It wasn't long ago that nobody was afraid of the National League Central.
The division was a pushover from 2007 to '10, when its teams earned just one wild-card bid and went 1-15 in five playoff series.
“The National League Central used to be the weak link,” Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price said. “Now it's a strength ... because it's so competitive. And everyone is getting better. I don't see a team that's taking a step back.”
Since the second wild-card berth was added in 2012, the NL Central has claimed seven of a possible nine playoff spots. In 2013, the top three teams in the division — the St. Louis Cardinals, Pirates and Reds — qualified for the postseason.
Last season, the fifth-place Chicago Cubs finished 17 games out of first place. No other division was as tightly bunched. The Cardinals have won the past two titles, edging the Pirates by two games last year and by three games in 2013.
“I love playing in our division,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “It's a good, tough division. It challenges you, so you've got to be sharp. There are no games to take for granted.”
At PirateFest in December, Hurdle was cheered when he declared his team has “had enough” of wild-card berths. With sights set on the division title, the Pirates were busy on the free agent and trade markets during the offseason.
The Pirates dealt for Francisco Cervelli to replace catcher Russell Martin, who signed with Toronto. The cost for Cervelli was left-handed reliever Justin Wilson, who was replaced by Antonio Bastardo. Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett returned on free agent deals.
Yet those acquisitions might not be enough for the Pirates to finally overtake the Cardinals or perhaps even hold off the Cubs.
On Oct. 26, two weeks after homering in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, Cardinals rookie outfielder Oscar Tavares was killed in a car crash. He was 22. To fill the position, St. Louis traded for outfielder Jason Heyward.
“He's a superstar-caliber player,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.
Heyward, 25, homered in his first at-bat in the majors in 2010. He has been held back the past couple of seasons by injuries and inconsistency.
“I do think he's excited about jumping into what we have going on here and seeing how he fits,” Matheny said. “We're still talking about a young player. I believe the best is yet to be seen with him.”
Hoping to snap a run of five fifth-place finishes, the Cubs made the two biggest moves of the offseason by hiring former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon and signing free agent pitcher Jon Lester.
“(Lester) is a guy who, when the game is really big, he's always at his best,” Maddon said. “To get this opportunity to work with him for the first time is very exciting.”
At the end of October, online betting site Bovada.com gave the Cubs 50-to-1 odds of winning the 2015 World Series. After Lester signed his six-year, $155 million deal, Bovada relisted Chicago's odds at 12 to 1.
During a Cubs caravan stop last week, first baseman Anthony Rizzo did not hesitate to declare: “We're going to win the NL Central, and you can quote me on that. We should be the team.”
As he watched his team's voluntary winter workouts Wednesday, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington smiled when asked about the coming season. He said this year's roster is the “best, deepest team we've had” since he took over in November 2007.
The smile turned a bit steely when he mulled the rest of the division.
“We're in a good cycle in the National League Central,” Huntington said. “We're going to beat each other up pretty aggressively this year. It's going to be almost impossible to get three teams (into the playoffs) and really hard to get two.”
Rob Biertempfel is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.
