Lakeland, Fla. — It is not quite Newton’s third law of motion, but every action a club takes that impacts its roster invariably comes with an opposite, and sometimes negative, impact on other players.
Say the club signs a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove-winning shortstop named Javier Baez to a six-year, $140 million contract. Great deal for the ball club. Huge upgrade. But the deal carries an opposite reaction for the other shortstops in the organization — namely 24-year-old Ryan Kreidler.