The Brewers and Cubs have finished 1-2 in the NL Central for the past three years and have combined to win the division 8 of the last 10 years. While the Cardinals have won the other two, they have struggled to find relevancy in the division since the Cubs knocked them out of the 2015 playoffs. This year, the Central is the best division in baseball, with three of the four teams sitting above .500 and the Cardinals just a game below. The Brewers and Cubs will be buyers, and the Reds will be sellers at the deadline, but what do the Cardinals and Pirates do come August 3rd?
The Pirates boast one of the league’s best offenses. They have continuously produced runs to supplement the stellar pitching rotation of Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, and Bubba Chandler. The offense is doing this without Konnor Griffin and O’Neil Cruz for a sustained period of time. While this seems like a turning of the tide, I have a hard time believing Bob Nutting is going to give his GM the green light to push the chips forward in 2026.
That’s not to say Pittsburgh won’t make moves. For all the positives, their bullpen is atrocious. Outside of Gregory Soto (who has been up and down himself), there is not a pitcher coming out of left center at PNC Park that gives me any confidence to lock down an inning in October. A reliever like Huascar Brazoban or Yannier Canno would make a lot of sense for Pittsburgh depending on how much they want to give up. I see Ben Cherington buying controllable relievers (if possible) and putting his trust in the rotation to give them enough innings down the stretch to buoy a thin bullpen.
When I started writing this article, the Cardinals were right in the mix for an NL Wild Card spot. They technically are still in the hunt, but going 1-3 against your division rival Cubs at home gives me the feeling GM Chaim Bloom does not want to get aggressive at the deadline. Riley O’Brien has been a popular trade candidate out of the bullpen. The Cardinal All-Star has turned in a good season, and a contender could see him as a valuable add due to his multiple years of control. Bloom could engage in talks about other players like Lars Nootbar who do not necessarily fit with the timeline of their young core. If the Cardinals do decide to buy, it will strategic, targeting younger players with multiple years of control to continue to build around the trio of Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, and Mason Wynn. It may be too pricy to stomach, but a deal for Emerson Hancock would fit what St. Louis is looking for. A surplus in the Seattle rotation, Hancock has outperformed expectations, leaving him blocked due to the Mariners’ surplus of starting pitching talent. Not only is the Seattle righty young, but he has multiple years left of control and would give St. Louis a shoo-in in their rotation for years to come. O’Brien + prospects for Hancock would be an ideal trade if St. Louis could stomach trading away from their farm system.
The Brewers have already made a trade this morning, and I'm assuming Chicago will make their first move shortly. With Pittsburgh and St. Louis seemingly in a playoff push, all eyes are on the former powers of the NL Central to see what they may do to play baseball in October.