What are Cubs' Division Rivals Up to This Offseason?

[Brian Kelder]

With the Mets taking steps forward, the Super Team Dodgers getting more super by the week, Atlanta poised for a healthier, more dangerous 2025, and the Phillies being the Phillies, the NL Central seems to be the crown the Cubs are most likely to claim.  Of course, the Cubs aren't the only team in the division looking to improve.  Here's a roundup of moves and rumors for each team in that group this winter.

Image courtesy of © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Cincinnati Reds
The Reds have cast a wide net this offseason, looking to improve on their disappointing 2024. They're big-game hunting in the rotation and in the outfield. Like the Cubs, they lost out on Garrett Crochet, who landed with the Red Sox, but they might call the White Sox right back and try to secure the services of should-be star center fielder Luis Robert, Jr. They also may travel up I-71 to talk to the Guardians about Josh Naylor. With Terry Francona newly installed in the dugout, they have bigger ambitions than they typically do this winter.

The Reds infield has a lot of names, but not a lot of stability. Elly De La Cruz is the headliner, and Matt McLain is ready for a mulligan on a first full season in the majors that wasn't, due to injuries. The corner spots are much less certain, with the likes of Noelvi Marte (suspension, then inconsistency), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (injury) and Jeimer Candelario (well, we know) providing vague cause for hope but not much confidence. Naylor makes perfect sense if the Guardians decide to roll with Kyle Manzardo at first base. Lane Thomas, also of Cleveland, is another rumored target to round out the outfield mix. The Reds are definitely looking to improve their lineup.

The team has already acquired Brady Singer via trade with the Royals to help fill the rotation. Nick Martinez stuck around by accepting a qualifying offer, and Nick Pivetta has emerged as a possible target this offseason. However it shakes out, the Reds are looking to improve quickly, and they're being aggressive.

Milwaukee Brewers
Willy Adames will torture the Cubs from San Francisco, instead of Milwaukee. Devin Williams is on the trading block. At some point, this talent drain will catch up to them, right?  

For the Brewers' rotation, Brandon Woodruff is planning to return, but with shoulder capsular injuries, this should be taken with a grain of salt. They, too, were players for Crochet, indicating the extent to which they view the rotation as an area of need. If Woodruff is something close to his former self, though, that group comes together nicely in a hurry.

The Brewers outfield is in good hands. They are looking for another infielder, though, to replace Adames. Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang will start, but there is no obvious candidate in the system to come up. They've been linked to Ha-Seong Kim in free agency, but the more likely route for them is using a trade of Williams to fill third base and sliding Ortiz to short.

Pittsburgh Pirates
It turns out that the rumored deal between the Bucs and Anthony Rizzo was only that. Debunking this was easy, after the Pirates acquired Spencer Horwitz to play first base. He will be a nice upgrade for them at first in his own right, though.

The rest of their offseason has been minor-league pitching reinforcement. Tanner Rainey is probably the most well-known, and they followed that by signing Hunter Stratton. Yes, after reading this, it's a bit underwhelming. Pirates fans surely will hope they won't waste their elite front of the rotation with an inactive offseason. Recent rumors of listening to Mitch Keller offers are somewhat confusing, unless they're hoping to be offered an offensive difference-maker in exchange for the mid-rotation righty. Their last postseason appearance in 2015 feels so, so long ago; they need to find some further reinforcement.

St. Louis Cardinals
They're tearing it down! (Kind of.) The Cardinals, for the first time since the early 1990s, are selling veterans and going with the youth. (Kind of.) Paul Goldschmidt? Gone, plenty of suitors but halfway washed-up anyway. Nolan Arenado? Willing to waive his no-trade clause for six specific teams, most of them in southern California. Sonny Gray, Willson Conteras? Well, they'd had a lot of trade value, unlike Arenado, but no, they say they want to stick around, and they both have no-trade clauses, too. Ryan Helsley, a star closer in a walk year? No, they're planning to hold onto him for now, too. Times are changing in St. Louis. (Kind of.)

They aren't expected to be major players in acquisitions. This will be a year where their youngsters like Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, and Alec Burleson will be given long leashes and opportunities to succeed or fail. Cubs fans will certainly hope for more of the latter. Don't expect the Cardinals to make headlines with the players whom they acquire. Instead, look for them to make waves in the younger talent realm.

At first glance, the NL Central looks to be ripe for the taking. The Cubs should be aggressive in adding to their squad, in an all-out attempt to take the division hostage and not write a ransom note. They shouldn't rest on their laurels, especially since they really don't have any.

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[Brian Kelder]

Agreed on the rest of the division.  It's really a tribute to the Brewers and how well they've been run that they continue to be in first place