Recapping the National League Central: Who had the best offseason?

The National League Central has been an active division this offseason. The Milwaukee Brewers appear to be retooling, the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs are making pushes, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are biding their time.

The Cardinals were the first movers in the division, signing Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray before the Winter Meetings started. They didn't extend arbitration contracts to Dakota Hudson, Jake Woodford, Andrew Knizner, or Juan Yepez, and they offered contracts to Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, Ryan Helsley, and Tommy Edman. They also beefed up the bullpen by adding Rule 5 Draft pick, Ryan Fernandez, trading Tyler O'Neill for Nick Robertson, and also trading for Andrew Kittredge. The final signing of Keynan Middleton was the icing on the cake.

Transforming the team for the Cardinals was important, but the changes at both the executive and field levels were just as important. Bringing Yadier Molina, Daniel Descalso, and Chaim Bloom into the fold improves the team's outlook for 2024 and beyond.

John Mozeliak and the front office members have been very busy, and the offseason was a general success. However, did they do enough to surpass the other teams in the National League Central?

Let's take a look at the other National League Central teams' transactions this offseason and evaluate if these teams improved or not.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Majors Subtractions: RHP Vince Velasquez, LHP Jarlin Garcia
Major Additions: RHP Aroldis Chapman, LHP Marco Gonzales, C Ali Sanchez, 1B Rowdy Tellez, LHP Martin Perez
Notable Moves: Won the No. 9 draft pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, catcher Endy Rodriguez's season-ending injury

The Pirates are a team that appears to be holding off in the National League Central. Despite an influx of young, talented players such as O'Neil Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes, the Pirates are holding pat on making a push for the division. Most of their moves were moves on the margins in which they filled out their roster.

The Pirates traded for Marco Gonzales just a couple of days after the Atlanta Braves acquired him in the Jerred Kelenic trade. This transaction appeared to be a salary dump on the part of the Braves, but Pittsburgh gets a decent starting pitcher to work behind the team's ace, Mitch Keller. The Pirates also bolstered their rotation when they signed left-handed pitcher Martin Perez to a one-year, $8 million contract.

Pittsburgh added Aroldis Chapman, although this move could result in a Trade Deadline transaction to net a prospect of two. The signings of Rowdy Tellez and Ali Sanchez provide some bench depth. The return of Andrew McCutchen creates some buzz in the city, and he could see time at DH and in the corner outfield. Most of the Pirates' moves have been relatively minor, only showing their willingness to wait it out and see what happens in the division.

Pittsburgh doesn't figure to be a contender for the National League Central crown next year, but they are an interesting team to watch these next few years given their youth influx. Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes, their most recent draft pick, could even reach the majors by the end of the season next year.

Chicago Cubs

Major Subtractions: 1B/OF Cody Bellinger*, RHP Marcus Stroman, 3B Jeimer Candelario
Major Additions: SP Shota Imanaga, INF Michael Busch, RHP Hector Neris
Notable Moves: signed Craig Counsell to a 5-year deal

The Chicago Cubs were rumored to be in on players such as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and other high-end free agents this offseason. They did manage to sway Craig Counsell over from the Milwaukee Brewers, a move that surprised many in the industry.

Chicago played the waiting game this offseason; after losing three key players in Cody Bellinger, Marcus Stroman, and Jeimer Candelario, many expected the Cubs to be big players in the free agent pool. They are a big-market team that had a low payroll at the beginning of the offseason and a stated desire to improve. Instead, the Cubs lost out on players such as Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto,

Chicago was able to sign Shota Imanaga on January 9th. Imanaga will likely slot in as the team's #2 or #3 starting pitcher behind Justin Steele and possibly Jameson Taillon. The starting rotation remains strong after this signing despite Marcus Stroman's departure. The Cubs also made a huge trade for infielder Michael Busch from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs gave up some promising prospects, but they got a first baseman with a good bat in return.

Patience was a virtue for the Cubs, and they waited until the back half of the offseason to make their moves. However, the moves they did make were not overwhelming. The signing of reliever Hector Neris provides some assurance at the back end of their bullpen. He will provide strong performances late in games for the Cubbies.

Chicago still has a talented roster, and their retooling during the 2022-2023 offseason is still felt this year. The Chicago Cubs look to be one major move (Cody Bellinger?) away from being the top dogs in the division, but at the moment, they don't feel like crazy frontrunners.

Cincinnati Reds

Major Subtractions: 1B Joey Votto, OF Nick Senzel, CF Harrison Bader
Major Additions: RHP Nick Martinez, 3B Jeimer Candelario, RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Emilio Pagan, LHP Brent Suter
Notable Moves: Earned the 2nd-overall draft pick in 2024 MLB Draft

The Cincinnati Reds, with their young core, seem poised to push the envelope in the National League Central. Their rotation is headed by Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo. They have serious depth on the position player side, particularly on the infield. Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and Noelvi Marte are all capable infielders, particularly up the middle.

Cincinnati also jumped up eleven spots to secure the number-two overall pick in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft next summer. A draft pick at this spot has a strong chance of being a successful professional baseball player.

With the additions of Nick Martinez, Frankie Montas, and Jeimer Candelario, the Reds' roster gets that much deeper. The Reds' payroll for 2024 is projected to be under $100 million despite these signings, so there is still room for them to spend. While it may be unlikely they capitalize on this flexibility, the Reds are able to take on some money to improve their rotation even further. Martinez and Montas provide some additional depth and assurance for their rotation, and Jeimer Candelario will slot in at first base for them next year.

The bullpen additions of Brent Suter and Emilio Pagan shorten games for them, as both are veterans who have plenty of experience coming into a game during high-leverage situations. The shoring up of both the rotation and bullpen should lead to more success in close games next year for the Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds are an intimidating team for 2024 and beyond. Their players are young, cheap, talented, and controllable; that's a potent mix for a team that's looking to make a jump in a mediocre division. St. Louis should be wary of the Reds, especially after their offseason moves.