We don't need 2-3 starting pitchers. 1 at most. They got 0.8 WAR from Arrieta last year, and 0.4 from Velasquez. That's what 4th-5th starters look like on most teams. Even Howard wasn't negative.
Our manager thinks last year's team would have won 38 games with a better bullpen. That's a bit much, but the line between an 81-win team and an 86-win team is very thin, and they're not really trying to be more than that (and the former still makes the playoffs if it's the same system as last year).
Assuming they sign JT and a SS, of course. The rest is just tinkering around the edges. And none of it will matter if Howard, Kingery, Hoskins (health) and Bohm (still small sample) aren't good players.
To me things are looking way up - as some predicted, Dombrowski seems to have convinced the owner to spend more than Rice would have, and take advantage of the opportunities that are still out there. Tons of players remain unsigned. The team has been in contention on August 1 every year for the last three years, so the question is can they fix that part, whether by avoiding the injuries and drop-offs or making better deadline deals. Another part of this team's failing has been focusing on expensive players who looked great on-paper but faltered. You can still win with well-chosen platoons and undervalued signings.
