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The National League Central could be the most highly volatile, wide open division of the 2026 season.

The Central was red hot in 2025, producing three of the six playoff teams in the NL. It looked like the year that the Chicago Cubs might finally dethrone the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Brew Crew rocketed up the standings from third place on June 1st to a 97 win season and a three-peat as division champs. The Cubbies finished with 92 wins and clinched the 4 seed, joined by the Cincinnati Reds who snuck in as the final Wild Card team.

The year ahead could yield wildly different results.

The PECOTA Standings are projecting major swings for three teams, predicting an 11-game improvement for the Pittsburgh Pirates, while calling for the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals to be 16 and 11 games worse, respectively. Anchored by rising superstar Paul Skenes, the Pirates seem to be trending in the right direction and could push for a playoff spot, or escape the basement at the very least. On the other hand, the Cardinals are facing the reality that they may not be perennial contenders anymore. 

It feels likely that the Central will have two representatives in the postseason. If things break right, they may get three again. But who those two or three teams could be feels very up in the air in a wide open division. 

Chicago Cubs

2025 Record: 92-70 | PECOTA 2026 Projection: 89.9 wins

Key Additions: 3B Alex Bregman, SP Edward Cabrera, RP Hunter Harvey

Key Departures: OF Kyle Tucker, RB Brad Keller

The NL Central may be competitive and could come down to the wire like last year, but the Cubs are heavy favorites as things begin. Chicago brings back a very talented lineup on both sides of the ball, with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Ian Happ. 

That core group will be bolstered by one of the splashiest offseason signings, as the team finally got their long-pursued free agency target, signing Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract. Bregman will hold down third base and add a strong bat and a Gold Glove, along with World Series experience and a veteran presence. The Cubs also re-signed Shota Imanaga on a qualifying offer, keeping him in the North Side for another year. 

Chicago has done an excellent job of fostering a roster of both home-grown talent and smart acquisitions, which has been rewarded with slow but steady improvement since 2021. They now feel like they’re at the place to add some final big pieces to compete regularly. With a balanced attack, they hope to continue their upward trajectory and perhaps avenge last year’s NLDS result, climbing a step higher in 2026. 

Cincinnati Reds

2025 Record: 83-79 | PECOTA 2026 Projection: 79.2 wins

Key Additions: 3B Eugenio Suárez, OF JJ Bleday

Key Departures: INF Gavin Lux, OF Austin Hays, 3B/OF Miguel Andujar

On the back of a strong finish and a New York Mets collapse, the Reds finished 8-3 in their last 11 games — including a four-game sweep of the Cubs — to make the playoffs with some Game 162 luck across the NL. Their success came with a slight down year for their star Elly De La Cruz, who dropped in home runs (from 25 down to 22) and stolen bases (plummeting from 67 to 37) between 2024 and 2025, despite playing all 162 games. 

Cincinnati floated right under the league average in most team batting and pitching statistics last year. Despite that, the Reds didn’t tinker with the roster much in the offseason, opting for stability. Still, there will be noticeable change as their key offseason pickups, Suárez and Bleday, are projected to slot right into the starting lineup at DH and left field, respectively. 

As is, they’re likely to finish right around where they did last season, so their floor is steady.

However, they bring back a pitching rotation with upside. A strong year from that group plus an offensive boost from their newcomers and a return to 2024 form for De La Cruz keeps their ceiling high. Consistency throughout the year could once again set them up for a Wild Card push if things begin to click. 

Milwaukee Brewers

2025 Record: 97-65 | PECOTA 2026 Projection: 81.2 wins

Key Additions: SP Brandon Sproat, SP Kyle Harrison

Key Departures: SP Freddy Peralta, C Danny Jansen, 1B Rhys Hoskins, INF Caleb Durbin

Projections are not being kind to a team looking for a fourpeat as NL Central champs.

