St. Louis Cardinals
Key Additions: Brad Miller
Key Departures: Marcell Ozuna, Michael Wacha, Jose Martinez, Randy Arozarena
The Cardinals lost a major piece in Marcell Ozuna to free agency. They did recoup a high end pitching prospect in Matthew Liberatore from the Rays in exchange for two outfield pieces in Martinez and Arozarena. So this team is mostly intact after winning the Central in 2019. Paul Goldschmidt looks to recover off an up and down season last year. While I’m not sure this team got better after last year, the rest of the division also remained stagnant so I put St. Louis here as a default.
Milwaukee Brewers
Key Additions: Avisail Garcia, Brock Holt, Josh Lindblom, Justin Smoak, Eric Sogard, Luis Urias, Eric Lauer, Omar Narvaez
Key Departures: Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, Junior Guerra, Jordan Lyles, Travis Shaw, Eric Thames, Zach Davies, Trent Grisham
The Brewers certainly had a lot of turnover this offseason. They still have a top 5 player in Christian Yelich, but Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas are big pieces whose production is tough to recoup. The pitching depth is again a source of concern with Brandon Woodruff, who isn’t much a workhorse innings-wise, leading the rotation. They still are a wild card and even division contender, but not one of the top teams in the NL.
Chicago Cubs
Key Additions: Jason Kipnis, Steven Souza, Jr.
Key Departures: Nicholas Castellanos, Steve Cishek, Cole Hamels, Pedro Strop
The Cubs offseason was dominated by headlines of “will they or won’t they” trade Kris Bryant. The answer for now is they won’t deal him. They did change managers, with Joe Maddon not being brought back in favor of David Ross. How this change will affect the club is anyone’s guess. The moves they did make aren’t too eye catching with Kipnis and Souza both with injury history but decent one year upsides. In a division for the taking, they didn’t do much to try and take it.
Cincinnati Reds
Key Additions: Mike Moustakas, Nicholas Castellanos, Wade Miley, Pedro Strop
Key Departures: Jose Iglesias, Jose Peraza, Alex Wood
One team that did try and take the division is Cincinnati. They signed two big bats to bolster their lineup. A full year of Trevor Bauer alongside Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray should excite Reds fans. They’ve gone from no shot at the division to an outside to decent chance. How all these new pieces mesh will help determine the success of this team, but the effort to win in a winnable division should be applauded.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Key Additions: Guillermo Heredia
Key Departures: Starling Marte, Melky Cabrera, Francisco Liriano
We go from a team trying hard to a team not really trying at all. The Pirates dealt away their most tradable asset in Marte. This team has pieces to build around like Taillon and Bell, but they just haven’t done it. The Pirates are in the unenviable position of being the hallmark team for a franchise that is trading on-field success for profit. At least the Rays and A’s are trying to win with their penny-pinching ways. The Pirates simply are not.
