In a lot of ways, setting aside the rookies, 2022 may just be inverse of 2021 (a year where a bunch of guys had career years that would be hard to replicate). And it stands to reason that last year's poor play might not necessarily replicate as well.
Either way, I understand the desire to make big splashes in free agency, to get big name free agents. But with where they are at, the thing that will advance them toward .500 more than anything else are the guys that are still on the roster... if the young kids play to their expectations and some of the vets perform to their track record, they potentially can overperform the low expectations. Signing Dansby Swanson isn't gonna cut it, isn't gonna make up all that ground on its own