Welcome to the National League Central, Major League Baseball’s most unpredictable division. Flyover country has some of the best and most exciting young players in the game with Elly De La Cruz, Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio, Masyn Winn and Pete Crow-Armstrong, among others, all spread out evenly. While the larger baseball world seems to look down on the teams in the division, it can’t keep its eye off many of its players.

The Milwaukee Brewers, despite shedding more talent than a husky in the St. Louis summer, have won the division in three of the past four seasons. The other four teams have jockeyed back and forth to challenge Milwaukee, with only St. Louis actually dethroning the Brewers in those four years, winning the division in 2022 and following that with a fifth-place finish in 2023. What will happen this year in the NL Central? Who knows? But the great young talent should make it worth watching.

Key additions

One of the sport’s biggest under-the-radar stars will be seen in a new light at Wrigley Field. Tucker is positioned to become one of the most coveted free agents next offseason as a Gold Glove right fielder with perennial 30-30 potential. The Cubs are betting a monster year by Tucker will get them back into the playoffs.

After dealing for Tucker, the Cubs convinced Pressly to waive his no-trade clause and approve a move to Chicago. A clutch reliever during Houston’s dominant run, Pressly notched the final out of the 2022 World Series. The Cubs believe that Pressly, 36, still has a lot left in the tank.

The Reds have had some top-end pitching talent in Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, but filling the innings that arise from the 162-game schedule has hurt them in recent seasons. While Singer’s profile as a fly-ball pitcher in homer-happy Great American Ball Park may not seem like the best fit, the 179 2/3 innings he threw in 2024 were more than any Reds pitcher has thrown since 2021.

Cortes isn’t Corbin Burnes, but nobody is expecting him to be. What the Brewers want from Cortes is stability. If he matches last season’s totals of 174 1/3 innings and a 3.77 ERA, he’ll be worth his weight in cheese curds.

Key departures

The Brewers were a disappointing 21-23 when they acquired Adames on May 21, 2021, before going 74-44 the rest of the way en route to the division title. The Brewers won more division titles in Adames’ three-plus seasons in Milwaukee (three) than the franchise had won (two) since joining the National League in 1998.

After an MVP-level performance that prevented the Cubs from selling at the 2023 trade deadline, Bellinger had a good-but-not-great season last year. While Bellinger’s defense and versatility play anywhere, his left-handed swing is ideal for Yankee Stadium, and the Cubs wanted to shed money and upgrade elsewhere.

Before Matt McLain was lost for the 2024 season, India was in positional limbo. Now, with McLain back healthy, the team found the perfect spot for India: Kansas City. The Reds promptly replaced him with Gavin Lux, another bat-first player who could be limited to second base, though with a left-handed bat.

In 2023, the Brewers dealt Josh Hader, and this offseason the team did the same with his successor in Williams. Milwaukee is once again counting on being able to make up for the loss of a star internally, with Trevor Megill taking over the closer’s role. Megill recorded a team-best 21 saves a year ago after Williams started the season on the IL.

A cornerstone in St. Louis for six seasons, Goldschmidt now finds himself in the Bronx, while the Cardinals find themselves turning to Willson Contreras at first base. Last year was a struggle for Goldschmidt offensively; his .302 OBP and .716 OPS were the lowest marks of his career.

Must-watch series

Reds at Brewers, April 3-6: The Reds were everyone’s dark-horse darling last spring, but injuries killed much of the team’s hopes and resulted in manager David Bell losing his job. With veteran skipper Terry Francona at the helm, Cincinnati will face an early litmus test against last year’s division champs in its first road series of the season. The Reds were 4-9 against the Brewers last season and 2-4 in Milwaukee.

Cubs at Cardinals, Sept. 26-28: While the expectations for the rivals couldn’t be more different heading into 2025, St. Louis vs. Chicago to close out the season adds to the intrigue. As it stands, the Cardinals could play spoiler to the Cubs’ playoff hopes or the Cubs could finish off a season of misery in Missouri.

Pirates at Dodgers, June 9-11: The series? Maybe not the whole series. But just the possibility of Paul Skenes facing off against Shohei Ohtani is tantalizing enough to circle these dates on the calendar. If they don’t face off in L.A., the Dodgers come to Pittsburgh Aug. 2-4.

Jim Bowden’s NL Central report card

The Cubs were wheeling and dealing this offseason, in the trade market and free agency, and the results were enough to make them my favorites to win the NL Central this year. Their biggest plunge was the swap with Houston for Kyle Tucker, who gives them a superstar who can carry the team during offensive slumps. The five-tool star will be a free agent after this season, but he’s open to signing long-term with Chicago.

The Cubs also vastly improved their bullpen through trades for closer Ryan Pressly and relievers Ryan Brasier, Eli Morgan and Cody Poteet. They also inked lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar in free agency. In addition, they boosted their starting pitching depth by signing southpaw Mathew Boyd and upgraded the catcher position by acquiring defensive whiz Carson Kelly. I also liked how they improved their depth by adding Justin Turner and Jon Berti.

The Cardinals were the only team I gave an F to in my final offseason grades, as they made only one major-league move, signing reliever Phil Maton, and they didn’t do that until March 13. They did reduce their payroll by close to $40 million. As the Cardinals reset for the future, they’re depending on the development of their young players — that’s the only way they’ll improve this season.

Predicted order of finish

The percentage chance to win the division — and projected 2025 win-loss record — come from the model produced by The Athletic’s Austin Mock. Team salary information comes from Cot’s Baseball Contracts.