Yikes. I think youre outthinking yourself.
Aren't useful bad contracts akin to good misses and positive turnovers?
Taj, Elf, Franc, Jr. Smith, Knox, RJB, Bullox, possibly a resigned Hark.
We'll have plenty of contracts between $4M - $10M to swing deals.
I'd simply prefer dropping Ellingtons $8 on Hark. Or less if possible. Hark for $6M would be a bargain.
You can make a case for Portis, if you think he can grow. Maybe we should run a trial 2 weeks of Portis starting and see how it goes. But I don't see why we would want Portis at $16M or someone else would trade for him at that rate.
And yes I'd prefer to consolidate Portisellington's $23M into one quality starter (doubling our current count). Be nice if can do it for $18M or $20M and save a little. But I don't mind a $3 - $5M overpay. We're that desperate for starters.
$20M for FVV, $18M for Brooks or Bogdan. Add $2M if needed. Snag one of them and we're in much better shape.