And there are the examples of past Arizona and Florida teams where they go all in for the short term without consideration for the future and then need to rip down that roster shortly thereafter.
Cincy is in a "race" right now and it isn't because the team is strong. It is a difficult decision to add payroll and subtract prospects in order to be the champ of a weak division only to get your head handed to you once you venture outside the cushy NL Central. If the goal for this season is to get that NL Central flag and that's it, then they should probably make a move or two for some veterans. If they want to build a perennial winner, then they might need to think twice about what they should do.