I mean, sure it would be great to have an ace, but why on earth would you acquire one in the middle of a rebuild?
Much of this comes down to Sale's health. (Meaning, they had an ace they were paying $21M a year for.)
In 2021, Sale was due back in the second half, and we had a rotation of Eovaldi, E-Rod, Pivetta,
Richards,
Perez, and Houck. Sale did come back (3.16 ERA in 9 starts) and they made it to the ALCS. Richards and Perez were the short-term guys who were there to buffer the staff - extend to Sale's return, and give Houck a bit of a cushion. Plan well executed (even with the sticky-ban nerfing Richards.)
In 2022, Sale was expected to be in the rotation. Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta,
Wacha,
Hill, Paxton. Wacha and Hill were the buffer, and Paxton a second-half wild-card, with guys like Houck, Whitlock, Crawford, Winckowski, and possibly Bello looking to take a step up. But Sale was injured early, then broke his finger when he came back. Eovaldi was injured and missed 10 starts. Wacha was also injured and missed about 10 starts. Hill was a bit meh. Paxton never launched. So Winckowski, Crawford, and Bello were pressed into service - probably too soon, as the results were not spectacular. Injury derailment.
in 2023, it was Sale, Bello, Pivetta, Paxton,
Kluber, Whitlock, Houck. Kluber was the buffer. But again Sale went down, and Pivetta ended up doing an early implosion. Kluber was awful. The first of this kind of short term signing that was truly awful. And rumor swirl that Bloom wanted Eovaldi/Wacha/Elfin but they chose to go elsewhere. Injury
and ineffectiveness, which implicates player evaluation and coaching more so than the prior year.
And yet the narrative's going to be what? "Boom went dumpsta-diving."*
*Lest anyone get bent out of shape, I'm mocking
the argument, not the moral character of any person who may have entertained or repeated that argument. Whomever you are, sir or madam, I do not confuse your essential personhood with a transient opinion you expressed about the strategy of a GM of a sports team. An opinion which you, like every other person on the planet, remain free to change, without any form of mental weakness being attributed to your exercise of an entirely normal process of considering information and so revisiting your impression of matters. And I would personally hope, for your own psychological health, that you do not inflexibly locate your identity in this kind of opinion. But I say this last not to impugn your fandom - long may it shine.