecting those people who come into the building, & the better you are at developing them, the more cost-controlled talent you're going to get.
In terms of #s, picking at the top of reach round can help because you have more $ to spend & can pick your players a bit earlier each round. But it's certainly not the only thing that can increase your #s.
Another main thing is whether you're trading for prospects or trading away prospects. The Red Sox haven't been fully tanking, but they've also gone out of their way to keep all of their top prospects & to acquire more when given the opportunity.
If we were in a different market would that part of the churn have been more aggressive? Probably.
The Red Sox have also gone out of their way to keep their books clean for the future. They have a ton of $ they can spend in free agency over the next couple years, & should not have that many holes they need to fill because they have cost-controlled talent ready to go in most roles.
C Wong/McGuire
1B Casas
2B Arroyo/Valdez
SS Story/Chang
3B Devers
OF Yoshida/Verdugo/Duran/Refsnyder
SP Sale/Whitlock/Bello/Houck/Crawford/Winck/Drohan/Pivetta
RP Jansen/Martin/Schreiber/Mills/Bernadino/Kelly
With a # of other young guys on the horizon.
All of those guys combined should put them about $60m+ under the 1st tax threshold, with very few real holes & not a lot of guys who are impending free agents after next year (I believe the entire list is Sale/Verdugo/Arroyo/Jansen/Martin/Pivetta). & they also have this as a reset year so they should be blowing by the tax threshold if the right players are available.
They've basically gotten to a similar point as they would have if they tanked the last few years, although obviously with a few less future balls in the hopper, & at least provided some fun moments over these years.
I hope they make offers to guys like Paxton that they would be comfortable extending them at, & then, barring some miraculous surge in the next month, I would like them to trade every single expiring contract they have for whatever they can get in terms of future assets. If the other team wants them to pay the salary for better prospects? Great, we're still under the tax & can afford it.
That means definitely Duvall, probably Turner, definitely Hernandez if anyone wants him, definitely Kluber if anyone wants him (although I hear Whitlock credits him with some of his success), & Paxton if you don't extend him.
I would also be willing to move Jansen for the right package because I think he's going to continue sliding in efficacy but that's neither here nor there.
I guess I've kind of got off topic. Basically - tank is optimal for gathering assets, but what they've actually been doing is pretty close, while putting a more entertaining product on the field, so I think this is fine.