Whoa. They "let" Prince get to free agency because HE decided he wasn't going to sign an extension, but they still made a very significant effort to re-sign then-FA Prince with a near-Brewers-record contract (5 years & into 9 figures -- uncharted FA territory in franchise history up to that time -- only to repeat the effort & fall short the next year w/ Greinke). They made a "significant" offer that, IMO, they knew he'd never take because the market was much greater. They did the same thing with Sabathia. "Well, we tried!" is a good line for the fanbase.