The story of the 2018 Oakland A’s has gone as well as anyone could have hoped, but its core structure hasn’t changed. The offense was supposed to lead the way and pick up slack for the thin pitching, and that’s more or less what’s happened. Even when the bullpen was making headlines in the first half of the season, it was mostly two stars doing the heavy lifting while the rest of the staff proved inconsistent.
Now that postseason contention is real, though, the A’s have worked hard to beef up those pitching ranks. They’ve gone the bargain route, picking up cheap rentals rather than spending lavishly on big names or long-term additions, but they’ve undoubtedly upgraded their staff and thus their odds at both reaching October and succeeding there.