Fangraphs has a theory about the slow offseason that I think has a ton of validity in the case of some teams. While acknowledging that there are a number of other factors at play as well, Dave Cameron theorizes that teams have noticed that there is a large talent gap in many divisions, so it would be wasteful to attempt to change that. There are obvious flaws in this thinking, but the projections are the projections, and more times than not, the numbers are on to something.
The particular example of the Indians acquiring Jay Bruce in 2017 is something I have also thought about.