If it's any consolation, I took over the incredibly bad LA franchise in the Ron Cey league and have turned it around in one year.
LA had 65 MLB wins, and about 35 on average at each minor league level. The previous owner had obvious fatigue problems, which led to signings of lots of minor league crap. Also had some bad MLB contracts.
Of the 25 guys on LA's Season 2 roster, I have one . I traded away about 15 guys -- actually getting some talent in return -- released a couple, allowed three to go FA, and sent down a few more.
One thing I was able to do was take advantage of my low team salary. I basically said, "Here's a mediocre player signed to a much too big contract. I'll pay his Season 3 salary (or most of it), in exchange for one decent prospect." It worked more often than not, which leaves me in great financial shape for Season 4 and beyond.
I signed a lot of six-year minor league FAs. Signed six MLB FAs, of which three have done well (one SP, a LF and a 1B.) One sucked and got sent to AAA, one sucked but was then traded, and one is my #5 SP, and so-so.
I also took advantage of my lousy Season 2 record by signing a bunch of guys off the waiver wire. No one spectacular, but I rebuilt my MLB middle relief corps, and got some decent minor league depth. I also signed two outstanding international FA pitchers, either of whom could be a MLB closer within a year. (I should have set aside more money for international players, and will do so next year.)
Result: My MLB team is 82-60 and 2 games up in the Wild Card. My AA, High-A, Low-A and Rookie teams are definitely in the playoffs. My AAA team missed the wild card by one game.