Nate Eovaldi began last season with the Rays on the disabled list recovering from Tommy John surgery and ended it as a Red Sox World Series hero. Zack Britton was an Oriole sidelined following an Achilles tendon tear who wound up a vital piece of the Yankees’ bullpen. Mike Fiers opened as a Tiger with a back injury and finished as perhaps the best starter for the surprising A’s.
Emphasis annually is placed on who makes a team and who is sidelined, ignoring just how malleable — more than ever — rosters are. The World Series-winning Red Sox used 44 players in 2018.