I don't think anyone thought that Bellinger is close to Soto. But as I stated earlier, I thought the additions of him and Goldschmidt and some expected improvement from guys like Wells and Dominguez would offset the loss of soto.
Before the injury to Cole, I envisioned something similar to the 2001 Diamondbacks, where facing Johnson and curt in a short series gave them a pretty good advantage. Cole and Fried could dominate a short series as well.
Even with the injuries, I still think they're the best team in the division, especially if Gil comes back effective and Williams gets back on track.