Trading young talent does not automatically mean the Mariners are heading the "Bill Bavasi route"

There has been some notable fear expressed by readers on this site in recent days that the Mariners would be heading down the old Bill Bavasi route if they started to deal young prospects away. The mere mention of dealing two of the team's top prospects in a Justin Upton swap conjured up unpleasant memories for many of how former M's GM Bill Bavasi dealt away five players for Erik Bedard three years ago. There was also the swap of Shin-Soo Choo for Ben Broussard. Not to mention Asdrubal Cabrera for Eduardo Perez. But it's worth noting that there is a common theme to all three of those trades that has nothing to do with what we're currently debating. In all three cases, Bavasi traded young talent for returns that had a short shelf life. In Bedard's case, he was only going to be under club control for two more seasons. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, but the main argument used by detractors is still valid. In that case, the team gave up several more y...