In today’s episode of the Exit Velo Podcast, Curt Bishop examines where each team in the National League Central is, and what they may do at the trade deadline. Will they buy, sell, both, or hold pat? Hear Curt’s thoughts and takes on what will happen.
Good afternoon baseball fans and welcome back to the Exit Velo podcast, where we talk all things MLB. Today we’re gonna keep going on evaluating each team’s deadline strategy and we’re moving on to the NL. Instead of going in order, we’re gonna start with the Central as there are some very interesting series happening this weekend within that division. So let’s dive right in.
The Brewers are at the top and have had a great season so far. They’ve put quite a bit of distance between themselves and the rest of the Central. Followed by the Reds who are a little cold after starting out the month hot. They’re 6 ½ games back. Not insurmountable but still some work to do. You’ve got the Cardinals in third who seem to be heating up after a disappointing first half. The Cubs sit in fourth and are falling out of contention. And then you’ve got the Pirates in dead last who have lost 60 games before even winning 40.
Let’s start with the Brewers. They’re expected to buy and honestly why shouldn’t they? They’ve already done some of that, acquiring Willy Adames from the Rays and Rowdy Tellez from the Blue Jays. Adames has provided a spark and filled the hole left at shortstop by the trade of Orlando Arcia. Unfortunately they had to say goodbye to some reliable bullpen arms in that deal, but you can bet they’ll be looking to add some guys and help compliment Josh Hader and Devin Williams. They’ve done that a lot recently at trade deadlines. Maybe they make a play for Richard Rodriguez, who would fit perfectly alongside Hader and Williams.
Now onto the Reds. They’re not out of it yet. They’ve had some key injuries of late, with guys like Lucas Sims, Michael Lorenzen, and Nick Senzel on the IL. MLB.com expects them to buy and there are some areas where they could improve. They could use some bullpen help. Getting Sims and Lorenzen back will help, but they could probably use someone to help. They won’t deal off top prospects to get a guy though. I think shortstop is also an area they could look to upgrade. Eugenio Suarez didn’t really pan out there, and even though Kyle Farmer has done well, it would be worth looking at the market and seeing if they can’t bring in someone to fill that hole, for lack of a better term.
Now onto the middle of the pack, where the Cardinals are just a half-game behind the Reds and open up a key weekend series with them tonight. The MLB.com article we’ve been discussing was written earlier in the week, and has them as “potential buyers.” This was of course before they finished up a series win over the Cubs on the heels of one against the Giants. Now that they seem to have their groove back, I think they have to buy. The biggest need is in the starting rotation, with guys like Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Carlos Martinez, and Dakota Hudson down. Flaherty and Mikolas are on their way back, but it’s still gonna be another month. I don’t see them making a huge splash for a guy like Kyle Gibson, but there are other options available. Someone like Tyler Anderson could fill that hole.I think it’d also be wise for them to keep an eye on the Braves, as if they don’t get it going, we could see them dangle guys like Charlie Morton or Drew Smyly, and those guys could really help St. Louis. I’d really like to see them try for a bat off the bench as well. They’ve been kind of lacking there. Maybe they could make a play for Jonathan Schoop and get a little more production there.
The Cubs sit in fourth and we already know what they’re gonna do. Jed Hoyer revealed that the Cubs will be selling and they’ve already started the process, trading Joc Pederson to the Braves. A lot of their trade chips are in the final year of their contracts. It seems inevitable that Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel will be dealt. Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez are also potential trade chips. The Cubs have been in a tailspin ever since they no-hit the Dodgers, and now they’re falling out of contention in both the NL Central and Wild Card races. We could see Bryant go to the Mets and give them the outfield bat they need, or even Rizzo go up to Boston and fill the hole they have at first-base. They’re gonna be an interesting team to watch these next few days, for sure. Who goes where is the main question here.
Finally we’ve got the Pirates. We already know they’re going to sell, just as MLB.com predicts, and they have some pretty valuable trade chips. I’ve heard speculation that the Mets and Yankees have both checked in on Adam Frazier. He’d be a good fit there. Bryan Reynolds is another guy who could be on the move. A team like the Mets could grab him and fill the need for an outfield bat, if they don’t pick up Kris Bryant of course. Richard Rodriguez is the most intriguing one for me. A lot of teams need bullpen help right now, and we could see the Dodgers or Brewers make a play for a guy like him.
Thanks so much for tuning in. We’ll be back at it on Monday with the NL West. I’m Curt Bishop and you’ve been listening to the Exit Velo podcast.