It feels hard to bet against a team that’s won 90+ games and finished first in four the last five seasons. That bet feels especially risky given Milwaukee’s explosion last season. The team was unstoppable after the All-Star break, including a stretch where they went 15-1 in August. 

The Brew Crew is well-rounded. On the mound, they had the second best ERA, gave up the third-fewest hits, the third-fewest homers, and were top 10 in saves. Offensively, they were third in runs scored, third in hits, second in stolen bases, and fifth in strikeouts against. For the cherry on top, they were a very strong fielding team, too. 

By the numbers, they’re a top team and well-worthy of last year’s NLCS appearance as the 2 seed. So why the pessimism? Milwaukee heads into the season looking to prove that they can weather a number of key departures. Most notable might be the loss of their ace, Freddy Peralta. Peralta was a source of consistency, hitting the 30 game and 200 strikeout mark in each of the last three seasons. Brandon Woodruff, coming off an injury, is set to be the team’s new ace. Harrison and Sproat will mix into the rotation alongside some younger pieces who debuted in 2025: Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick. 

Milwaukee may be able to patch together a lineup to withstand some of their offensive losses. The loss of a 30-game starter and a reliance on more unproven pitching assets could cost make or break the team’s season and their hold on the division. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

2025 Record: 71-91 | PECOTA 2026 Projection: 82.4 wins

Key Additions: 2B Brandon Lowe, 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn, DH Marcell Ozuna

Key Departures: DH Andrew McCutchen, SP Johan Oviedo

The upcoming season will be a defining year for the Pirates. Some expectations place them in a tier with the Reds, firmly behind the Cubs and Brewers in the division pecking order. PECOTA is much more bullish, projecting them to finish ahead of the Brewers for second in the division, with a 43.3% chance to make the playoffs. Honestly, though, both a fight for second or a fight for third would both be a welcome sight for the Bucs, who have finished in last for five of the last nine seasons (and in fourth for the remaining four).

A competitive year in the Central would show marked improvement for the young squad. 

Obviously, ace Paul Skenes is a reason for a lot of the buzz around this team. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year turned 2025 Cy Young winner has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s added to his young legacy with a brilliant World Baseball Classic debut, driving his stock even higher. With that, he’s obviously drawing interest from every other team in the league, but is under club control through 2029 and has denied any trade rumors. That window could force the club to strike while the iron is hot, so a successful 2026 could very well lead to an exciting offseason heading into 2027.

As for 2026, a sense of realism might check expectations for a jump from fifth to second. Pittsburgh will need to not only grow but make a big leap in a number of categories to meet their projected 11-win jump. In batting, the team was 28th in hits and batting average, bottom 10 in strikeouts, and dead last in home runs and RBI. That doesn’t inspire confidence. The Pirates acquired three new starters in the offseason (Lowe at second base, O’Hearn in right field, and Ozuna at DH). The trio will help, but will certainly have their work cut out for them.

To end on a positive, Pittsburgh’s success comes from its rotation. Last year, they were third in home runs allowed, seventh in ERA, and top 10 walks, The club brought back four of its five starters and kept the bullpen mostly unchanged. More pitching magic mixed with some new bats could help the Buccos reach new heights. 

St. Louis Cardinals

2025 Record: 78-84 | PECOTA 2026 Projection: 66.0 wins

Key Additions: SP Dustin May

Key Departures: 3B Nolan Arenado, SP Sonny Gray, 1B Willson Contreras, SP Miles Mikolas, INF Brendan Donovan

It’s hard to imagine a world where the Cardinals aren’t in the playoff mix after the team’s historical success for so many decades. But playoff misses in 2023, 2024, and 2025 might have been the final three nails in the coffin for the Cards. This offseason represented a full shift into rebuild mode, following the vision of new President of Baseball Operations, Chaim Bloom.

