As the Cubs roster stands now, they could contend for their division. That’s without signing or trading for anyone else. I know the enormous elephant in the room is that Cody Bellinger is still out there, a free agent, and it makes a tremendous amount of sense for the Cubs to sign him. I expect that will happen, and probably soon, but if they don’t, the Cubs are still good enough to win the NL Central.
That’s not praise for the Cubs as much as it is a condemnation of the division. I wrote here a couple of weeks ago that I didn’t think the Cubs had done enough with their offseason. I still think that, but they could get away with standing pat and be good enough to at least compete against their division. Collectively, the Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Brewers, and Pirates aren’t as bad as their American League Central counterparts, but this is still a division that can be won by a team with around 83-85 wins.
Let’s take a look at the competition, in order of how they finished in 2023:
The Brewers:
Last year’s record: 92-70
Milwaukee has turned into a sinking ship of sorts. Craig Counsell shocked the baseball world in early November by heading south to manage the Cubs, and last week the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes to the Orioles. Burnes, who won the NL Cy Young in 2021, an All-Star for three straight seasons, and who had the lowest walks/hits per innings pitched (WHIP) rate in the National League last season.
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