The philosophy of this team for years was to develop up the middle - pitching and middle infielders. Now through trades all the middle infielders and pitching prospects are gone. A trade of Aybar or Kendrick would net some good talent, but at this point there is no one to replace them with.
We used to complain that Stoneman held on to prospects for dear life, but I would rather have that than a bunch of non performing, high priced free agents here.
The philosophy is extremely simple, build a strong core, trade or sign the other pieces you need. Play to your park, where half your games are played. For Angel Stadium that means more pitching and defense. A strong minor league system is essential.
So I see this as a fail on Dipoto's part.