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Major League Baseball’s trade deadline officially passed on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET. Unlike many divisions in baseball, the NL Central is a tight race with the Brewers leading the Reds by just 0.5 games and the Pirates only 3 games behind as well.

The biggest storylines in the NL Central surrounded the Brewers adding veteran hitters, the Cardinals departing from their starting pitching, and the Cubs becoming last-minute buyers, but every NL Central team will be put under the microscope. 

How did your team do?

Milwaukee Brewers: 

With just a small lead in first place, the Brewers needed to distance themselves from the young, hot Reds and creeping Cubs to secure the NL Central division. Contrary to their division opponents, the Brewers went older at the deadline acquiring OF Mark Canha from the Mets, 1B Carlos Santana from the Pirates, and LHP Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks. 

Canha, 34, is having a decent season as the Mets’ utility outfielder and has even taken some reps at first base. He is batting .235 with 6 HR and a .335 OBP, but it is worth noting he has gone 0-10 in his first 10 at-bats for the Brew Crew. He provides versatility, contact, and a veteran presence in the locker room that should fit in nicely with Christian Yelich and company. 

Santana, 37, is having a better offensive season than last year, increasing his batting average by 28 points from .202 to .230 at this point in the season. While his power is down, he has almost matched his RBI totals from last season with two months to go.

The Brewers have struggled to find an everyday first baseman this season, releasing Luke Voit earlier in May, Rowdy Tellez having finger surgery in June, and moving second baseman Owen Miller to first, placing him out of position. Adding Santana should bring stability and a better fielder to first. 

Chafin, 33, was the best move at the deadline for Milwaukee, adding better balance to its bullpen with the pickup of the lefty. Not only does he have a solid mustache and love beer, but he also has 8 saves and 12 holds this season, adding a strong lefty option in late-game situations. There have been some concerns this season with his inflated ERA compared to previous seasons (4.08 vs 2.83 last season), but a change of scenery definitely has the potential to get Chafin back to his old self. 

Overall Grade: B

Cincinnati Reds: 

For the first time since 2012, the Reds actually have a chance at winning the NL Central. A team that is loaded with young talent, you would think they would buy at the deadline to boost their chances to knock off the Brewers. Instead, they made one move. 

The Reds added depth to the left side of their bullpen with Sam Moll from the Athletics, but nothing else materialized. 

With injuries sidelining pitchers, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, Cincy is banking on both pitchers to return to their old selves in a quick timeline just before October. 

The bottom line, the Reds did nothing while the Brewers improved, and that is going to severely cost the Reds’ grade. 

Overall Grade: D

Chicago Cubs: 

Three weeks ago, the Cubs were listening to trades for starting pitcher Marcus Stroman and OF Cody Bellinger … then the Cubs won eight games in a row. Opposite of the New York Mets’ strategy, the Cubs flipped from sellers to buyers at the deadline and cashed in with one big signing, third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Nationals. They also went out and made a few sneaky moves, acquiring RHP Jose Cuas from the Royals and RHP Josh Roberson from the Rays.

Candelario, 29, was having a breakout year for the Nats batting .258 with .835 OPS. He has also been stellar defensively, posting a .975 fielding percentage. Even better, in his first four games with Chicago, he’s hit 9-15. The third baseman has fit in well so far, but the question is, can it last? 

Cuas, 29, is 3-0 this season with a 4.33 ERA in 43.2 IP. He is a swing-and-miss pitcher with 53 strikeouts and has four holds at this point in the season. Cuas will fit in as a late reliever for the Cubs that need strong bullpen play if they want to catch the Brewers or a Wild Card spot with less than two months left. 

The only question mark that is left for the Cubs is if buying was the right choice. Chicago proved last offseason they are willing to spend in free agency and have accumulated a lot of prospects over the past few years. On paper, the Brewers and Reds are still way better than the Cubs, so it will come down to head-to-head matchups that will decide the winner of the division. 

Overall Grade: B-

Pittsburgh Pirates: 

The Pirates appeared to be in striking distance of a playoff berth entering the month of May with the best record and run-differential (+48) in the National League, standing at 20-9. 

Recently, however, the team has dug itself too big of a hole to climb out of currently sitting at 48-60. Luckily, Pittsburgh had a few older players they could offload for solid prospect returns in Rich Hill (Padres), Carlos Santana (Brewers), and Ji Man Choi (Padres). 

In return, The Pirates received LHP Bailey Falter, LHP Jackson Wolf, 1B Alfonso Rivas, OF Estuar Suero, INF Jhonny Severino, SS Alika Williams, and RHP Andre Jackson. 

The most notable of the acquisitions are the tall lefty Jackson Wolf and switch-hitting teenage outfielder Estuar Suero. 

Wolf, 24, was the Padres’ fourth-round pick in 2021 and has quickly made an impact in the minors. As the Pirates’ No. 16 prospect, He has a 4.08 ERA in AA this season and even won his first and only start for San Diego, going five innings. He could slot into the Pirates’ rotation immediately and strong, southpaw arms are hard to come by.

Suero, 17, is a very young stud, and many scouts believe he is a lottery ticket thanks to his hitting traits and frame. While the Pirates are still itching for their first NL Central title, their young talent is sure to make a strong impact in the league in the coming years. 

Overall Grade: C+

St. Louis Cardinals: 

The Cardinals had high expectations going into the season after winning the NL Central last season before losing to the NL Champion Phillies in the NL Wild Card Round. With superstars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the sky is always the limit for the Cards. Unfortunately, the season has been a downhill slope and St. Louis finds itself in last place in the division at 48-62. With the sputtering team, the Cardinals became inexperienced sellers at the deadline.

With a lot of talk surrounding Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson, and Tyler O’Neill, the Cardinals decided to deal their pitchers instead, sending away starters Jack Flaherty (Orioles) and Jordan Montgomery (Rangers) and relievers Jordan Hicks (Blue Jays) and Génesis Cabrera (Blue Jays). They also sent SS Paul DeJong (Blue Jays).

In return, the Cardinals received some strong prospects for the rental players. They grabbed pitcher Tekoah Roby and infielder Thomas Sagesse from the Rangers in the Jordan Montgomery deal. They also acquired 2B César Prieto, LHP Drew Rom and RHP Zack Showalter from the Orioles, RHP Adam Kloffenstein, RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Matt Svanson, and C Sammy Hernandez from the Blue Jays. 

Roby, 21, was having a breakout season in AA, posting a 5.05 ERA and striking out 50 batters in 46 innings before suffering a shoulder injury. He has mid-rotation upside, and comes in as the Cardinals’ No. 4 prospect. Sagesse, 21, has been overachieving expectations in AA as well, batting .313 this season and has 20 homer power once he adds more strength according to MLB.com.

Finally, Prieto, 24, comes in as the No. 9 prospect for St. Louis after batting .364 in AA and .317 in AAA this season. He has the ceiling of an everyday utility infielder with strong contact skills that could prove to be useful down the road.

For a team that is not used to selling at the deadline, the Cardinals got a hefty return for players whose contracts expire at the end of the season. Whether the prospects amount to anything or get used as trait bait next season is yet to be seen, but the Cards made something out of nothing and look to next season.

Overall Grade: B+

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