For anyone who follows baseball you’ll know the predicament of the Tampa Bay Rays. Forced to compete in the same division as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, along with one of the worst un-filled stadiums in all of baseball, Tampa has always had to rely on creativity, player development, and maximizing player value to stay competitive.
Upon their inauguration into Major League Baseball in 1998, they were one of baseball’s worst teams with 10 straight losing seasons. Then in 2008 everything changed. All the young talent the Rays had been harboring, plus the addition of some savvy veteran signings was the perfect storm for the Rays who won 97 games and made it to the World Series. While they couldn’t take home the hardware, they continued their winning ways, posting winning records for the next 6 seasons. While there have been some hiccups the last 5 years, they have had two 90+ wins seasons recently, and are poised to consistently be at the top of the American League. The Rays have done two things consistently well: knowing when to sell a player at his peak value, and develop talent through their loaded farm system.
The Rays are notorious for hosing their opposition when it comes to trades, most notably the recent Chris Archer deal; providing the Rays with front-line starter Tyler Glasnow, and stud outfielder Austin Meadows (plus high potential starting pitcher Shane Baz). Now dealing Archer was seen as a tough move across baseball. He was seen as the face of the franchise, and was consistently one of the better starting pitchers across baseball. However, as a team never in a position to sign players to lucrative long term deals, the Rays were forced to go against the grain, potentially against the fan’s wishes, and sell Archer and “in a sense” start over. They have done that over and over again with most of their franchise stars including David Price, Evan Longoria, and James Shields. They don’t let emotion get away of their decision making, and it is one of the main reasons they can consistently compete even with one of the lowest payrolls in all of baseball.
One top of trading assets at their greatest value, the Rays have led the way in developing talent that can either grow into their organization (and play cheaply), or be traded for assets that can immediately help the big league ball club. The Rays currently have one of the best (if not the best) farm system in baseball, including the consensus best prospect in the game, Wander Franco. It’s remarkable in baseball, when each team has exactly the same resources and opportunities to draft, sign, and develop talent, the Rays consistently outpace nearly every other team in the league. They stay ahead of the curve when it comes to player development, and money they don’t spend on bloated free agents can be smartly invested in analysis, training programs, and whatever else allows their prospects to flourish.
So what does this all have to do with Atalanta? In football where the odds are severely stacked against teams that do not have large wage budgets, it takes a clear plan and confidence to see that plan out. Atalanta have shown time and time again they’re not scared to cash out on a player when the correct time has come. In 2018 alone, they cashed out on Alessandro Bastoni, Andrea Conti, and Roberto Gagliardini for a total of 90 million euros. Not to mention selling Kulusevski for 40 million euros this January (and he wasn’t even on the Atalanta squad!)
Since 2015, Atalanta’s net transfer spend has been +90 million euros, while in the same span, clubs like Inter, Juventus, and AC Milan have a net spend all under negative 288 million! With such wealth disparity in football, Atalanta need to consistently sell their assets at the highest value, and either replace vacancies with academy players or strategic signings from different leagues across Europe. Just looking at the international diversity of Atalanta’s squad, their obviously looking for players in places other teams in Serie A are not. They rediscovered Papu Gomez in Ukraine, de Roon in England’s Championship, and Jose Luis Palomino in Bulgaria!
Whether it’s down to top notch scouting, or they’re merely ahead of the curve in Serie A, Atalanta do not waver from their plan, and it has yielded huge dividends over the past few years. And that’s not even mentioning the superiority of their youth system. According to transfermarkt Atalanta currently have an astounding 54 players out on loan; a testament that their youth players are desired by teams across all leagues of Italy. Again, more assets being developed by the club that can be used either to cash in on loan fees and eventual transfer fees, or using other teams to get players first team experience, and freeing up squad spots for the scouting finds all across Europe.
While baseball and football are extremely different sports, overlap exists and its beyond just analytics. If you’re not a baseball fan, take a chance to follow and learn more about the Rays, and the success they’ve recognized without a high wage bill or a team of premier superstars. And oppositely, if you’ve never watched Serie A in your life, Atalanta will absolutely resonate with you in the way that every baseball team is trying to develop through the farm system and player development. The only difference, the Rays and Atalanta are better at it than anyone else, and they need to be. As small market clubs, they have little to no room for error, so they need to be steadfast in their plan, and never waver even when the heart wants to do what the mind won’t let it.
