Mainly, the payroll & tax problems meant they couldn't make acquisitions in the pitching dept.
A lot of the guys from the 2018 team are making a lot more money in 2020 - Betts, Bogey, JBJ, Sale, E-Rod - because of the arb rules and the extensions.
The 2018 team paid 20% tax and up.
The 2020 team would pay 50% tax and up.