I actually like Jakob. And I think his skill set is what we need. But next year he will be a backup center and that’s more than we should pay for someone in that role. If LMA wasn’t around, then I think it makes more sense.
As for market value, I would say that it’s a quantifiable term but not especially helpful. The FO has a reputation for being smart, and so that typically means not getting sucked into a frenzy of throwing money at non-star free agents like the market does. Yes, every other team does this, but most teams do regrettable things. And I don’t see how people here can brag about the FO being so smart if they do exactly what everyone else does, at least in this situation.
Also, with the pandemic and the likelihood of plummeting income, this seemed like a time to be conservative and save that money for someone else. But maybe Caterpillars are selling like hot cakes?
In summary: they didn’t trade LMA, they signed Eubanks, and then signed Jakob. Those are three decisions all made around the center position. We now have 3 centers! And now we’re combing the scrap heap for combo forwards, our greatest need.
I appreciate the FO’s loyalty to our players in general, and I understand the exponential learning curve it takes to play here, which is a challenge for most new players, but the FO needs to take a direction. Or better, and this is something they never do and we consider to be normal, but they communicate nothing to the fans as far as what direction we are headed. And so we speculate.