Grading Each NL Central Team’s 2022 Offseason
As we start to head into the 2022 MLB season, the National League Central division is widely viewed as one of the weaker divisions in all of baseball. Although both the Milwaukee Brewers (95-67) and St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) clinched a ticket to the postseason in 2021, the remaining three teams in the central division had significantly weaker seasons last year. Now, let’s take a look at which of these teams improved, worsened, or remained stagnant during the offseason, as well as how they will stack up against one another this season.
Milwaukee Brewers
D+
Notable Additions:
Signed OF Andrew Mccutchen to a one year/$8.5 million deal
Traded for OF Hunter Renfroe from the Boston Red Sox
Notable Subtractions:
Lost INF Eduardo Escobar to Free Agency
Traded away OF Jackie Bradley Jr. to the Red Sox in deal for Hunter Renfroe
Lost 1B Daniel Vogelbach to Free Agency
Fresh off of a 95-67 campaign in 2021 and their first division title since 2018, it is clear that the Brewers have the potential to not only be a legitimate contending team, but one of the most feared teams in the National League. Emphasis on “potential.” Milwaukee has arguably the best starting rotation in all of baseball, led by 2021 Cy-Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, 2-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and 2021 breakout star Freddy Peralta. Not to mention a bullpen consisting of 3-time All Star closer Josh Hader and the equally-nasty Devin Williams, who typically precedes Hader late in games. Hader is widely regarded as the best closer in all of baseball, while Williams’ “air-bending” changeup is one of the most dominant pitches in the game. With a late-inning duo like that, it is safe to say that Brewers fans feel pretty good about their chances at the end of games. This team definitely has the right core pieces to be competitive once again in 2022, especially if their former MVP Christian Yelich can return to form following two consecutive dissapointing seasons. However, after falling short against the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 NLDS, it was clear the Brewers still had some roster improvements to make, specifically with regards to their offense that muscled just six runs in four games during the division series. Given their elite pitching core and mostly succesful season in 2021, the Brew Crew was expected to go full win-now mode and make a splash to address some of its holes in the lineup, but that really was not the case. As things stand right now, the Brewers are still probably the team to beat in the NL Central, but when you look at whether or not Milwaukee actually improved in the offseason, the answer is probably no.
2. St. Louis Cardinals
C-
Notable Additions:
Signed LHP Steven Matz to a four-year/$44 million deal
Notable Subtractions:
Lost Jon Lester to retirement
Lost J.A. Happ to Free Agency
Lost Andrew Miller to retirement
Lost 3B Matt Carpenter to Free Agency
Lost RHP Carlos Martinez to Free Agency
Lost LHP Kwang Hyun Kim to Free Agency
Heading into the offseason, the Cardinals were a team expected to make some relatively small but necessary improvements to their roster after falling short in their Wild Card matchup against the Dodgers. Instead, like the Brewers, the Cards failed to address any major needs and wound up being even less involved in the Free Agent market than their division rivals. Aside from signing LHP Steven Matz to a four-year deal in mid-November, the Cardinals have been as quiet as any team so far this offseason. Coming off of a magical season consisting of a historic 17-game win streak and an unlikely playoff push, the Cardinals seem to be in a prime position to compete for a division title once again in 2022. However, the St. Louis offense ranked 20th best in all of baseball last year in terms of runs scored, which simply will not get the job done if they want to be a legitimate World Series contender. While the Cardinals were tied to some big names like shortstop Trevor Story throughout the offseason, their interest in these the top Free Agents never ultimately materialized into anything, leaving their roster mostly unchanged from last year. Although the Cards faltered a bit offensively in 2021, they were always able to rely on their brilliant defense, which was their achilles heel throughout the entire regular season. In one of the biggest highlights of the 2021 season, third Baseman Nolan Arenado, second baseman Tommy Edman, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, left fielder Tyler O’Neill, and centerfielder Harrision Bader all took home the Rawling’s Gold Glove Award for their respective positions. Their five Gold Gloves by a single team in a season set a new Major League record and there is no reason for us to expect their defense to be any less superb in 2022, although topping 5 Gold Gloves might be tough. Obviously, the Cardinals felt comfortable with the offensive core they have in place and are relying on players like Arenado, Goldschmidt, O’Neill, Bader, and Edman to step up at the plate in 2022. And while it is well within the realm of possibilities for this Cardinals offense to improve upon its performance from this past season, their pitching has become a gaping hole following the departure of key contributors like Jon Lester, Kwang Hyun Kim, J.A. Happ, Carlos Martinez, and Andrew Miller. In what I think was undoubtedly their biggest mistake of the offseason, the Cardinals neglected to significantly bolster their starting rotation and I don’t believe Steven Matz alone makes up for the lost production from the pitchers named above. As of right now, the St. Louis starting rotation will most likely consist of Jack Flaherty, who is currently shut down from throwing as he nurses a tear in his right shoulder, Adam Wainwright, who is entering his age 40 season, Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas, and Dakota Hudson. If I’m a Cardinals fan, I am not feeling too confident about that pitching staff heading into the season.
