Tanking in baseball has high risks, high rewards

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs are two of the young and exciting teams in baseball. But to get where they are today, tough decisions were made.

Some describe what those teams did as tanking. They fielded uncompetitive teams to, in turn, receive high draft picks and the largest pool of bonus money to sign those picks. Both the Astros and Cubs have been lauded for their young talent, and both clubs should be postseason contenders for the next several seasons.

Now the Brewers, Phillies, Braves and Reds are trying to rebuild, and in today's game that could mean tanking. Major league owners met in Florida in January to discuss the issue, and there could be proposals to deal with the strategy before the next collective bargaining agreement is hammered out later this year.

But is tanking — let's call it extreme rebuilding — really a problem?

Few complained — other than fans — when the Twins decided after going 70-92 in 1998 that they could lose 92 games with prospects who could develop instead of fielding a roster with Otis Nixon, Mike Morgan, Bob Tewksbury and others. And, yes, they could do it with a lower payroll.

The Twins lost 97 and 93 games in 1999 and 2000. By 2001, they were competitive again. A group of players from those dark days formed the core of Twins teams that began the run of six AL Central titles in the 2000s.

The odd thing about that period was that the Twins whiffed on three top-six picks — Ryan Mills (sixth overall) in 1998, B.J. Garbe (fifth) in 1999 and Adam Johnson (second) in 2000. They clicked on Justin Morneau in the third round in 1999 and Joe Mauer, the first overall pick, in 2001. Players already in the system helped turn the Twins around.

In most cases, the tanking teams are from the smaller markets. But it also is an option for larger market teams who need to change their direction.

Extreme rebuilding is a big gamble. For one, the team could still screw up a top pick, which could set it back even longer. Two, the fan base is going to suffer. While Houston lost at least 106 games from 2011 to '13, there were times when the Astros' Nielsen ratings were 0.0. But they did become the first team to have the first overall pick in three straight seasons, and they used one to draft exciting shortstop Carlos Correia.

If the right decisions were made during an extreme rebuild, the years of rock-bottom baseball could eventually pay off. Teams should be able to hit the reset button if their plans aren't working.

Central Intelligence

Warning. Michael Brantley could be coming to Target Field this week. The Cleveland outfielder finally has recovered from shoulder surgery and will complete a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. Brantley is a career .289 hitter vs. the Twins but has been .335 over the past two seasons.

Cameron Maybin was expected to push Anthony Gose for playing time in the Detroit outfield, but Maybin suffered a broken left wrist March 1 and opened the season on the disabled list. He is a .251 career hitter over nine seasons.

Many people doubted that the White Sox bullpen was going to be a force. But the unit entered Saturday with a major league-best 1.55 ERA. Faribault High School product Jake Petricka had a 1.35 ERA in six appearances. And David Robertson had converted all six of his save opportunities.

•  Aaron Hicks' big throw from left field on Wednesday to throw out Danny Valencia was fantastic. Will he continue to make the adjustments at the plate?

• The Cubs' Jake Arrieta throws a no-hitter. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw throws a 47 mph pitch. Great stuff from two of the game's best pitchers.

•  Christian Vazquez is back catching for Boston after missing last season because of Tommy John surgery. He has a chance to be REALLY good.