Winter meetings have thus far just confirmed what some of us already believe. Elias has an inflated impression as to what the value of lots of pieces in the minors do for you.
Hint: I ain't no GM but pieces in the minors do NOTHING for you unless they are on the MLB roster or are used as trade material.
Ok sure injury backup has some value. But keeping guys like Mayo, Ortiz, Cowser, and Norby around is just excess. Use that excess for crying out loud.