The team shipped out two pitchers from their starting rotation in Gray and Mikolas. They moved on from an all-star in Donovan. And they moved away from players like Arenado and Contreras, core veteran pieces that were brought in when the club felt firmly in contention. However, a few years of middle of the road finishes led the team to make those sweeping changes.

Given the commitment to the rebuild and the other strong teams in the division, the projected dip and last place finish make sense. While the Cardinals were neck and neck with the Reds at the end of July and even again in early September when they crawled within half a game of third, their dropoff from their most recent first place finish in 2022 warranted bigger changes. 

They have moved to a younger roster, restocked their farm system, and added draft capital. Although they are a team who won’t be kept down for long, the growing pains and move to new talent are likely to keep them towards the bottom of the division this season. 

After winning the division for three years in a row, will the Brewers really fall as far as they’re expected to? Is a Cubs crown feeling like a sure thing? Or do the Pirates have what it takes to go worst to first?

Let us know what you think the NL Central has in store!

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Here are the lineups for today’s Grapefruit League matchup. Let’s discuss!

For the Phillies:

For the Orioles:

Jordan Wicks has been a bit of an enigma for the Cubs. When he first came up, he was an effective lefty starter, but those results haven’t been consistent, and he keeps getting hurt. He’s starting this season on the IL, along with Porter Hodge, who didn’t look good. Neither injury is said to be long-term, but you never know. Wicks hasn’t pitched yet this year.

Wicks is still just 26 but the clock is running and the luster has been worn off of the #21 overall pick in 2021. He’s pitched to a lifetime 6-6 record, with a ghastly 5.21 ERA and 1.516 WHIP and 0.5 bWAR (0.3 fWAR).

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly the problem is. His stuff is not bad. He clearly puts in the effort and the coaches says he puts in the work. His K/9 is in the eights. He gives up around 1.5 HR/9.

Projections have him as a spot starter, and that’s probably his future, if he gets into major-league games at all. Wicks might be better off in another organization where he’ll have more chances to throw in the bigs, but he’s a tough sell right now, and teams hate to give up on first-rounders historically, because of their potential.

Wicks has a five-pitch mix — FB, sinker, slider, curve, change. He’s also thrown a cutter in the past but not in 2025. Let’s hope that the Cubs’ coaches can determine what the issue(s) is/are, and Wicks can regain the effectiveness that got him drafted in the first round.

I guess we’ve found out why José Berríos wasn’t allowed to pitch in the WBC. The team is saying he’s heading to Texas to talk to Dr. Keith Meister about ‘right elbow inflammation. We hadn’t been told that there was an issue. He was scratched from his start against the Phillies. This is one of those things that gives Tom a bad feeling in his stomach.

Apparently, an MRI didn’t show anything. I can’t imagine he’ll be on the roster out of spring training.

Beyond that:

• Shane Bieber is throwing from flat ground and will continue doing that. In a few days they will decide if he is ready to pitch in a game.
• Alejandro Kirk is back in camp. He’s catching tomorrow, when Max Scherzer throws next.
• Scherzer has become more important now that Berrios isn’t going to be on the team and Trey Yesavage is a a long shot too, depending on how things go the next few days.

The Jays host the Twins today, 1:00 Eastern. Here’s the lineup. Cody Ponce starts. Use this as the GameThread:

And tonight we have two WBC quarter finals:

6:30 PM Dominican Republic/Korea

8:00 PM Canada/USA. Logan Webb and Mike Soroka are the starters. I think we’ll have a GameThread up.

The Guardians have some players who are doing well in Spring Training, so let’s talk about that.

The usual caveat applies here that in-game performance in Spring Training is a dangerous game. You never know exactly what is meaningful, what is not meaningful, and what is somewhere in between. With that said, here are some players catching my eye this Spring:

Pitchers:
Slade Cecconi – 3.15 FIP, 9.95/2.13 K/BB/9 – Cecconi has come into camp looking a lot more confident in his new, Guardians-inspired pitching repertoire/pitch shapes than he did last year, and seems primed for improvements across the board.

