NEWSLETTER
Although the Cubs are not YET in a position to be classified as obvious buyers at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline, they certainly hope to get there. Not only because of how long its been since they’ve been a contending team, but also because this roster simply isn’t set up well to sell. And although it was a very minor move, the decision to jettison Yan Gomes for Tomas Nido does at least signal that they’re still trying.
Oh, and I mean, there’s this.
NL Wild Card Standings:
- Braves: 41-31
- Cardinals: 37-37
- Padres: 39-40
- D-Backs: 37-38
- Pirates: 36-38
- Nationals: 36-38
- Cubs: 36-39
- Mets: 35-38
- Giants: 35-39
- Reds: 35-39
The SECOND wild card team is just .500 for the season, the third is below water, and the Reds, who are the third WORST team in the NL are just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. So, yeah, this race is still wide open. And that means that anyone could yet be buyers, especially in the NL Central.
We already talked about the Cubs, and our shared hope that they become buyers at the deadline, but what about the other four teams? The Brewers (44-31) have a very nice lead in the division and figure to be buying, even if modestly, at the deadline. That’s just my educated guess, though I don’t think that’s particularly controversial.
Meanwhile, two other NL Central teams, the Reds and Cardinals, were included in the list of “sure-adders” via ESPN’s panel of MLB executives and scouts:
“…ESPN asked six MLB executives and scouts to handicap what the middle nine teams will do at the trade deadline. Who is likely to add? Who is likely to subtract or stand still? The sure adders: St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds…”
So that leaves only to consider the Pirates, who do finally look to be waking up a bit as an organization thanks to some big-time prospects emerging and performing on both sides of the ball (Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Oneil Cruz, etc.). Personally, I don’t think they’re quite there YET, but they’re not more than a season away from being a problem. So if they start winning and see an opening this year, they could just go for it. They do, as of this moment, have a better record than the Cubs.
So to recap the possible NL Central buyers next month: that’s the Brewers (by default), the Cubs (by hope and necessity), the Cardinals and Reds (by word of MLB scouts and executives), and the Pirates (depending on how things go from here). In other words, the entire division.
It almost never actually plays out this way, where all five teams are “buyers,” but then again, the NL Wild Card race is not usually THIS crowded this late in the season, and we’re all still adjusting to the three-Wild-Card world.
