A break down of the NL Central teams at the start of spring training
A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad: Chicago Cubs
Manager: David Ross (second season).
2020: 34-26, first place, lost to Marlins in first round of playoffs.
Training Town: Mesa, Arizona.
Park: Sloan Park.
First Workout: Feb. 17/22.
He's Here: OF Joc Pederson, RHP Zach Davies, RHP Trevor Williams, RHP Kohl Stewart, C Austin Romine, OF Jake Marisnick (deal pending), OF Phillip Ervin, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Robert Stock, INF Sergio Alcántara.
He's Outta Here: RHP Yu Darvish, OF Kyle Schwarber, LHP Jon Lester, LHP José Quintana, OF Albert Almora, Jr., C Victor Caratini, 2B Jason Kipnis, RHP Tyler Chatwood, RHP Jeremy Jeffress, OF Cameron Maybin, OF Billy Hamilton, OF José Martínez.
Going campin': Ross was impressive in his first year as manager, guiding Chicago to the NL Central title during the pandemic-shortened season. But it doesn't get any easier in 2021. Retooling under top baseball executive Jed Hoyer after Theo Epstein stepped down, the Cubs traded Darvish and Caratini to San Diego and waved goodbye to Lester and Schwarber — two key players from the team's 2016 championship. Davies steps into Darvish's spot in the rotation and Williams likely fills another opening, but pitching depth is a big concern. The Cubs also are hoping Kris Bryant and Javier Báez bounce back after struggling last year. Bryant hit .206 with four homers and 11 RBIS in 2020, and Báez batted .203 with eight homers and 24 RBIS. Bryant, Báez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo are eligible for free agency after the upcoming season, and it remains to be seen how their contract situations might affect their production.
St. Louis Cardinals
Manager: Mike Shildt (third season).
2020: 30-28, second place, lost to Padres in first round of playoffs.
Training Town: Jupiter, Florida.
Park: Roger Dean Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 17/22.
He's Here: 3B Nolan Arenado, 3B Jose Rondon. He's Outta Here: 2B Kolten Wong, OF Dexter Fowler, LHP Austin Gomber, RHP John Brebbia, C Matt Wieters, 1B Rangel Ravelo.
Going campin': The Cardinals were quiet all offseason before re-signing longtime workhorse RHP Adam Wainwright in late January and then pulling off a blockbuster trade with Colorado for Arenado, instantly improving their offense and defense at third base. He also should provide some lineup protection for 1B Paul Goldschmidt. Wong created the only major hole when he signed with the Brewers in free agency; Tommy Edman will likely replace him at 2B. The trade of Fowler to the Angels clears not only salary but also a spot in the outfield for one of the Cardinals' glut of young position players, including top prospect Dylan Carlson. The biggest remaining question ahead of spring training was whether C Yadier Molina would return for his 18th season with the club, and that was answered Tuesday when he signed a $9 million deal for the upcoming season.
Cincinnati Reds
Manager: David Bell (third season).
2020: 31-29, third place, wild card, lost to Braves in first round of playoffs.
Training Town: Goodyear, Arizona.
Park: Goodyear Ballpark.
First Workout: Feb. 18/22.
He's Here: RHP Noe Ramirez, LHP Sean Doolittle, SS Kyle Holder, OF Scott Heineman, INF Dee Strange-gordon.
He's Outta Here: RHP Trevor Bauer, RHP Raisel Iglesias, RHP Anthony Desclafani, SS Freddy Galvis, C Curt Casali.
Going campin': More than $160 million in freeagent signings before last season didn't bring the immediate results the Reds hoped. Now, NL Cy Young Award winner Bauer has moved on, and closer Iglesias was traded away. With no everyday player hitting better than .255 in the virus-shortened 2020 season, the Reds will need more offensive punch to compete in the NL Central. They're again counting on 1B Joey Votto and 3B Eugenio Suarez, and last year's free-agent acquisitions, 2B Mike Moustakas, OF Nick Castellanos and OF Shogo Akiyama. The departure of Galvis leaves Bell without an everyday shortstop, and the Reds missed out on the top free agents this winter. Holder has a slick glove and could get some playing time there. The outfield is crowded, with last year's DH and best hitter Jesse Winker thrown back into the mix. Without Bauer, the starting rotation will be built around Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. With Iglesias gone, Amir Garrett or the 34-year-old Doolittle could be in line for the closer's job. A limited number of fans will be allowed to watch spring games at Goodyear Ballpark. Milwaukee Brewers
Manager: Craig Counsell (seventh season). 2020: 29-31, fourth place, wild card, lost to Dodgers in first round of playoffs.
Training Town: Phoenix.
Park: American Family Fields of Phoenix. First Workout: Feb. 18/23.
He's Here: 2B Kolten Wong, C Luke Maile, INF Daniel Robertson, RHP Jordan Zimmermann.
He's Outta Here: OF Ryan Braun, LHP Álex Claudio, OF Ben Gamel, 1B/3B Jedd Gyorko, RHP Corey Knebel, INF Eric Sogard.
Going campin': The Brewers have reached the playoffs for three straight seasons, a first in franchise history. But they're coming off a 2020 campaign in which they were never above .500 and made the postseason only because of baseball's expanded playoff format. The Brewers scored just 4.1 runs per game last season to rank 27th out of 30 MLB teams. They're hoping 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich returns to form after a disappointing 2020. Yelich batted just .205 after winning NL batting titles in 2018 and 2019. His slump drew much of the attention, but many other hitters such as 1B Keston Hiura, C Omar Narváez and OF Avisaíl García also are attempting to bounce back from disappointing seasons. Milwaukee also should benefit from a full season with CF Lorenzo Cain, who played just five games last year before opting out. One story to watch this spring is Hiura's move from second base to first, a position he's never played before. The team is shifting Hiura after signing Wong, the former Cardinals second baseman who has won consecutive Gold Gloves. The Brewers enter camp with uncertainty at third base and a variety of options at catcher, where they got little production last season. If they don't add a third baseman before the start of the season, their most likely candidates to fill that spot are Luis Urias and Robertson. The other big issue surrounding Milwaukee's lineup is the future of Braun, who has a franchise-record 352 homers. The Brewers declined a mutual $15 million 2021 option on Braun, who has been pondering retirement. The pitching staff features two potential aces in Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes and a pair of dominant relievers in 2020 NL Rookie of the Year Devin Williams and Josh Hader. The depth of the rotation will depend on whether the Brewers get improvement from the likes of Josh Lindblom and Adrian Houser.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Manager: Derek Shelton (second season). 2020: 19-41, fifth place.
Training Town: Bradenton, Florida.
Park: LECOM Park.
First Workout: Feb. 17/22.
He's Here: RHP David Bednar, RHP Wil Crowe, RHP Sean Poppen, RHP Miguel Yajure, C Michael Perez, INF Wilmer Difo, LHP Chasen Shreve, C Tony Wolters, OF Brian Goodwin.
He's Outta Here: RHP Jameson Taillon, RHP Joe Musgrove, RHP Trevor Williams, 1B Josh Bell, RHP Keone Kela, INF/OF Jose Osuna, LHP Derek Holland, LHP Nik Turley, RHP Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP Nick Burdi.
Going campin': The Pirates are building from the ground up, a process focused on stocking the minor league system with prospects. To that end, general manager Ben Cherington spent the offseason trading veterans Bell, Musgrove and Taillon for younger (and yes, far less expensive) players the club hopes will be part of a foundation that could return the Pirates to contention in a few years. It's a longterm vision that will likely require a lot of shortterm patience and pain, at least at the big league level. Pittsburgh finished with the worst record in the majors in 2020 and enters 2021 with a less-experienced roster and major holes, particularly in the rotation. 3B Ke'bryan Hayes, LF Bryan Reynolds, RF Gregory Polanco and C Jacob Stallings enter camp as the only real locks. Colin Moran figures to get the first shot at 1B following Bell's departure, but everything else is up in the air. There's a logjam up the middle defensively, with Adam Frazier, Erik Gonzalez, Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker in the mix. Tucker moonlit in the outfield last year, an experiment that might have to continue in 2021. Spring training could offer a glimpse at what is in the pipeline. First-round draft picks Quinn Priester (2019) and Nick Gonzalez (2020) received invites to big league camp, and while their arrival in Pittsburgh (particularly Priester's) is likely measured in years and not months, their presence at least will offer a peek into their development. Tower ing infield prospect Oneil Cruz — all 6-foot-7 of him — will also get a long look, though the team likely needs to figure out some sort of pecking order in the infield at the major league level to figure out wha to do with Cruz if/when he makes it to Pittsburgh The starting rotation is a crapshoot beyond Mitch Keller. Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault figure to have the inside track on two spots, but after that the lis of potential starters is long and relatively undistin guished. The Pirates are planning to allow fans a LECOM Park, with capacity capped at 25%. Those who do make their way through the turnstiles wil likely need a program and maybe a smart phone to sift through the sea of young faces.
