While several of their midwest counterparts in the American League Central enjoyed a collective breakout in 2024, the quintet of National League clubs in the heartland had a far less encouraging season. A young Brewers team led by new manager Pat Murphy surged to a comfortable division lead it never relinquished, while former Milwaukee skipper Craig Counsell watched his Cubs club flounder in his first season at the helm. Cincinnati took a step back in large part due to injuries, St. Louis stayed stuck in the middle, and Pittsburgh, while not downright terrible, finished in last place for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
How did these clubs respond this winter to a season largely defined by disappointment and missed opportunities? Let’s take a look.
Read more: AL East grades | NL East grades | AL Central grades | NL West grades
Milwaukee Brewers
Major moves:
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Acquired SP Nestor Cortes, INF Caleb Durbin via trade from New York
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Acquired RP Grant Anderson via trade from Texas
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Selected RP Connor Thomas from St. Louis in Rule 5 Draft
Offseason grade: C
For Milwaukee, it has been another offseason of familiar faces finding homes elsewhere, as star shortstop Willy Adames secured a massive free-agent deal with San Francisco and closer Devin Williams was shipped to the Bronx entering the final year of his contract. Adames’ departure was hardly a shock considering the price, but the trade of Williams was a more intriguing organizational decision. The move had similar vibes to the trade of ace Corbin Burnes to Baltimore a year ago — but with some key differences.
Unlike in the Burnes trade, which netted two young, cost-contollable pieces plus a draft pick, in exchange for Williams, the Brewers received only one long-term piece in Caleb Durbin while adding another player entering the final year of his contract in Cortes, whose 2025 salary is nearly identical to Williams’. Trading from the bullpen to address the rotation makes sense on the surface considering Milwaukee’s needs, but this was a far more short-term-oriented move than we’re used to seeing the Brewers make. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.
While the Brewers deserve the benefit of the doubt as this division’s most consistent contender of the past half-decade, it’s hard not to feel a bit uninspired by their otherwise quiet winter, particularly in relation to the aggressive maneuvers executed by Chicago and Cincinnati. At the very least, it’s exceptionally difficult to argue that this team got better this winter. It’d be foolish to bet against this franchise as a relevant character in the division race, but it’s also tough to imagine them cruising to another NL Central title in the fashion they did a year ago. And if they end up struggling to keep pace, we might point to their lackluster offseason as part of the reason.
Chicago Cubs
Major moves:
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Acquired OF Kyle Tucker via trade from Houston
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Signed SP Matthew Boyd to a 2-year deal
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Signed C Carson Kelly to a 2-year deal
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Acquired RP Ryan Pressly via trade from Houston
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Acquired RP Eli Morgan via trade from Cleveland
Offseason grade: B
After years of half-measures and conservative additions, the Cubs finally swung big with their trade to acquire Tucker from Houston, giving them the superstar bat their roster has sorely lacked since the Bryant/Rizzo/Schwarber days. Chicago paid a heavy price to get him, but it was refreshing to see this front office finally make an aggressive move that reflected a level of urgency to restore the Cubs’ status as one of MLB’s prominent franchises, rather than an underwhelming big-market club mired in mediocrity.
The rest of the offseason, though, had shades of previous cautious winters. Despite jettisoning Cody Bellinger’s contract to the Bronx and remaining more than $30 million below the first luxury tax line, the Cubs have remained reluctant to spend big in free agency. While Boyd is a nice pickup to shore up the back end of the rotation, there were several more impactful arms on the market that the Cubs showed little interest in pursuing. The additions of Pressly and Morgan will help a bullpen that was a clear weak spot in 2024, but that unit still looks a bit thin with spring training approaching.
Perhaps there is one more major move left this offseason for Chicago to raise this grade into A-range — Alex Bregman? Dylan Cease? — but until then, an awful lot is riding on Tucker to deliver on the massive hype surrounding his acquisition, especially with him under contract for just this upcoming season.
