Cubs and other NL Central teams advance to the rear

Image Courtesy of Bing

There has been much hand wringing in Cubs Nation about the club’s lack of activity this offseason but it may be misplaced to some extent. While the Cubs haven’t done much of note, outside of the Cincinnati Reds, the rest of the NL Central has mostly regressed. Here’s a quick overview of the division.

Cubs: Now that Kris Bryant’s grievance has been ruled on, I look for Kris to be playing elsewhere next season. If the Cubs can’t sign him to a long term deal, it makes sense to get something of value for him now. What really hurt this offseason was the loss Nick Castellanos. Not only did he leave the Cubs, he signed with the Reds, which is a double whammy. Meanwhile the Cubs have used the Statue of Liberty approach to free agency, “Give us your poor, your blind, your injured, your cheap.” Or something like that. Actually, I don’t mind the Cubs signing relievers on the cheap. If Brandon Morrow and Jeremy Jeffress are healthy, they represent a huge upgrade. The Cubs also signed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. If healthy, Souza provides some power and good defense in right field. I suspect the Cubs may make another move regarding their outfield. In a worst case scenario, Souza could platoon with Jason Heyward in right field. Right now the Cubs offseason looks unimpressive, but I suspect it’s not as catastrophic has many Cubs fans think.

Reds: Here’s the NL Central team that won the offseason. Signing Nick Castellanos was huge. The Reds anemic offseason should be substantially better in 2020. In addition to Castellanus, the Reds have added Japanese import, Shogo Akiyami. The Reds have a number of interesting outfield pieces and should be able to send three good hitting outfielders to the lineup on any given day. The signing of Mike Moustakas adds a power bat to the infield. If Joey Votto rebounds, this will be a potent Reds lineup. It seems odd to think that Votto is one of the biggest question marks with the Reds. As of now, the Reds are the most interesting team in the NL Central.

Cardinals: The Cardinals have lost left fielder Marcel Ozuna to free agency and really haven’t done anything to strengthen their lineup. They did add Korean free agent pitcher, Kwang-Hyun Kim. He figures to be a back of the rotation guy. The Cards also traded for another left handed pitching prospect, acquiring Matthew Liberatore from the Rays for a package that included right fielder, Jose Martinez. Liberatore reportedly has a ceiling of a number three starter. It really doesn’t look like the Cardinals have done much to help themselves thus far in this offseason.

Brewers: It’s hard to see how the Brewers will be better in 2020 than they were in 2019. They lost Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal to free agency and while they’ve attempted to spackle over the holes in their lineup it still doesn’t look great. The Brewers traded for catcher Omar Narvaez to replace Grandal but that’s a net loss. Narvaez can swing the bat, but is poor defensively. The Brewers did sign outfielder, Avisail Garcia, and he could be of some help. Also added was first baseman, Justin Smoak, he of the .208 batting average. Brewers manager, Craig Counsell, is one of the best in the business, but I don’t see the Brewers as contenders in 2020. I had the feeling Milwaukee was doing it with smoke and mirrors last season. The smoke is gone, replaced by the Smoak.

Pirates: The most noteworthy thing the Pirates have done this offseason is trade away their best player, center fielder, Starling Marte. The return for Marte was too very young prospects that don’t figure to be in the Pirates lineup anytime soon. In looking at the Pirates lineup, I feel sorry for their fans. It looks like another potentially long descent into the cellar for Pittsburgh.

So, while the Cubs may not have done much this offseason, most off the division seems to have regressed with them. 

Check out my ebooks.