The slow offseasons of the past few years have put a serious damper on the hot stove. Lately the offseason seems more like a lukewarm stove, or sometimes a downright frigid one. I really didn’t think it could get any worse, but nothing prepared me for the way the NL Central has behaved this offseason.
The entire division appears to be selling, notwithstanding the Cubs’ signing of Joc Pederson earlier Friday. Affordable contracts for productive players like Kyle Schwarber and Kolten Wong were cut loose early in the offseason and replaced with nothing. Big contracts like Yu Darvish were traded for lottery tickets that may or may not hit in four years.