St. Louis Cardinals
Major moves:
Offseason grade: D
From the earliest days of this offseason, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been adamant and tremendously transparent about the club’s desire to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado. With the Cardinals in something of a transitional state as a franchise, both player and team thought it best to find a new home for Arenado and clear the way for some younger players on the St. Louis roster.
However, Arenado’s contract ($74M owed over the next three seasons) and the no-trade clause within it have made it difficult for the Cardinals to find the right deal. Arenado rejected an agreed-upon deal to Houston in December, and the Astros have since pivoted with their third-base plans. With spring training approaching, the Cardinals are still seeking a landing spot for Arenado, and Mozeliak said recently that it’s a “coin flip” whether they will find a deal, even with their continued intentions.
It’s not that St. Louis’ roster looks particularly poor as currently constructed. It’s that all the Cardinals talk this winter has been about subtracting rather than adding, not just in regard to Arenado but also with trade rumors involving closer Ryan Helsley and starters Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde and Steven Matz. However, all of that talk has amounted to nothing so far, leaving St. Louis with one of the least active offseasons of any team in MLB — and a grade that reflects it.
Cincinnati Reds
Major moves:
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Hired Terry Francona as manager
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Signed SP Nick Martinez to a 1-year deal
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Signed OF Austin Hays to a 1-year deal
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Acquired SP Brady Singer via trade from Kansas City
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Acquired 2B Gavin Lux via trade from Los Angeles
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Acquired C Jose Trevino via trade from New York
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Acquired RP Taylor Rogers via trade from San Francisco
Offseason grade: A-
Terry Francona wasn’t going to come out of retirement to manage a team he didn’t believe could be a winner. And based on the flurry of moves executed by the Cincinnati front office since Francona’s surprise hiring in October, it seems the franchise is rightfully committed to assembling a roster worthy of being led by a future Hall of Famer. Retaining an underrated rotation anchor in Martinez via the qualifying offer was a strong start, and that looks especially savvy in tandem with the acquisition of Singer to reinforce the staff further. Hays and Lux should bolster a lineup that badly needed a boost, and Rogers was a nice late-January addition to strengthen the bullpen.
The Reds’ busy offseason last winter might have turned out to be a flop, but that didn’t deter them from making another series of significant additions this winter, even with a limited budget. With a legend in Francona now in charge, there’s going to be a renewed sense of energy and drive toward reestablishing the Reds as the up-and-coming team we saw them to be following 2023. Don’t sleep on this squad in 2025.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Major moves:
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Acquired INF Spencer Horwitz via trade from Toronto (via Cleveland)
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Signed DH Andrew McCutchen to a 1-year deal
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Signed INF/OF Adam Frazier to a 1-year deal
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Signed RP Caleb Ferguson to a 1-year deal
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Signed RP Tim Mayza to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: D+
With perhaps the best pitcher on the planet in Paul Skenes and a bevy of other impact arms at or near the major-league level, the Pirates have assembled an enviable foundation on the mound around which to build their roster. But instead of seizing the opportunity at hand and pushing their budget to support a potentially elite pitching staff, Pittsburgh has remained maddeningly frugal. Their largest expenditure has been the $5M committed to franchise icon McCutchen, who, while still a competent contributor, is a far cry from the impact player he used to be entering his age-38 season.
Horwitz represents the club’s most substantial external upgrade as a promising lefty bat coming off a stellar rookie year offensively, but he brings minimal defensive value and has yet to prove an ability to handle southpaws. The Pirates are clearly hoping he can solidify a first-base position that has been a severe weakness in the post-Josh Bell years. Otherwise, it’s two mediocre lefty relievers and a reunion with Frazier, who is coming off a dreadful season in Kansas City and doesn’t offer much beyond some defensive versatility and a lefty bat that the bench appeared to lack.
On the whole, this lineup looks troublingly undermanned and ill-equipped to support a playoff-caliber rotation. It’s one thing to hold back on spending while in the depths of a rebuild, but Pittsburgh’s continued reluctance to invest in external upgrades is especially frustrating to watch now that they have some elite ingredients in place on the mound.
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