National League Central Preview Capsules

Capsules of National League Central teams, listed in order of finish last year:

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Milwaukee Brewers

2024: 93-69, first place, lost to Mets in Wild Card Series.

Manager: Pat Murphy (second season).

Opening Day: March 27 at New York Yankees.

He’s Here: LHP Tyler Alexander, RHP Grant Anderson, LHP Nestor Cortes, INF Caleb Durbin, LHP Jose Quintana.

He’s Outta Here: SS Willy Adames, RHP Devin Williams, LHP Wade Miley, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Colin Rea, RHP Joe Ross, C Gary Sánchez.

Top Hitters: C William Contreras (.281, 23 HRs, 92 RBIs, .365 OBP), OF Christian Yelich (.315, 11, 42, 21 SBs, .406 OBP in 73 games), OF Jackson Chourio (.275, 21, 79, 22 SBs), 3B/SS Joey Ortiz (.239, 11, 60), OF Garrett Mitchell (.255, 8, 21, 11 SBs in 69 games).

Projected Rotation: RH Freddy Peralta (11-9, 3.68 ERA, 200 Ks in 173 2/3 IP), RH Tobias Myers (9-6, 3.00, 127 Ks in 138 IP), LH Nestor Cortes (9-10, 3.77, 162 Ks in 174 1/3 IP with Yankees), RH Aaron Civale (8-9, 4.36, 149 Ks in 161 IP with Rays and Brewers), LH Jose Quintana (8-9, 3.71, 135 Ks in 170 1/3 IP for Mets), RH Brandon Woodruff (missed 2024 with shoulder injury; 5-1, 2.28 ERA, 74 Ks in 67 IP in 2023).

Key Relievers: RH Trevor Megill (1-3, 2.72 ERA, 21/24 saves), RH Joel Payamps (3-7, 3.05, 6 saves, 59 Ks in 59 IP), LH Jared Koenig (9-4, 2.47, 1 save, 63 Ks in 62 IP), RH Nick Mears (1-5, 5.93, 75 Ks in 57 2/3 IP with Colorado and Milwaukee), LH Bryan Hudson (6-1, 1.73, 62 Ks in 62 1/3 IP), RH Elvis Peguero (7-4, 2.98, 2 saves, 47 Ks in 51 1/3 IP).

Outlook: The Brewers didn’t add much and lost two of their top players with two-time NL reliever of the year Williams getting traded to the Yankees, and Adames signing a seven-year, $182 million contract with San Francisco. So they’re going to need some of their young returning players to take a step forward as they chase a third straight NL Central title. That starts with the 21-year-old Chourio, who capped a promising rookie season by batting .455 with two homers in the Wild Card Series loss to the Mets. The Brewers must decide on a new third baseman if they slide Ortiz over to shortstop to replace Adames. Brice Turang, a Platinum Glove winner at second base last year, is the other candidate to take over for Adames at shortstop. Milwaukee could use a bounce-back season from 1B Rhys Hoskins, who exercised his $18 million option for this season after batting .214 with a .722 OPS — both career lows — last year. Woodruff, a two-time All-Star, won’t be ready for the start of the season after missing 2024 with a shoulder injury. The bullpen will have a new closer and the most likely option is Megill, who filled that role when Williams missed the first half of last season due to stress fractures in his back.

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St. Louis Cardinals

2024: 83-79, tied for second place.

Manager: Oliver Marmol (fourth season).

Opening Day: March 27 vs. Minnesota.

He’s Here: GM-in-waiting Chaim Bloom, INF/OF Michael Helman.

He’s Outta Here: 1B Paul Goldschmidt, RHP Kyle Gibson, RHP Andrew Kittredge.

Top Hitters: 3B Nolan Arenado (.272, 16 HRs, 71 RBIs), SS Masyn Wynn (.267, 15, 57), INF/OF Brendan Donovan (.278, 14, 73), DH Alec Burleson (.269, 21, 78), C/1B Willson Contreras (.262, 15, 36), OF Lars Nootbaar (.244, 12, 45), C Ivan Herrera (.301, 5, 27).

Projected Rotation: RH Sonny Gray (13-9, 3.84 ERA), RH Andre Pallante (8-8, 3.78), RH Miles Mikolas (10-11, 5.35), RH Erick Fedde (2-5, 3.72), RH Michael McGreevy (3-0, 1.96).

