NL Central thread

[navamind]

Just how rare was that Kyle Hendricks 81-pitch shutout?

The 12 Days of Cubsmas: 12 ground balls in a Kyle Hendricks Maddux

Revisiting Kyle Hendricks' 81 pitch Maddux.

 

[GNG]

Craig Counsell gets 3 year contract extension.

 

[BrockForBroglio]

Cardinals trade Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena to TampaBay for pitchinv prospect Matthew Liberatore. A 20 year old prospect picked 16th overall in the 2018 draft. I still think the Cardinals are still in on Arenado and this trade could be a bridge to that. I could beway off base but we can only hope.

Martinez needed an American League team and the DH.

 

[navamind]

Craig Counsell gets 3 year contract extension.

it's deserved

 

[tomcat1]

Cardinals trade Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena to TampaBay for pitchinv prospect Matthew Liberatore. A 20 year old prospect picked 16th overall in the 2018 draft. I still think the Cardinals are still in on Arenado and this trade could be a bridge to that. I could beway off base but we can only hope.

Martinez needed an American League team and the DH.

I almost posted this news as soon as it happened but I had to think through this trade and I still have not come to the conclusion about what I think about it yet. I don't think you are way off base because my thoughts at the moment is that we are still in the running for Arenado because of this trade, we'll see. I still don't trust Mo with anything he does however.

 

[Markwassillylaugher]

Pirates come to terms for all 8 players up for arbitration. Josh bell is getting a 817% raise from last season.

 

[packerzrule]

The Reds are really making a splash this off season. They will be one hellava team to contend with.

 

[navamind]

The Reds are really making a splash this off season. They will be one hellava team to contend with.

Their lineup was a pretty big disappointment last year, but I could see it being better this year. I think Votto bounces back to a degree (say an OBP-heavy 120 OPS+) though his All-Star days look to be over. Moose should represent a significant upgrade over Peraza offensively. Castellanos brings a good bat to a pretty suspect outfield and could also provide some Votto insurance. Akiyama will be hard pressed to do any worse than Scott Schebler did last year.

The pitching should be good again. Castillo/Bauer/Grey is a pretty good 1-3 and I think Mahle could break out this year. He still had home run issues in 2019 but he did post a pretty good groundball rate (47%) and cut down on his walk rate (went from 4.3 in 2018 to 2.4 in 2019). And despite the 5.14 ERA, he had a pretty solid 3.99 xFIP.

NL Central feels a lot like the NL East. 4 teams with a chance to win the division and one god awful team.

 

[Myles]

I'm not thrilled with my Cardinals offseason so far. Not much has been done to improve from last year where I think they overachieved by 5-6 wins. The Cubs underachieved last year, but I think they will bounce back. The Reds are solid and I think Moustakas and Castellanos make them the favorites to win the Central.

 

[packerzrule]

Their lineup was a pretty big disappointment last year, but I could see it being better this year. I think Votto bounces back to a degree (say an OBP-heavy 120 OPS+) though his All-Star days look to be over. Moose should represent a significant upgrade over Peraza offensively. Castellanos brings a good bat to a pretty suspect outfield and could also provide some Votto insurance. Akiyama will be hard pressed to do any worse than Scott Schebler did last year.

The pitching should be good again. Castillo/Bauer/Grey is a pretty good 1-3 and I think Mahle could break out this year. He still had home run issues in 2019 but he did post a pretty good groundball rate (47%) and cut down on his walk rate (went from 4.3 in 2018 to 2.4 in 2019). And despite the 5.14 ERA, he had a pretty solid 3.99 xFIP.

NL Central feels a lot like the NL East. 4 teams with a chance to win the division and one god awful team.

Hope to hell the Brewers are not the one God awful team

 

[tomcat1]

The Reds are really making a splash this off season. They will be one hellava team to contend with.

I agree with you, the Reds should be much better in 2020.

 

[tomcat1]

Hope to hell the Brewers are not the one God awful team

Don't worry, they're not because that honor still belongs to the Pirates.

 

[wings-pens2166]

Hope to hell the Brewers are not the one God awful team

nah, that's the Bucs for sure

 

[tomcat1]

I'm not thrilled with my Cardinals offseason so far. Not much has been done to improve from last year where I think they overachieved by 5-6 wins. The Cubs underachieved last year, but I think they will bounce back. The Reds are solid and I think Moustakas and Castellanos make them the favorites to win the Central.

Hello my Cardinals friend! I'm not thrilled or disappointed with what our team has done during the offseason so far and I think we will finish pretty close to the record we had last season. The Reds should be much improved but there is no way I can favor them to win the NL Central. I think the Cubs will underachieve even more than they did last season. I think the Brewers will underachieve somewhat from last season. I think the Pirates will have a miserable season.

Las Vegas is not wrong too often and among the NL Central teams here are their odds to win the 2020 World Series:

Cardinals 14 to 1
Cubs 30 to 1
Reds 30 to 1
Brewers 40 to 1
Pirates 200 to 1

GO REDBIRDS!

 

[navamind]

Hope to hell the Brewers are not the one God awful team

Pirates.

 

[Myles]

Hello my Cardinals friend! I'm not thrilled or disappointed with what our team has done during the offseason so far and I think we will finish pretty close to the record we had last season. The Reds should be much improved but there is no way I can favor them to win the NL Central. I think the Cubs will underachieve even more than they did last season. I think the Brewers will underachieve somewhat from last season. I think the Pirates will have a miserable season.

Las Vegas is not wrong too often and among the NL Central teams here are their odds to win the 2020 World Series:

Cardinals 14 to 1
Cubs 30 to 1
Reds 30 to 1
Brewers 40 to 1
Pirates 200 to 1

GO REDBIRDS!

That surprises me a bit. They have not added anything of significance. Lost Ozuna.

Go Cardinals!

 

[tomcat1]

That surprises me a bit. They have not added anything of significance. Lost Ozuna.

Go Cardinals!

I rarely pay much attention to spring training but I will be glued to it this year for several reasons. I don't consider the loss of Ozuna a big loss because I know we've got a wealth of top prospect outfielders chomping at the bits to show what they can do at the MLB level. I think Goldschmidt and DeJong will be much improved over last season. I really have high hopes for our pitching if Martinez can become a starter again and Reyes can become a quality reliever. Kim will be competing for a starting role as well. The big question for me right now is 3rd base. Based on last year, we've got to keep Tommy Edmunds bat in the lineup but the question is will he play 3rd base or play in the outfield?

Go Birds on the Bats!

 

[navamind]

Late Cubs fan has one last wish: Donate to ‘impoverished’ Ricketts family

 

[BrockForBroglio]

I'm not thrilled with my Cardinals offseason so far. Not much has been done to improve from last year where I think they overachieved by 5-6 wins. The Cubs underachieved last year, but I think they will bounce back. The Reds are solid and I think Moustakas and Castellanos make them the favorites to win the Central.

i am more concerned about thd Reds than I am about the Cubs. They might lose Bryant. They are in a downward spiral, imo.

 

[tomcat1]

i am more concerned about thd Reds than I am about the Cubs. They might lose Bryant. They are in a downward spiral, imo.

I agree! The Reds have had a great offseason on paper but with that said I would love to have Bryant playing 3rd base for us rather than Carpenter even though I doubt this will happen.