Cade Smith – 0.96 FIP, 12/0 K/BB/9 – Despite missing the first part of camp with neck soreness, Smith looks absolutely locked in as the team’s established closer for 2026.

Magnus Ellerts – 0.63 FIP, 13.5/0 K/BB/9 – Folks, if Ellerts has corrected at least some of his walk issues he will be in the major league bullpen sooner rather than later because he has electric stuff and can hit 100 mph. He has the highest perceived velocity in Guardians’ camp this spring at 95.9 mph.

Daniel Espino – 0.65 FIP, 13.5/0 K/BB/9 – Ah, if he can only stay healthy… he looked special as always.

Jack Jasiak – 0.20 FIP, 15.43/0 K/BB/9 – Jasiak has been eating hitters alive with his sweeper. Can that continue? I guess we will see.

Peyton Pallette – 0.96 FIP, 21/6 K/BB/9 – Pallette has popped with some great velocity and pitch movement. We’re all rooting for him to make the Opening Day roster and stay with the club.

Erik Sabrowski – 1.38 FIP, 20.25/6.75 K/BB/9 – Sabrowski remains absolutely nasty for no good reason.

Will Dion – 2.05 FIP, 7.11/0 K/BB/9 – With Austin Peterson hurt, it’s important that Dion looks like a potentially viable fifth starter.

Connor Brogdon – 3.05 FIP, 10.29/2.57 K/BB/9 – Brogdon should get a chance to show he belongs with Hunter Gaddis likely building up for the season after experiencing forearm tightness.

Tim Herrin – 3.63 FIP, 10.8/5.40 K/BB/9 – Herrin has been building on some positives late in 2025 to show he belongs back in the bullpen.

Tanner Bibee – 3.15 FIP, 7.82/0 K/BB/9 – Bibee has very obviously been working on throwing strikes and getting his pitch mix right… stop throwing that four-seamer so much, Tanner.

Gavin Williams – 3.38 FIP, 10.13/1.13 K/BB/9 – Williams looks like the Opening Day starter and anchor to the rotation the Guardians need him to be.

Shawn Armstrong – 2.63 FIP, 11.25/4.50 K/BB/9 – Reliable veteran doing reliable veteran things.

Jack Leftwich – 0.90 FIP, 12.270 K/BB/9 – Leftwich is working his way into that long-man role and looking potentially viable there if called upon.

Some underlying numbers also look great for Joey Cantillo and Colin Holderman, they just need to hone in on control and command.

Hitters:
Bo Naylor – 258 wRC+, 16.7/16.7 K/BB% (his OPS in the WBC is a shade below .700, which isn’t great but not bad, either).

Chase DeLauter – 188 wRC+, 5/10 K/BB% – If he’s healthy, the kid just HITS.

George Valera – 108 wRC+, 25.9/7.4 K/BB% – This can play vs. RHP.

Petey Halpin – 176 wRC+, 20.8/16.7 K/BB% – No way that Halpin can maintain this walk rate, but if he could cut his strikeouts closer to this and play great defense, he will be an excellent strong-side platoon centerfielder.

Ralphy Velazquez – 155 wRC+, 7.1/7.1 K/BB% – Ralphy definitely opened some eyes this Spring. He is getting steady “First Baseman of the Future” talk, but hopefully will make himself a left-field option.

Kahlil Watson – 213 wRC+, 31.3/12.5 K/BB% – Watson was a camp darling and you can see his approach was “swing the bat” and he made a lot of quality contact… but also had a lot of whiff.

Brayan Rocchio – 144 wRC+, 18.2/12.2 K/BB% – Rocchio has looked quiet, confident and effective at the plate. Him being an above average hitter would be a huge boon to this lineup.

Milan Tolentino – 185 wRC+, 14.3/33.3 K/BB% – Tolentino is not going to be a good major league hitter unless a miracle happens, but he is at least making himself look like he can do a Gabriel Arias approximation if the team FINALLY moves on there.

