Because of Moneyball, Billy Beane's Oakland Athletics will forever be known as a club that sought to exploit market inefficiencies. Andrew Friedman's Dodgers are renowned for drafting and developing, underneath their big-market money. Chris Antonetti's Cleveland Indians have excelled in fostering pitching, from CC Sabathia to Corey Kluber to Shane Bieber. Jeff Luhnow's Astros tanked to the extreme and the payoff was enormous. Under Erik Neander and Kevin Cash, the Rays popularized the concept of an opener but also have become the model at finding ways of making players better.
So maybe there will be a day when the act of signing a veteran to a lucrative one-year deal will be called "The Anthopoulos Approach," because since Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos took over Atlanta, he has repeatedly done this with great effectiveness. "It's worked out for him," a rival evaluator acknowledged. "I think he's reproving the old adage that there's no such thing as a bad one-year deal."