Chicago Cubs: Assessing the progress of the Central Division

While the Chicago Cubs have made some additions to their team, they still have a few more they should make. That being said, has anyone else caught up to them in the division?

While I understand that the Chicago Cubs aren’t competing against the division alone, they can’t get to the playoffs without starting there. It sounds easy. We just need to keep up with the Dodgers and the Nationals, and we’ll be fine. But that’s not how baseball works, and the Cubs won’t be “keeping up with the Joneses.” Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer will put together a team that they feel can win the division and go from there.

With that, has anyone done enough in the Central to catch them? Let’s be honest, here. This comes down to the Brewers and the Cardinals. The Reds are still rebuilding, and the Pirates are about one step away (trading Gerrit Cole) from being in the same boat. We’ll be talking about the two, and just how close (or far) they are.

Did the Marcell Ozuna trade make up the difference for the Cardinals? Or have the Brewers done enough to replace Jimmy Nelson‘s spot in the rotation? Let’s see what each of them has done this offseason.