Yes, it is a coincidence. DeWitt isn’t going to replace himself, and even if he did, the franchise would continue on its conservative path.
jj hit the nail on the head, IMO. The benefit of a rebuild of the pitching on the fly from their perspective is to remain competitive enough to keep fans interested. I feel for Goldy and Arenado who aren’t going to get to play on a championship caliber team. By the time the pitching transitions in the best case, they will be at or near their end.
They aren’t going to trade the two marquee hitters because they are key to remaining respectable and keeping the revenue flowing in the interim.
Regarding improving, they were so bad last year that the improvement would have to be huge to matter. Based on last year’s standings, they could improve a whopping 12 wins over 2023 and still miss the playoffs. It would take 22 more to win the division outright.
Honestly, does anyone see +12 wins in the projections of the 2024 staff vs. the 2023 staff? I sure don’t. And that is the point. Even becoming marginally better than a terrible team isn’t going to be enough to matter if playing in October is the goal.
But if the goal is to be competitive, that is a much lower bar. Despite what they say, which will be the same as always (to get in the playoffs and see what happens), their actions tell me the real aim may be lower in 2024. Buy time until the pitching can be retooled.
Summary: Debating whether the 2024 rotation and the pen are slightly better than 2023 probably isn’t going to matter in the big picture.