I think there was some luck involved, of course, but the rotation outlook wasn't that bad. Chase Anderson was very good in 2017, as was Jimmy Nelson although he went down at season's end with a shoulder injury. (Nelson wound up missing all of 2018, but that wasn't known at the time.) Plus a rising prospect like Freddy Peralta, and they had already shown some ability to coax useful performances out of guys like Davies, Suter, Guerra, etc. (And this year, Chacin, Miley, and Gio Gonzalez.) That's not a rotation on par with Houston or Cleveland or whatever, but it's also not bad enough that you should pass on opportunities like Yelich and Cain. Or you are pretty much going to be waiting until forever to do anything, and who's to say guys like Yelich and Cain will even be available at those prices if/when your rotation looks stronger.