Most assume the general managers of baseball’s small-market teams have the toughest jobs in baseball. After all, when you’re hamstrung by limited finances, it can be tough to win.
However, it’s the general managers of teams in baseball’s biggest markets who have the toughest jobs this offseason. They are the ones who are hamstrung, not by limited finances, but by their fan bases or an impatient ownership group that refuses to wait five years. Rather than rebuild, they continually retool.
After years of following this model, four large-market teams find themselves saddled with large, overpriced rosters filled with declining players and few tradable assets, as well as weak farm systems. They are heavily compromised going into free agency, so instead of enjoying huge financial advantages, they will have to compete with teams that have more free-agent appeal because their chances to win over the next few years are much better.
Here is a look at four of the toughest GM jobs in baseball this offseason: