The number of options have been very slim this offseason. The deals that I bet Ben missed out on are:
1) Trade with Angels for Haren, and then pickup his option. The Angels lost money in the buyout, so I seriously believe that he could have been had for next-to-nothing.
2) Shin-Soo Choo for Trevor Bauer? I bet Ellsbury could have replaced Choo in that deal, given that Choo has a similar injury history, a fast-approaching free agency, and significantly lower ceiling.
3) Shaun Marcum/Guthrie have AL East experience, and both could probably be had cheaper than Dempster.
Johnson would have been nice, but the Jays paid a ridiculous amount to get him. Mccarthy is a big question mark. Scott Baker however, might have been worth a solid one year deal. Sanchez/Greinke/Jackson/Lohse all have pretty hilarious price tags, and I bet were worth avoiding.