In 2013 the NL Central dominated the National League all season long and sent three teams into the playoffs. All year long the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds jockeyed for position in the division and nothing was settled until the final weeks of the season. In the end, the Cardinals finished on top, not only in the NL Central, but in the National league as well. Now the teams are playing a different kind of game, the game to improve their rosters so that they have the best team in 2014. So who has done the best job of improving their team after the biggest event of the postseason to date, the winter meetings?
5. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brew Crew hasn’t done enough the offseason to warrant moving out of the cellar. The only major move they made was sending right fielder Norichika Aoki to the Royals for left handed reliever Will Smith. The move was great for the Brewers because they get a solid lefty for the bullpen and Kris Davis was going to force the team to play Aoki off of the bench anyway. They have failed to fill the biggest hole on the team, though, as they watched Corey Hart leave for the Seattle Mariners leaving a glaring hole at first base. The team also has holes in the starting rotation and could greatly benefit from a reliever with closer experience after Jim Henderson struggled to stay healthy in 2013.
4. Cincinnati Reds
The Reds biggest move has been signing catcher Brayan Pena and trading away catcher Ryan Hanigan for a minor leaguer. They seem to be watching as Shin-Soo Choo is going to leave via free agency and have shown only a little interest in bringing back innings eater Bronson Arroyo. On top of that they seem to be in talks to trade away gold glover and all around good guy Brandon Phillips every single week. For me, when you are talking about trading an extremely talented guy like Phillips who also plays at a position that isn’t easy to replace it’s a bad idea. This is not saying at all that the Reds won’t be back fighting for the division title in 2014, but as of right now they are losing the battle in the offseason. In fact, if the Brewers would have made the rumored deal for Ike Davis, as poor of a season as he’s had, I would have ranked them below the Brewers too.
3. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have been wheeling and dealing since the middle of the 2013 season and haven’t stopped now that the season is over. The biggest signing has been utility infielder Ryan Roberts, AKA tatman, and a straight up swap of outfielders when they traded Brian Bogusevic to the Marlins for Justin Ruggiano. They also acquired Liam Hendricks off of waivers from the Twins and signed lefty reliever Wesley Wright. None of these are flashy moves, but all of them will improve the team slightly. Roberts can play all over the infield, Ruggiano has a lot of potential, Hendricks is only 24-years-old and Wright is a solid lefty out of the pen. The Cubs aren’t done making moves by a long shot, though, as they are in talks about second baseman Darwin Barney and starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have barely done enough this offseason to stay ahead of the Cubs, but they have. The brought back Clint Barmes to fill the short stop void that would have been left if he left via free agency and they have taken a risk by signing Edinson Volquez to fill the final spot in the rotation. The also acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Yankees to be the backup to Russell Martin and possibly his heir apparent. In the end, though, the biggest move they made as extending starting pitcher Charlie Morton#. Morton had somewhat of a breakout year in 2013 as he went 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 20 starts and keeping him on solidifies the rotation for the Buccos.
1. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are the clear winners in the NL Central this offseason as they’ve added an outfielder with gold glove potential in Peter Bourjos in a trade that sent away once hero David Freese and signed free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta. The moves filled the biggest needs for the team that was the best team in the division making them the clear winners in the division so far this offseason.
Peralta is a clear upgrade over incumbent shortstop Pete Kozma and Bourjos fills the hole left by Carlos Beltran. Bourjos doesn’t match up offensively for Beltran, but Peralta has the kind of offensive tools that could make up for the loss of Beltran with Bourjos speed being a huge plus for a team that used Matt Carpenter, an on base and contact hitter, as it’s leadoff guy in 2013. On top of those two fantastic moves, they signed veteran Mark Ellis to match up and mentor Kolten Wong at second base.
If the offseason moves to this point are any indication of who is going to win the division in 2014 it is going to be similar to 2013. There is still a lot of time left before pitchers and catchers report, though, and the Pirates and Reds are just a few players away from possibly knocking the Cardinals off of the top.