I think JDs contract worked out fine. He was excellent for many years. You have to expect falloff at the end of the long term contract of an older player.
Glad you asked.
I would start by holding team meetings before each game and reminding the players that it’s a 162 game season and that they are paid to played focused sound baseball until the end of the last game of the season and not embarrass themselves in front of the fans.
Next I would give a player one warning if they made a dumb mental error. If the player makes another dumb mental error he should be benched-pulled from the game if necessary to make an example of him. You won’t have to do it to everyone because they will get the message that you mean business. That use to happen in the game before the players became prima donnas. Second offense: a week on the bench. Third offense: some time on the IL.
Belichick employs similar tactics with his teams and they have been remarkably successful. You play the game the right way or you won’t be playing.
Hopefully that clears it up.
It’s the job of the manager to get his team mentally ready for the game. It’s clear that this team hasn’t been focused for months. Yes, some of it is on the players too, but there has been too much brain dead baseball played for months.