Chicago Cubs’ promising 2016 odds not yet set in stone

Homer-happy Davis could change the pecking order for Cards

At some point, the work turned in by Matt Holliday is going to fall off – and in a big way.

When that happens, the most powerful bat in the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup will be Jhonny Peralta, who has emerged from the cloud of his PED suspension a few years ago to become a very potent option for manager Mike Matheny.

Add in the likes of Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty and Kolten Wong and it’s easy to see why Cardinals fans are optimistic. But one glaring issue remains: the lack of a big bat in the middle of the order.

Solution? Sign free agent slugger Chris Davis, who still lacks a home heading into the middle of January. He’s hit 159 home runs and driven in an average of more than 100 runs per year annually since 2012 – even blasting 26 bombs in a career-worst year back in 2014.

No St. Louis player has even eclipsed 30 long-balls in a single campaign since Carlos Beltran did so back in 2012. Of course, we know now that home run-powered offenses aren’t necessarily needed to win it all (see the Kansas City Royals the last two years) – we’ve also seen that it can be particularly effective down the stretch (last year’s Cubs and Astros squads).

Right now, you have to think the Cubs have more talent than the Cardinals do on the roster. That being said, St. Louis knows how to maximize their return from the men they have and will no-doubt be contenders again in 2016.

Adding Chris Davis could be enough to push them over the top.

Next: Cubs will have to handle business early-on