Certainly true.
But, at this point, even if we assume a Vlad extension, the lineup has virtually 0 power outside of Vlad. They need thump and they need it badly.
The one wildcard in all this is Orelvis, but one cannot expect anything out of him yet. Sign them both, give up the picks.
If all goes well. They make.noise in the playoffs.
If s*** goes south, trading whomever you can at the deadline recoups the 2 lost picks with players they didn't have to draft and spend 2-3 in the minors developing.
If they want contention, they have to take risks at this point. Status quo isn't good enough. Playing it safe is the wrong strategy for this situation IMO
If they don't want to take risks now for 2025, may as well just start the retool/rebuild early.