Yes, Sale did look good, last year, and the promise was better than other years. Had he been hurt or sucked, nobody would have been surprised, either.
Yes, there were worries about Gio, but really not about his health or durability. Had Gio started 30 games at a 4.00 ERA and Sale 10 at a 3.25 ERA, I doubt anyone would be complaining.
We got it wrong. That does not mean there was no logic behind the choices.
Getting a couple guesses wrong does not make any GM an idiot.
Of course the Grissom outlook is no guarantee, but our 2B issues have been horrific for so long, it nearly rivals our rotation woes. We took a stab at fixing it for 4-5 years. So far, the looks like a bad guess, too.
When bad guesses become the norm, then maybe the GM can be blamed, but Brez was not the only guy to think Grissom had more promise than Valdez, Reyes, DHam and others, last winter. I think every single GM would have chosen Grissom over all the others we had. If he's an idiot for that, then something is wrong with the judging criteria.
I'd say Brez guessed right on...
Dumping Dugo in time
Acquiring Slaten
Trading two low hope relief pitchers for O'Neill.
Signing Criswell at minimum wage with 4 arbs left.
Getting Romy off waivers
Maybe improving the pen with Booser (2024>>) and I Campbell, Weissert and Judice (2025>>>)
Maybe improving the farm with Fitts & Sandlin
Maybe improving our 2B position with Grissom from 2025-2028.
Maybe improving on the 2025 pitching staff with Hendriks & Fulmer.
We can choose to take out the magnifying glass on Sale, Gio and Grissom, but Brez has not swung and missed on every deal.
Some or many of the other moves I mentioned might fail or turn out to be insignificant, but the Sale trade had some logic and reason behind it. It just did not work out. It happens.
After watching this happen over and over with Bloom, I can see why this causes so much grief, and I'm not happy about it, either, but Brez is not an idiot over one trade.