Gonzaga's Mark Few isn't being asked the usual question of where his team should be seeded for next month's NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs remain unbeaten and have been the top-ranked team all season, making them a virtual shoo-in for a top seed.
Instead, he is being asked if it makes any sense for Gonzaga to compete in its conference tournament given ongoing pandemic concerns.
"I think everybody is kind of waiting to see what's going to be the best thing for the league moving forward," Few said. "So, we'll just see how it goes."
With a little more than four weeks remaining until Selection Sunday, all 30 conferences playing this season are planning to hold tournaments to determine their automatic bids to the 68-team field. The deadline is Feb. 26 for leagues to notify the selection committee if they plan to shift the bid to their regular-season champion.
Coaches appear split on holding conference tournaments. A recent CBS Sports survey of 41 coaches found 27% were opposed.
Few would love to get his team two more games in a tournament setting and help raise the West Coast Conference's profile a couple more notches, but not at the expense of his team missing March Madness due to COVID-19. The NCAA has mandated that teams must have seven straight days of negative tests prior to arriving in Indiana. Players must have an additional two negative PCR tests before starting practice.
"There are some really stringent and strict protocols that we are going to really hit here to get ourselves ready," Few said. "We kind of discovered with our own little COVID-19 experience with all our guys, seven, nine days is kind of that window that if you're around somebody that is exposed and you can make it past that, you should be good. That's going to be really tight with the conference tournament."
Gonzaga's only advantage if it has a positive test is that the WCC final would take place March 9 while most conferences have their finals either March 13 or 14.
Two of the Power Five conferences have moved their tournaments to limit travel. The Big Ten moved its tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis earlier this week. The Atlantic Coast earlier decided to play its games in Greensboro, North Carolina, instead of Washington.
The SEC (Nashville) and Big 12 (Kansas City) are remaining in their current locations. Baylor coach Scott Drew said the Big 12 has told coaches their setup would be like a bubble similar to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pac-12 and West Coast — along with the Mountain West, Western Athletic and Big West — are playing in Las Vegas, with all five conferences discussing the best practices. The Big West had been held in Anaheim, California, since 2001 but moved to Vegas this year to set up a bubble.
Even though most conferences aren't expected to have fans at their games, they would lose more money via television contracts if a tournament had to be scrapped. For some, that would be a second straight season of conference tournament disruptions since the pandemic's onset came in the midst of championship week last year.
Instead of tournaments, some coaches would like to see teams make up postponed games, but it is nearly impossible to make up everything at this point. For example,
No. 2 Baylor has had six Big 12 games postponed, including both against West Virginia.
With the unbalanced schedules, the tournaments might also be the only equitable way to ensure all teams in a conference get a shot at making the big dance.
"Given what these kids have already dealt with all season long, do you really want to take that opportunity away? The answer to that is probably not," Creighton coach Greg Mcdermott said. "Fortunately, there are people a lot smarter than me that are going to make those decisions. Like usual, I'll just do what I'm told."
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is in favor of the ACC tournament for two reasons — it is one of the oldest in the country and the automatic bid might be the Blue Devils' only shot to make the field.
"The ACC tournament is such an important thing. I would want that more than making up a game during that time because of how important that is for our conference than a singular game," he said.
Louisville coach Chris
Mack believes some teams will opt out of their conference postseason if they have an NCAA berth secured.
However, Kentucky coach John Calipari said teams opting out this year could have negative effects down the road.
Calipari doesn't hide his disdain for conference tournaments but does see the value in them.
"If the best teams in conferences opt out, the NCAA would probably come back and say your winner is not going to be an automatic bid. And so, why wouldn't we do it every year, the top four or five teams in our league just say we're opting out of the tournament so that we get one more team in. So, I don't think that will be the case," he said. "I think that either we'll all play or there will be a reason – and the reason would be the safety