With the MLB season fast approaching, I thought it was a good idea to give my full predictions for each and every team. Usually, when I do this, I get about halfway done and stop writing because of burnout. Last year, I had a better idea to prewrite the blogs so I wouldn't stop halfway between the teams on the blogs, but that did not work. I got nowhere close and only wrote about eight teams. I'm going to do something different this time. Instead of writing one blog about my predictions, I'm going to write a division-by-division breakdown. I really enjoy the art of baseball, and I think my ideas are ALWAYS* right. After I write the six blogs about the divisions, I will write a blog about my World Series team and the bets I like.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE OTHER DIVISION BLOGS
So, with that, let's break down the NL Central. It shouldn't be the worst division in the MLB, but the team that wins this division will probably have around 87 wins. It will come down to the last couple of games of the season, but let's get into how I think the NL Central will play out this year.
1st Place: Chicago Cubs
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Resigned 1B Cody Bellinger: 3 years $80M
- Signed LHP Shota Imanaga: 4 years $53M
- Lost 3B Jeimer Candelario to Cincinnati: 3 years $45M
- Lost RHP Marcus Stroman to New York (AL): 2 years $37M
- Signed RHP Hector Neris: 1 year $9M
- Signed 1B Dominic Smith: 1 year $1.75M
- Lost RHP Michael Fulmer to Boston: MLD
- Lost C Tucker Barnhart to Arizona: MLD
- Lost OF Trey Mancini to Miami: MLD
- Acquired 1B Michael Busch and RHP Yency Almonte from Los Angeles (NL) for two prospects
Projected Lineup:
C: Yan Gomes
1B: Cody Bellinger
2B: Nico Hoerner
3B: Christopher Morel
SS: Dansby Swanson
LF: Ian Happ
CF: Mike Tauchman
RF: Seiya Suzuki
DH: Michael Busch
Projected Rotation:
LHP Justin Steele
LHP Shota Imanaga
RHP Kyle Hendricks
LHP Jordan Hicks
RHP Hayden Wesneski
Offseason Grade: B+
Last season was a complete disaster for the Chicago Cubs. What should have been a playoff birth ended with the Cubs choking all they did in September. The season ended terribly for the Cubs, but I really enjoyed what they did in the offseason. It may have taken most of the offseason, but the Cubs finally brought back Cody Bellinger. Bellinger finally returned to his old self last season, and the Cubs needed to reward him for it. Chicago was also able to replace Marcus Stroman after they lost him. I see Imanaga as a solid 2-3 pitcher, and it was a cheaper option per year than Stroman. Also, Imagana is not the diva the Stro-Show is, so that's another reason why replacing Stroman was a good idea. With all that said, it will be a tight race in the NL Central. The Cubs and the two teams below will be fighting for this top spot all season long, but I think the Cubs will finish it this time on top.
2nd Place: Cincinnati Reds
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed 3B Jamier Candelario: 3 years $45M
- Signed RHP Nick Martinez: 2 years $26M
- Signed Frankie Montas: 1 year $16M
- Signed Emilio Pagan: 2 years $16M
- Lost OF Hunter Renfroe to Kansas City: 2 years $13M
- Lost CF Harrison Bader to New York (NL): 1 year $10.5M
- Signed LHP Brent Suter: 1 year $3M
- Resigned RHP Buck Farmer: 1 year $2.25M
- Lost 1B Joey Votto to Toronto: 1 year $2M
- Lost UTL Nick Senzel to Washington: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Blake Lively to Cleveland: 1 year $750K
Still Free Agents:
- 1B Wil Myers
- RHP Justin Dunn
Projected Lineup:
C: Tyler Stephenson
1B: Christian Encarnacion-Strand
2B: Matt McLain
3B: Jeimer Candelario
SS: Elly De La Cruz
LF: Spencer Steer
CF: Will Benson
RF: Jake Fraley
DH: Jonathan India
Projected Rotation:
RHP Frankie Montas
RHP Hunter Greene
RHP Graham Ashcraft
RHP Nick Martinez
LHP Andrew Abbott
Offseason Grade: B
Well, the Reds made moves this offseason, so that's a positive. They still have the 3rd lowest payroll in the MLB, but this is progress at least. The Reds made an effort to bolster their bullpen, but I wish they did more in their rotation. Their only move is that they can once again save an A's pitcher who got traded to the Yankees, sucks with the Yankees, and then signs with the Reds. It worked with Sonny Gray, and they hope they can do it again with Montas. But that's it. That's all they did with the rotation. They should have done more there, and because of that, I have them missing the playoffs entirely. They should be competing for the division and Wild Card all season long, but I see teams like the Cubs and the Mets just beating them out.
