How does the opener affect Oakland A’s pitching search?

Blaine Hardy is the latest name to come up in rumors.The Oakland A’s need to rebuild their pitching staff this winter. Their rotation fell apart last summer due to a deluge of injuries, and the handful of veterans who performed well are all now free agents. There’s a good foundation in the bullpen, and lots of near-future prospects and other fringe depth and lotto tickets within the organization, but overall some additions are absolutely necessary.

Entering the offseason, the best guess had Oakland looking around for buy-low bounce-back starters, and indeed they’ve touched base with some notable but affordable names. However, a few recent notes have added some new details to the developing…