*Photo from Baseball Reflections*
We're almost done with these team previews, we're on the NL Central today.
*Photo from UPI*
St.Louis Cardinals
2019 record: 91-71
The Cardinals haven't done a whole lot of huge moves this winter. They lost OF Marcell Ozuna to the Atlanta Braves, and there's no clear favorite to replace his production in left field. They picked up a solid pitching prospect in Matthew Liberatore by trade, and Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright still lead the way in the rotation. The Cardinals will also need a bounceback year from Matt Carpenter to have a shot at repeating as NL Central champs. It seems like they took a bit of a step backwards this offseason.
*Photo from Roster Resource*
Milwaukee Brewers
2019 record: 89-73
The Brewers had some massive, massive turnover this winter. Trent Grisham, Zach Davies, Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, and Drew Pomeranz are gone, and Brock Holt, Justin Smoak, Ryon Healy, Avisail Garcia, and Josh Lindblom have joined the Brewers. Like the Cardinals, the Brewers have also taken a step back this offseason, and all the new faces might make it more difficult for them to gel together in time.
*Photo from Razorgator*
Chicago Cubs
2019 record: 84-78
After a disappointing season in Chicago, the Cubs responded by having a very quiet offseason. They let Nicholas Castellanos sign with the Cincinnati Reds, and they hired David Ross as their manager. That's just about all they did, other than bringing in Steven Souza Jr to replace Castellanos. The Cubs core remains intact, but Kris Bryant trade rumors basically dominated their winter, and he could be gone by this time next year. The pressure is on in the North Side of Chicago.
*Photo from Bleacher Report*
Cincinnati Reds
2019 record: 75-87
After a disappointing 2019, the Reds took advantage of the free agent market and brought in some big names. Wade Miley was added for the rotation, Nicholas Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama reeled in for the outfield, and Mike Moustakas for another power bat with some defensive versatility. Trevor Bauer is back to lead the rotation, this time for a full season. Those additions combined with a core ready to break out has the Reds in prime postion to claim the NL Central this season and snap the playoff drought. Joey Votto demands such a reward.
*Photo from Bleacher Report*
Pittsburgh Pirates
2019 record: 69-93
The Pirates are the only team in the NL Central that's really out of playoff contention. The rebuild is on in the Steel City. They brought in Derek Shelton as manager to lead them through this time, and Starling Marte being traded to Arizona reinforces this. Josh Bell and Brian Reynolds are still here to lead the hitting, but there's no true leader of the pitching staff, as Chris Archer has fallen off a cliff. The next few years in Pittsburgh will be lean, but it should pay off, right?
Division Assessment:
The NL Central will be a tight horse race this year, as the Pirates are the only team out of playoff contention. You could make a case for any of these teams outside of Pittsburgh to win the division, so the NL Central will be a division to closely monitor this season.
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