I have two issues with the OP one is that prospects are the currency of trades. Trading major leaguers for major leaguers doesn’t happen very often, certainly not frequently for players of consequence. Trading major leaguers for prospects, then flipping those prospects for other major leaguers can happen, that’s a lot for one off-season. That’s likely a longer term rebuild that takes you outside the current window. The hitters are old, and feeble.
Secondly, this team isn’t one hitter away, and with the ownership big money wasn’t coming… Aaron Judge wasn’t going to make this a good hitting team.
the OP is correct, in that this team needed more done to it to succeed, but the prescription missed