Jaison Chourio – 144 wRC+, 18.8/0 K/BB% – Good to see Chourio get some solid contact, but he’ll obviously need to take some walks to build back up his prospect status

Angel Martinez – 250 wRC+, 14.8/7.4 K/BB% – Angel has looked more confident in center and his K/BB% is what you want to see, along with – obviously – some good hitting. I think Angel has probably secured the 4th outfielder spot on the Opening Day roster, and good for him.

Juan Brito – 104 wRC+, 29.2/20.8 K/BB% – Just on the edge of missing this list, Brito had a couple terrible games defensively at third base, but has looked fine at second base. Really wish they’d give him a shot at Opening Day there and move Rocchio to short, but it looks like we are getting Arias at short and Rocchio at second for a while. Ah well.

As we’ve said several times, if the Guardians can finish camp mostly healthy, it will be a successful spring training. But, so far, with a couple weeks left, the team has also seen plenty of performances to be encouraged about as far as 2026 is concerned. Which of the names above has you most excited? Let us know in the comments below.

Diamondbacks news

(Arizona Sports) Projecting the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day lineup with 2 weeks until games count

While there is still plenty to sort through in the rotation and bullpen, notably the decision of whether or not Kelly will start on the injured list, the D-backs’ position player group has cleared up to a degree with the minor league reassignments of many prospects and dark horse candidates such as outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt and infielder Tommy Troy.

The position player group is not completely settled, but here’s what the Opening Day starting lineup could look like two weeks out — keeping in mind that the Diamondbacks will play the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will likely start a right-handed pitcher based on who’s available.

(MLB.com) Has Lawlar finally found a home as D-backs’ center fielder?

It was his first taste of the outfield since travel ball, but he played it well enough that with Perdomo at short and the addition of third baseman Nolan Arenado via trade this winter, the Diamondbacks have had him playing center this spring.

Does he enjoy the outfield?

“I enjoy playing every day,” Lawlar said with a smile. “I played all the sports growing up, and it kind of reminds me of like a slot receiver in football — run your route and go track the ball down.”

(SI.com) Former Diamondbacks Reliever Agrees to Deal With Rangers

Former Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Jalen Beeks has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It is a major league deal, pending a physical.

Beeks, who was one of the D-backs’ most effective relievers in the 2025 season, won’t be returning to Arizona ahead of the regular season, after all.

WBC News

(Arizona Sports) Ketel Marte among 7 Diamondbacks players advancing in World Baseball Classic

WBC pool play wrapped up on Wednesday with eight teams left standing. The Diamondbacks’ players and prospects eliminated from the WBC have started heading back to spring training, while those alive in the tournament will take the field in win-or-go-home games starting this weekend.

(Fox Sports) World Baseball Classic Power Rankings: All 8 Quarterfinalists Ranked

The 20-team field is down to eight, and while pool play didn’t go the way Team USA would’ve envisioned, the dream team survived thanks to Italy’s extraordinary 4-0 run through Pool B. Now, the top four favorites from our initial World Baseball Classic power rankings still remain standing, but Italy looks capable of taking any team down. 

(Fansided) The World Baseball Classic exposes everything American baseball is missing

The circumstances were virtually identical — a superstar of the sport delivering an early lead in a critical game — and yet the reactions, and the atmosphere, could hardly have been more different. Here’s another look. And it’s not just the D.R. Listen to how loud it got in San Juan, at a stadium with half the capacity of Daikin Park in Houston, when Puerto Rican pitcher Seth Lugo escaped a jam against Columbia:

1934
All-time White Sox playing and managing great Fielder Jones died, at age 62, in Portland. His 32.0 WAR for the club ranks 10th all-time among hitters and places him as the best center fielder in White Sox history. Jones was staggeringly good with the White Sox, never dipping below a 3.1 WAR season and leaving the game after a 1908 season that saw him tally 4.7 WAR, at age 36.