Key Relievers: RH Ryan Helsley (7-4, 2.04, MLB-best 49 saves and 62 games finished), LH Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 4.40), LH JoJo Romero (7-3, 3.36), Steven Matz (1-2, 5.08), Chris Roycroft (1-2, 4.19).

Outlook: The Cardinals are in the midst of what CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. termed a “period of transition.” Longtime front office executive John Mozeliak will be replaced after this season by Bloom, a former Red Sox and Rays executive. Goldschmidt signed with the Yankees, creating a void at first base. And whether St. Louis would trade Arenado loomed a question all spring. It is against that background that the Cardinals will try to bounce back from consecutive years missing the playoffs, the first time that has happened since the 2017-18 seasons. They did little to upgrade the roster during the offseason, preferring instead to count on a bevy of young talents to take another step forward. Wynn was an exciting revelation last season while Helsley emerged as arguably the best closer in baseball, so there are reasons for optimism in St. Louis.

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Chicago Cubs

2024: 83-79, tied for second place.

Manager: Craig Counsell (second season).

Opening Day: March 18 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japan.

He’s Here: OF Kyle Tucker, RHP Ryan Pressly, LHP Matthew Boyd, INF Justin Turner, C Carson Kelly, RHP Ryan Brasier, RHP Eli Morgan, INF Jon Berti, RHP Colin Rea, LHP Caleb Thielbar, INF Vidal Bruján.

He’s Outta Here: OF Cody Bellinger, INF Isaac Paredes, RHP Kyle Hendricks, OF Mike Tauchman, INF Patrick Wisdom, RHP Adbert Alzolay.

Top Hitters: RF Kyle Tucker (.289, 23 HRs, 49 RBIs in 78 games with Houston Astros), DH Seiya Suzuki (.283, 21, 73, 16 SBs), LF Ian Happ (.243, 25, 86), 1B Michael Busch (.248, 21, 65), SS Dansby Swanson (.242, 16, 66, 19 SBs), 2B Nico Hoerner (.273, 7, 48, 31 SBs).

Projected Rotation: LH Shota Imanaga (15-3, 2.91 ERA, 174 Ks in 173 1/3 IP), LH Justin Steele (5-5, 3.07, 135 Ks in 134 2/3 IP), RH Jameson Taillon (12-8, 3.27), LH Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72 in 8 starts with Cleveland Guardians), RH Colin Rea (12-6, 4.29 in 32 games (27 starts) with Milwaukee Brewers).

Key Relievers: RH Ryan Pressly (2-3, 3.49, 4 saves with Houston Astros), RH Porter Hodge (3-1, 1.88, 9 saves), RH Ryan Brasier (1-0, 3.54 in 29 games with Los Angeles Dodgers), RH Eli Morgan (3-0, 1.93 in 32 games with Cleveland Guardians), RH Nate Pearson (2-2, 4.48 in 60 appearances for Toronto Blue Jays and Cubs), RH Julian Merryweather (1-1, 6.60), LH Caleb Thielbar (2-4, 5.32 in 59 games with Minnesota Twins).

Outlook: Playoffs, or quite possibly a massive makeover. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is going into the last year of his contract. Kyle Tucker, who was acquired in a December trade with Houston, also is eligible for free agency after this season. The Cubs haven’t reached the postseason since 2020 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2017. But they are much improved compared to the end of last year. The addition of Tucker puts a dynamic presence in the middle of the lineup, and Pressly should help anchor a refurbished bullpen. Swanson and Hoerner form one of baseball’s best double-play combinations, but Swanson is coming off core surgery and Hoerner is working his way back from an operation on his right forearm. A healthy Hoerner could be used to spell Swanson at shortstop, but his flexor tendon injury affected his throwing last year. One big key for the Cubs is the play of young center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and infielder Matt Shaw. Crow-Armstrong could put together a breakout season after showing signs of growth last year. The 23-year-old Shaw, a first-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft, is poised to take over at third base after Paredes was traded to Houston in the Tucker deal.

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Cincinnati Reds

2024: 77-85, fourth place.

Manager: Terry Francona (first season).