3. Chicago Cubs
B
Notable Additions:
Signed RHP Marcus Stroman to a three-year/$71 million deal
Signed OF Seiya Suzuki to a three-year/$85 million deal
Signed INF Jonathan Villar to a one-year/$6 million deal
Signed SS Andrelton Simmons to a one-year/$4 million deal
Signed LHP Drew Smyly to a one-year/$5.25 million deal
Notable Subtractions:
Lost RHP Zach Davies to Free Agency
Lost C Austin Romine to Free Agency
Lost Robinson Chirinos to Free Agency
After trading away their core trio of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez at last year’s July trade deadline, it seemed as though the Cubs were preparing to enter full-rebuild mode in 2022. But much to the pleasure of the Cubs faithful, the team was surprisingly active in the Free Agent market. The two most notable additions for the Cubs were Marcus Stroman, who is fresh off a career year with the Mets, and Japanese superstar Seiya Suzuki. In addition to reeling in these two big fish, the Cubs made a plethora of other depth moves that ultimately made them a better team than they were at the end of the season. The new CBA sought to eliminate tanking in baseball by implementing a draft lottery that would motivate all MLB teams to spend money regularly and actively try to put a competitive team on the field yearly. While a number of teams chose to blatantly ignore that objective (i.e. the Cincinnati Reds), the Cubs were not one of those teams, so props to them. Now, do I see the Cubs actually competing for a division title in 2022? No. But I give them credit for trying and you never know which teams can surprise you.
4. Pittsburgh pirates
C-
Notable Additions:
Signed C Roberto Perez to one-year/$5 million deal
Signed LF Yoshi Tsutsugo to one-year/$4 million deal
Signed LHP Jose Quintana to a one-year/$2 million deal
Signed 1B Daniel Vogelbach
Acquired RHP Zach Thompson from Miami Marlins
Notable Subtractions:
Traded C Jacob Stallings to Miami Marlins in deal for Zach Thompson
Lost 3B Colin Moran to Free Agency
Lost LHP Steven Brault to Free Agency
Lost RHP Chad Kuhl to Free Agency
The Pirates did what the Pirates were expected to do this offseason—a whole lot of nothing. Pittsburgh has been in full rebuild mode since 2019, finishing last in their division each of the last three seasons and solidifying themselves as one of baseball’s least competitive teams. Well, to no one’s surprise, it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon. If I had to say whether they actually got better or not, I would lean towards saying slightly, which I guess is a win for them.
5. Cincinnati reds
D-
Notable Additions:
Signed OF Tommy Pham to a one-year/$7.5 million deal
Signed 2B Donovan Solano to a one-year/$4.5 million deal
Acquired LHP Mike Minor from Kansas City Royals
Acquired RHP Justin Dunn, OF Jake Fraley, and LHP Brandon Williamson in exchange for OF Jesse Winker and 3B Eugenio Suarez
Acquired RHP Chase Petty in exchange for RHP Sonny Gray
Notable Subtractions:
Traded Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners
Traded Sonny Gray to the Minnesota Twins
Traded LHP Amir Garrett to Kansas City Royals in deal for Mike Minor
Rather than try to build upon their 83-79 finish in 2021, the Cincinnati Reds decided to tear the whole thing down instead. All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos, who recently agreed to a 5-year, $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies is coming off of a career year with the Reds, but Cincinnati showed absolutely zero interest in retaining the 29-year old. Castellanos slashed .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs and a 140 wRC+ and the Reds still decided it wasn’t worth it to pursue him. On top of letting their most productive hitter in Castellanos walk, the Reds shipped one of their top pitchers in Sonny Gray to the Twins and traded their other star outfielder Jesse Winker to the Mariners along with third baseman Eugenio Suarez. The Reds will enter the 2022 season with the 21st lowest payroll in all of baseball after spending a whopping $12 million total on Major League contracts during the 2022 offseason. So much for MLB’s anti-tanking initiative, right?
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