In his public statements, JJ Picollo keeps referring to "adding to their core players" so they can compete in 2024. My question: who are these core players around whom he plans to build a near-term competitive team? Remember, whoever these core players are, they are the core of a historically terrible baseball team, so it's not at all clear why a GM would want to build around them.

In my opinion, the roster has precisely one real core player who is a building block for a good team: BWJ. Maybe we can throw in Maikel Franco, the surprising Freddy Fermin, and Vinnie Pasquantino, all of whom seem like they can be league-average players in the near future. On the pitching side, there's Brady Singer, and Carlos Hernandez. And that's about it. I don't see much in the way of core players in the high minors. So what on earth is he talking about? I've named six players. Are these six guys the "core"? That's definitely not enough of a core to build around, considering that you still need five more everyday players and an entire pitching staff. It's not like you can just supplement with a few free agents and call it a day. Who else do we think Picollo is including in the "core" group? What world is he living in? Like a lot of us, I was hoping JJ would more realistically evaluate the actual state of the roster. It seems this hope is not well-founded.