Jones was a player-manager for his final five White Sox seasons (1904-08), never suffering anything close to a losing season and by far the winningest (%) manager in club history. He piloted the White Sox to their first World Series win, over the Cubs in 1906.

1952
One day before celebrating his 31st birthday, southpaw hurler Bill Kennedy was sold to the White Sox by the St. Louis Browns. Kennedy would end up having the best season of his career on the South Side, leading the AL in appearances (47) and putting together a marvelous 2-2, five-save, 2.80 ERA/131 ERA+, 1.4 WAR season.

Eleven months after this purchase, Kennedy was shipped to Boston in a package that yielded the Pale Hose Vern Stephens.

1954
Think today’s streaming madness has made baseball too hard to watch, or the MLB’s blackout rules are an anachronism?

On this day, ABC made an ill-fated effort to televise a Spring Training game featuring the White Sox at the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. ABC intended the game as a national Game of the Week presentation, while GM Frank Lane of the White Sox felt it would not be shown in MLB cities and the Phillies believed the game was only going to be broadcast back to Chicago.

ABC proceeded with its broadcast prep, which would feature just a single camera, in the stands behind home plate. A hole was cut in the protective screen and the sole cameraman, from a local affiliate in Ft. Lauderdale, donned full catcher’s protective gear in case of foul balls getting through the opening.

The resulting chaos — during the game broadcast, mind you — forced ABC to cut its broadcast off after the third inning, without any explanation for viewers.

The White Sox won the game, 6-3.

1960
During spring training and near this date, the White Sox became the first team in MLB history to wear player names on the the back of their jerseys. The announcement had been made back on January 22. It was another Bill Veeck innovation, only done on road jerseys, met with some resistance from players, but soon adopted across baseball.

Brett Ballantini wrote a detailed “Flashback” article about the jersey-naming innovation on South Side Sox in 2018.

2000
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas was again featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A lengthy story talked about his career, the controversies and his desire to return to the top of the game. The headline stated, “Don’t Question My Desire. Frank Thomas Comes Out Swinging.” 

Thomas would have a spectacular 2000, missing a chance to win his third AL MVP after losing in a narrow vote to the A’s Jason Giambi, who’d later admit to using steroids in grand jury testimony. Frank’s numbers in 2000 included a .328 batting average, 43 home runs, 143 RBIs, 112 walks and a slugging percentage of .625 for the team that led the American League in wins with 95. Despite those gaudy figures, Thomas didn’t lead the league in any single category that year.

2024
In the first major trade of GM Chris Getz’s tenure, the White Sox shipped superstar starter Dylan Cease to San Diego. The Padres shipped back four players: starting pitching prospects Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, outfield prospect Samuel Zavala and veteran reliever Steven Wilson.

Cease originally arrived on the South Side with Eloy Jiménez in exchange for José Quintana in 2017. The righty had a brilliant year out west, putting up 4.2 WAR and going 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA/3.10 FIP and 1.067 WHIP, and continued his streak of essentially never missing a start to five seasons. Brilliant beginnings in Double-A by Thorpe (7-1, eight earned runs in his first 10 starts) and Iriarte (one earned run in his first four starts) seemed to grade this speculative deal out evenly from the get-go. But after making their major league debuts later on in the summer, both Thorpe (injured elbow) and Iriarte (wildness) ended the year on softer notes and Zavala had a very down season in High-A ball.

Texas Rangers lineup for March 13, 2026 against the Colorado Rockies.

Texas heads to Scottsdale to take on the Rockies of Colorado. Sam Haggerty is playing second base and Josh Smith is at third, as Josh Jung continues to be unavailable. Jacob Latz is starting.

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Langford — CF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

McCutchen — DH

Jansen — C

Carter — LF

Smith — 3B

Haggerty — 2B

3:10 p.m. Central start time.