Comparing the NL Central's early trade deadline returns

The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, but not before the National League Central as a whole made plenty of moves. While the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs didn't add the impact player that each of their fanbases was hoping for, both teams still swung several trades that improved the depth of their active rosters.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals shipped out a few of their more valuable pieces, with the former making several intra-divisional deals. However, neither the Pirates nor the Cardinals made as many moves as some insiders were expecting, with Pittsburgh holding on to Mitch Keller and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and the Cardinals unable to find a trade partner for Nolan Arenado.

Right in the middle of it all were the Cincinnati Reds, who made a couple of surprising moves, adding a couple of intriguing players to their roster while parting with one of their key relief arms. All in all, each NL Central squad made at least two deadline moves, so let's take a look at how these trades are aging a week and a half out from the deadline.

1. Milwaukee Brewers

Additions: C Danny Jansen, OF Brandon Lockridge, RHP Shelby Miller, LHP Jordan Montgomery (60-day IL)

Subtractions: LHP Nestor Cortes Jr., INF Jorge Quintana, INF Jadher Areinamo

Let's start with the team that currently sits atop the NL Central, and all of MLB for that matter. The team that keeps on rolling and winning games and turning underrated players into household names. The team that is in the midst of their third winning streak of at least eight games this season.

The Brewers didn't need to do much at the deadline. That's not to say that they couldn't have done more, but their priority was not to mess up the good thing that was going on in the Brewers clubhouse. In other words, what mattered more for Matt Arnold and company was making moves that kept the integrity of the Brewers' MLB-leading squad intact.

In that regard, the Brewers' deadline strategy accomplished their exact goals. They didn't replace any starters or add an All-Star to their starting rotation, but they did improve their bench by adding backup catcher Danny Jansen and toolsy outfielder Brandon Lockridge, while also adding a shut-down arm to their bullpen in Shelby Miller.

The Brewers weren't expecting huge results from their deadline acquisitions, just modest contributions to an already strong team, and that's exactly what they've gotten. Jansen has three hits in five games, Lockridge has five hits in seven games, and Miller has tossed two scoreless innings in his first two Brewers appearances.

All in all, the Brewers' front office did exactly what was needed of them at the deadline. Could they have made a more splashy addition? Sure. Could they have maybe gotten more in return for Cortes? Yes. But in the end, they didn't fix what wasn't broken and the team has rewarded them by winning every single game they've played since the deadline.

Early grade: A-

2. Chicago Cubs

Additions: RHP Mike Soroka, RHP Andrew Kittredge, UTL Willi Castro, RHP Taylor Rogers

Subtractions: OF Christian Franklin, INF Ronny Cruz, INF Wilfri De La Cruz, OF Brethowr, RHP Sam Armstrong, RHP Ryan Gallagher

The Cubs had a clear need at the trade deadline: starting pitching. However, in a thin starting pitching market, Jed Hoyer and Chicago's front office were forced to get creative, electing to acquire reclamation project Mike Soroka from the Washington Nationals to fill the void in their starting rotation. Unfortunately for Soroka, his Cubs tenure seemingly ended after two innings, as the 28-year-old right-hander left his first start with a right shoulder strain. It's not confirmed whether or not Soroka will be back before the end of the season, but his history of shoulder issues does not bode well for a late-season return.

Meanwhile, the Cubs' two relief pitching deadline additions, Kittredge and Rogers, are off to very different starts with their new team. Kittredge holds a 10.80 ERA through his first four appearances with the Cubs, but that number is inflated by one bad outing against the Reds in which he allowed four earned runs while failing to record more than one out. Rogers, meanwhile, has a perfect 0.00 ERA in 3.1 innings out of Chicago's bullpen. He has allowed just two hits and collected five strikeouts during that time.

The team's only offensive addition, Willi Castro, has struggled in his first seven games with his new team. Castro holds a meager .400 OPS through 25 plate appearances with the Cubs, but his .742 OPS through his first 86 games suggests that he's due for some positive regression.

The Cubs parted with some significant prospect capital to acquire these four players, and to this point, their return has been underwhelming. While there's still plenty of time left, the injury to Soroka and the failure to acquire another starting pitcher is bound to hurt the Cubs down the stretch regardless of whether or not their other three additions turn things around.

Early grade: D

3. Cincinnati Reds

Additions: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, RHP Zack Littel, OF Miguel Andujar

Subtractions: INF Sammy Stafura, LHP Taylor Rogers, RHP Brian Van Belle, LHP Adam Serwinowski, RHP Kenya Huggins

It was an interesting trade deadline for the Reds. It began with a somewhat perplexing trade with an NL Central division rival; the Reds sent excellent reliever Taylor Rogers and infield prospect Sammy Stafura to the Pirates in exchange for Pittsburgh's long-time third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes. It was a confusing trade on a couple of fronts.