3rd Place: Milwaukee Brewers
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed 1B Rhys Hoskins: 2 years $34M
- Resigned RHP Brandon Woodruff: 2 years $17.5M
- Lost C Victor Caratini to Houston: 2 years $12M
- Resigned LHP Wade Miley: 1 year $8.5M
- Signed RHP Jake Junis: 1 year $7M
- Lost 1B Carlos Santana to Minnesota: 1 year $5.25M
- Lost LHP Andrew Chafin to Detroit: 1 year $4.75M
- Lost Rowdy Tellez to Pittsburgh: 1 year $3.2M
- Signed C Gary Sanchez: 1 year $3M
- Signed RHP Joe Ross: 1 year $1.75M
- Lost LHP Justin Wilson: 1 year $1M
- Signed C Eric Hasse: 1 year $1M
- Lost OF Jesse Winker to Washington: MLD
- Signed C Austin Nola: MLD
- Lost RHP Julio Teheran to Baltimore: MLD
- Acquired LHP DL Hall, 3B Joey Ortiz, and a 2024 draft pick from Baltimore for RHP Corbin Burnes
- Acquired a prospect from Tigers for OF Mark Canha
- Acquired OF Jake Bauers from New York (AL) for two prospects
- Acquired a prospect from New York (NL) for RHP Adrian Houser and OF Tyrone Taylor
Projected Lineup:
C: William Contreras
1B: Rhys Hoskins
2B: Brice Turang
3B: Sal Frelick
SS: Willy Adames
LF: Christian Yelich
CF: Jackson Chourio
RF: Garrett Mitchell
DH: Gary Sanchez
Projected Rotation:
RHP Freddy Peralta
RHP Colin Rea
RHP Jacob Junis
RHP Joe Ross
LHP DL Hall
Offseason Grade: C-
From my viewpoint, it seems like the Brewers are doing a soft reset. They committed to no long-term deals this offseason and traded away one of the best pitchers in the MLB. I always found it weird that the Brewers never wanted to resign Corbin Burnes, but he was never going to return after they kept on lowballing him in arbitration. They burned that bridge and had to trade him this offseason. The Brewers traded their ace for a decent haul back but will be without their #2 pitcher, as Brandon Woodruff will miss all this season with a shoulder injury. The Brewers rotation is gutted, and I'm not a big fan of their offense, which is why I have them finishing 3rd. This will be a rebuilding season for Milwaukee, and by July, they will probably be trading Willy Adames and other players at the end of their contracts.
4th Place: St. Louis Cardinals
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed RHP Sonny Gray: 3 years $75M
- Signed RHP Kyle Gibson: 1 year $13M
- Signed RHP Lance Lynn: 1 year $11M
- Signed RHP Keynan Middleton: 1 year $6M
- Signed SS Brandon Crawford: 1 year $2M
- Lost RHP Andrew Kinzer to Texas: 1 year $1.825M
- Lost RHP Dakota Hudson to Colorado: 1 year $1.5M
- Signed 3B Matt Carpenter: 1 year $740K
- Acquired RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Victor Santos from Boston for OF Tyler O'Neill
Still Free Agents:
Projected Lineup:
C: Willson Contreras
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Nolan Gorman
3B: Nolan Arenado
SS: Brandon Crawford
LF: Alec Burleson
CF: Dylan Carlson
RF: Jordan Walker
DH: Brendan Donovan
Projected Rotation:
RHP Miles Mikolas
RHP Kyle Gibson
RHP Lance Lynn
LHP Steven Matz
LHP Zack Thompson
Offseason Grade: B
I think people are overvaluing the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals' biggest problem was that their veterans had down seasons. So what did they do? They signed a 34-year-old pitcher, two 36-year-old pitchers, a 37-year-old shortstop, and a 38-year-old third baseman. Some weird moves as the Cardinals only get older this offseason. I guess their hope is that Arenado and Goldschmidt, in particular, can bounce back. As of now, I'm not buying the St. Louis Cardinals, and I am in complete shock their win total is 84.5.
5th Place: Pittsburgh Pirates
Offseason Acquisitions and Losses:
- Signed LHP Aroldis "Mother Titty Honking" Chapman: 1 year $10.5M
- Signed LHP Martin Perez: 1 year $8M
- Resigned RF Andrew McCutchen: 1 year $5M
- Signed OF Michael Taylor: 1 year $4M
- Signed 1B Rowdy Tellez: 1 year $3.2M
- Signed C Yasmani Grandal: 1 year $2.5M
- Lost RHP Yerry De Los Santos to New York (AL): MLD
- Signed LHP Josh Fleming: 1 year $850K
- Acquired LHP Marco Gonzales and cash from Atlanta for player to be named
- Acquired OF Billy McKinney from New York (AL) for international bonus pool money
- Acquired OF Edward Olivares from Kansas City for a prospect
Still Free Agents:
- RHP Vince Velasquez
- LHP Jarlin Garcia
Projected Lineup:
C: Henry Davis
1B: Rowdy Tellez
2B: Jared Triolo
3B: Ke'Bryan Hayes
SS: Oneil Cruz
LF: Jack Suwinski
CF: Michael Taylor
RF: Bryan Reynolds
DH: Andrew McCutchen
Projected Rotation:
RHP Mitch Keller
LHP Martin Perez
LHP Marcos Gonzales
RHP Luis Ortiz
RHP Jared Jones
Offseason Grade: B-
I actually really liked what Pittsburgh did this offseason. They acquired a lot of veteran players to help mentor the younger players. And by July, they will be able to trade all the players they got this offseason and get some value back for them. Classic Pittsburgh. They will suck, but with players like Keller, Reynolds, Suwinski, and Hayes, they will get at least 70 wins.
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