Okay, its been done before. There have been greater disparities that have been overcome.
But it would require giving up a lot more than I think Toboni is willing to.
You have to get a starting pitcher and it has to be a decent one. Basically, someone that would start a playoff game. They have to eat some innings. A part of why our bullpen is struggling is that, since Alvarez joined the rotation, the bullpen is basically being asked to pick up 1-3 extra innings that a starter should be eating, for three out of the five rotation spots. That's a lot. That has to stop. You need another starter who can give you 5+ innings of good pitching.
Second, we need another lefty reliever that can get left-handed hitters out. Poulin seems somewhat capable, with a .262 wOBA in 18.2 innings. Cosgrove might be this guy, but he has a grand total of 1.1 innings pitched with us so who knows. In 28 innings at the MLB level in his career, left handed hitters have .241/.317/.370 line against him. That's not exactly great. This seems like a need with Herz probably done for the year.
Third, we need a back of the bullpen-capable arm. We need another Beeter-type arm. Someone who can get strikeouts. They don't necessarily have to be "the closer" but we have to at least feel as good about handing them the 9th inning as we did Beeter or Lord two weeks ago.
Fourth, probably another mid-level reliever. The current bullpen has 1 reliever with an ERA over 5. It's 3 if you use FIP or xERA. This doesn't include Cosgrove and his 1.1 innings of work. The point is, this has to be mitigated. Whether those come from internal options (Trevor Williams, Josiah Gray, Eddy Yean, Luis Perales, Jarlin Susana, ect), or Toboni goes out and gets someone, this team can not claw back 4 games without decent bullpen work. I don't need a super pen. I'm not saying trade for Mason Miller, but an ERA under 4.50 would go a long way to helping.
Finally, the manager and the front office need to optimize to win games and series. We're still running out lineups that have Dylan Crews and Andres Chapparo in them. Meanwhile, Ortiz and Morales are tearing the ball up in Triple A. You have to start putting the team in a position to win. Not develop players. Not give guys time to figure it out. We hammer the pedal down and go.
That's a lot that has to be done and, frankly, I don't see ownership being willing to spend a lot on a team four games back. So how much is Toboni willing to give up out of the Top 10 prospects to get this done?