Yes, the Reds needed an upgrade at third base after Noelvi Marte moved to the outfield and was replaced by veteran Santiago Espinal, but Hayes is an odd fit. His glove is certainly an upgrade over Marte and Espinal's (Hayes is the best defensive third baseman in the game), but his bat left much to be desired in Pittsburgh, and those struggles have carried over to Cincinnati — Hayes holds a .508 OPS in 11 games since joining the Reds.

Then, there's his contract. Hayes is owed $30 million over the next four seasons, which isn't a terrible contract, but for a player with a 58 OPS+ (42% worse than the league average), that's a steep price to pay. There also exists the argument that if the Reds want to make the playoffs this year, keeping Rogers in their bullpen would have been more valuable than adding Hayes to their roster.

However, the Reds' other two deadline acquisitions, Littell and Andujar, are off to excellent starts with their new clubs. Littell has made two starts, allowed a total of five earned runs, and struck out 11 while covering 11.2 innings. Andujar has seven hits, including a homer and two doubles, in his first eight games with Cincinnati.

All in all, it was a solid deadline for the Reds, though the Hayes trade remains a confusing one. Whether or not Cincinnati's front office did enough for their team to sneak into the playoffs remains to be seen.

Early grade: B

4. St. Louis Cardinals

Additions: INF Blaze Jordan, INF Jesus Baez, RHP Nate Dohm, RHP Frank Elissalt, LHP Mason Molina, RHP Skylar Hales

Subtractions: LHP Steven Matz, RHP Ryan Helsley, RHP Phil Maton

In some regards, the St. Louis Cardinals did exactly what they were supposed to at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline: they took advantage of a sellers’ market and sold three rental arms. Each of the three arms that they traded, Steven Matz, Ryan Helsley, and Phil Maton, were free agents at the end of the season, and rather than let them walk for free in the offseason, the Cardinals turned them into sizable prospect capital.

Four of the six prospects that the Cardinals acquired immediately joined MLB Pipeline's rankings of St. Louis' Top 30 prospects, with only Frank Elissalt and Skylar Hales missing out on the list. Jesus Baez, who the Cardinals acquired from the New York Mets for Helsley, is now the No. 7 ranked prospect in St. Louis' farm system.

The Cardinals added some intriguing talent to their minor league system without gutting their core of intriguing young position players. While other teams held on to their veteran players on expiring contracts, St. Louis accepted their 2025 fate and set their sights on the future.

Even still, St. Louis' deadline still feels like it came up just short. The Cardinals were hamstrung by having several intriguing veteran trade candidates who were unwilling to accept a trade to certain destinations. Nolan Arenado notably rejected a trade to Houston in the offseason, and veterans Sonny Gray and Wilson Contreras have been vocal about their desires to remain in St. Louis. As a result, the Cardinals are left in rebuild limbo, trying to salvage a competitive team while being forced to retain aging veterans whom they would have loved to trade.

Early grade: B+

5. Pittsburgh Pirates

Additions: RHP Jeter Martinez, LHP Evan Sisk, 1B Callan Moss, OF Ivan Brethowr, INF Sammy Stafura, C Rafael Flores, C Edgleen Perez, OF Brian Sanchez

Subtractions: LHP Caleb Ferguson, LHP Bailey Falter, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, RHP David Bednar

The Pirates once again found themselves on the selling side of things at the trade deadline. With several interesting pieces, it was expected that Pittsburgh was going to be one of the big sellers of the deadline, but instead they parted with a modest number of veterans and netted a fine package of prospects in return.

The best trade of the deadline for the Pirates was also the most difficult. They parted with third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, who had been with the organization since he was drafted in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft. However, shedding Hayes' contract and receiving Taylor Rogers and infield prospect Sammy Stafura in return was an impressive maneuver by Pirates' general manager Ben Cherington. It got even better when Cherington flipped Rogers to the Cubs for outfield prospect Ivan Brethowr.

Pittsburgh’s front office also took advantage of a strong market for relief pitchers and flipped Caleb Ferguson and closer David Bednar for four intriguing prospects, three of whom now rank in the Pirates' Top 30. Specifically, Rafael Flores, a catching prospect who the Pirates got from the New York Yankees in the deal for Bednar, is an exciting player who looks like he could impact the Pittsburgh's big league club in the near future.

However, the Pirates still didn't do quite as much as they should have. Despite having Paul Skenes at the top of their rotation, the Pirates aren't winning anything in the next four years (at which point Skenes will become a free agent). So, if they aren't going to compete in the near future, they might as well sell anyone who has value and will be a free agent in the next couple of years. I'm not saying they should have traded Skenes, but certainly they could have found a trade partner for Mitch Keller and reliever Dennis Santana, and infielder Isaiah Kiner-Falefa.

Skenes is a superstar, so it's understandable that the Pirates wouldn't want to part with him, but they still could have embraced the sell-off a little bit more, and until they do so it's going to be difficult for them to compete in a tough NL Central.