I don’t know what his opinion was at the time. Had he been all in at the time, quoting that tweet would have been a better move.
In my opinion, keeping/cutting was around a 50/50 proposition. I was fine with bringing him back, even at arbitration rates given how his 2022 was clearly a floor for him and thinking a rebound would have been possible. I didn’t think he’d rebound like this, and I kind of doubt anyone did. Good for Candelario, he’s resurrected his career and might be looking at guaranteed multiple seasons this winter.
And as for the replacements, well, sure, can’t hide from those numbers. So we’re comparing peak Candelario to valley Candelario. Of course with hindsight anyone can jump on the bandwagon now.