The Cardinals now have 3 division rivals to leapfrog for a return to NL Central relevance

For the second consecutive season, the St. Louis Cardinals finished under .500 and came in at fourth place in the NL Central. While the overall season was seen as a net positive towards the future, the division is providing a reality check for how much work the organization has to do to get back to October baseball.

The Brewers and Cubs finished first and second place in the division each of the last two seasons and are now representing the Central in the postseason again. After the Reds finished third in 2025, the upstart Pirates leapfrogged Cincinnati and St. Louis to take the bronze spot this year. The Cardinals were supposed to take a major step back this season, projected to finish among the worst in the league in winning percentage, but only won one less game then in 2025.

The Cardinals still have a lot to do to return to NL Central dominance

Even with the Cardinals finding out that JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, and Jordan Walker have the abilities to be everyday regulars in the lineup, the bottom half of the order still has plenty of question marks. Joshua Baez and Leo Bernal seem to be obvious candidates for two of those spots, while Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, and Thomas Saggese will look to 2027 as their next opportunity to become long-term fixtures in the organization.

The pitching side is similar to the offense as St. Louis has clear major-league options already on the roster, but is still missing the final pieces to be a true position group that brings fear into their opponents. Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy lead the way in the rotation, with Quinn Mathews and others entering into a competition to round out the staff. The bullpen is a complete mess but has enough holdovers to avoid starting over for the 2027 season. Riley O'Brien, Luis Gastelum, George Soriano, and even Justin Bruihl look like options next season while Gordon Graceffo and Cooper Hjerpe may enter the starting pitching competition.

This leaves about half of the big league roster set for the 2027 campaign and even though these are viable major league players, the Cardinals are still in need of a true superstar at the plate and on the mound. Without addressing these needs, the Cardinals are in a position to be stuck in mediocrity, especially if the rest of the division continues to improve and build sustainable contenders.

At the top of the division, the Milwaukee Brewers keep finding a way to ball on a budget and own not just the Central, but somehow be the best team in all of baseball. Milwaukee's success takes away many of the smaller market teams' arguments that they cannot be competitive without money. The Brewers have found the perfect mix of long-term extension for young players, creative trades swapping major league players, and churning out an unbelievable group of talented arms. Their success seems to come out of nowhere, but their team construction also allows Brewers ownership the flexibility to pivot either direction every season.

The Cubs are a team that may be approaching a crossroads in the organization and pressure might be mounting on the front office and coaching staff to add another title. Unlike the Brewers, the Cubs are more willing to spend money on quality free agents and tend to shy away from trading their upper-level talent. This has given the Cubs a mix of young and experienced on the big league roster, but also keeps their minor league system near the middle of the pack. It may not be next year, but Chicago is going to have to make a decision in the near future if they are going to enter a mini rebuild or keep throwing money at whatever problem pops up.

In Pittsburgh, fans have to be happy to no longer take up the fifth spot in the Central, but also have a cautious optimism towards the future. This year, the Pirates finished above .500 for the first time since 2018 and only the second time in the past ten years. Despite the record success, they missed the postseason for the 10th consecutive season and will have some tough decisions to make in the near future. Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz continue to be some of the best talent in the sport, but are entering the time in their major league careers that money will become an obstacle Pittsburgh cannot avoid any longer.

Those two will be extremely costly to keep in Pittsburgh, especially if the team continues to miss the playoffs. Around them, the Pirates have an aging Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe to support a lineup that has plenty of question marks outside of rookie Konnor Griffin. The shortstop is locked up for the next eight seasons, but the rest of the roster is going to look plenty relatively soon. The pitching staff is young and the Pirates have always been able to develop talented young arms, but then ran into the money issue when it became time to make a decision (see: Gerrit Cole, Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, Clay Holmes).

While the St. Louis Cardinals took a step in the right direction, the rest of the division appears to be doing the same thing. The timeline for all five teams in the division is different for each organization, so one front office is going to have to do something creative or explosive to take over the NL Central for the next reign of dominance.

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