Rebuilds today will come do what they almost always have, does the GM and those underneath him have an eye for talent. Sure, many GM's today will use analytics in ways others in the past didn't use, but in the end it's still overall scouting whether in trading veterans for prospects, the draft, and finding potential underrated MLB players. Take Theo with the Cubs. For as much credit as he's gotten for the overall process of his rebuild, what was far more important is that he and his scouting staff has very often traded for the right players, drafted the right players, and had a little luck sprinkled in. For all of the credit Beane got for his process of building teams, he had the eye to draft Hudson, Mulder, and Zito over three drafts. Stearns has traded for a lot of players in a short time, ranging from guys in AAA to kids still in their teens playing A ball. It's nearly impossible to say this early on just how well this smorgasbord of traded for players will develop and thus in retrospect the trades will layer be judged. This and drafting skills will impact how fast and well the rebuild. I thought most of the trades which Stearns made did seem good from an average fan's perspective, but i never scouted any of those prospects. Hopefully Stearns and his staff end up proving to have an above average eye for talent because that will dictate whether this rebuild is a success, more so that the process he uses to rebuid.