Opening Day: March 27 vs. San Francisco.

He’s Here: RHP Brady Singer, LHP Taylor Rogers, OF Austin Hays, IF Gavin Lux, C Jose Trevino.

He’s Outta Here: 2B Jonathan India, LF Joey Weimer, RHP Fernando Cruz, LHP Jakob Junis, RHP Buck Farmer, SS/RF Amed Rosario

Top Hitters: SS Elly De La Cruz (.259, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 69 SBs, .810 OPS), CF TJ Friedl (.226, 13, 55), 1B Spencer Steer (.225, 20, 92, 25 SBs), C Tyler Stephenson (.258, 19, 66), IF Gavin Lux (.251, 10, 50 with Los Angeles Dodgers).

Projected Rotation: RH Hunter Greene (9-5, 2.75 ERA, 10.1 Ks/9 IP), RH Nick Martinez (10-7, 3.10), LH Nick Lodolo (9-6, 4.76), RH Brady Singer (9-13, 3.71 ERA, 8.5 Ks/9 IP with Kansas City), LH Andrew Abbott (10-10, 3.72).

Key Relievers: RH Alexis Díaz (2-5, 3.99, 28/32 saves), RH Emilio Pagán (4-5, 4.50), RH Scott Barlow (3-3, 4.25 with Cleveland), LH Taylor Rogers (1-4, 2.40 with San Francisco).

Outlook: After taking a year off, Francona inherits a situation similar to the one he inherited in Cleveland in 2013 — a young, talented club that is on the verge of taking the next step. De La Cruz goes into his third year in the majors after leading the NL in stolen bases last season while most of the starting rotation has been home grown. The Reds were aggressive during the offseason though, trading for Singer, Lux and Rogers. They will also look for a bounce-back year from infielder Matt McLain, who missed last season after batting .290 as a rookie in 2023.

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Pittsburgh Pirates

2024: 76-86, fifth place.

Manager: Derek Shelton (sixth season).

Opening Day: March 27 at Miami.

He’s Here: OF Tommy Pham, INF/OF Adam Frazier, LHP Andrew Heaney, LHP Tim Mayza, 1B Spencer Horwitz.

He’s Outta Here: C Yasmani Grandal, OF Bryan De La Cruz, 1B Connor Joe, LHP Aroldis Chapman, LHP Marco Gonzales.

Top Hitters: RF Bryan Reynolds (.275, 24 HRs, 88 RBIs), DH Andrew McCutchen (.232, 24, 50), SS Oneil Cruz (.259, 21, 76, 22 SBs), C Joey Bart (.265, 13, 45), INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.240, 1, 10), Spencer Horwitz (.265, 12, 40 with Toronto).

Projected Rotation: RH Paul Skenes (11-3, 1.96 ERA, 170 Ks in 133 IP), RH Mitch Keller (11-12, 4.25, 166 Ks in 178 IP), RH Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14, 132 Ks in 121 1/3 IP), LH Bailey Falter (8-9, 4.43, 97 Ks in 142 1/3 IP), LH Andrew Heaney (5-14, 4.28 ERA with Texas).

Key Relievers: RH David Bednar (3-8, 5.77 ERA, 23 saves), RH Colin Holderman (3-6, 3.16 ERA in 55 appearances), RH Kyle Nicolas (2-2, 3.95 ERA in 51 games), LH Tim Mayza (0-2, 6.33 ERA with Toronto and the New York Yankees), RH Carmen Mlodzinski (5-5, 3.38 ERA).

Outlook: The Pirates have one of the most electric players in baseball in Skenes, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year. The top overall pick in the 2023 draft was even better than advertised while finishing third in Cy Young voting. After being on an innings limit last season, expect Skenes to be relatively untethered in 2025 and serve as the anchor of a staff that should be the strength of a team that didn’t so much in free agency to add to an offense that was among the worst in the majors last season. Cruz moved from shortstop to center field late last season, and the Pirates need him to get comfortable because they need his bat in the lineup and his speed on the bases. Reynolds will slide to right to make room, with Pham in left. 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes and C/OF Henry Davis are both coming back from injuries. Pittsburgh’s best-case scenario is Skenes stays healthy and the pitching staff keeps the Pirates in contention in what could be a wide-open NL Central.

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