Ranking the NL Central teams who are losing the least to most in free agency this offseason

Pittsburgh Pirates v St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates v St. Louis Cardinals / Joe Puetz/GettyImages

For years now, the National League Central has been one of the most winnable divisions in all of Major League Baseball. Each year, which team comes out on top in the standings has felt like they only won the division because somebody had to. In recent years, the Milwaukee Brewers have certainly been the beneficiaries of just that divisional ineptitude.

This year, things were different. The Brewers sent out one of baseball's best and most complete teams, even if their early playoff exit doesn't reflect that. The Cubs and Cardinals also both finished above .500 while the Reds and Pirates both hung in the thick of things longer than they were expected to.

Moving forward, this is going to be a tough division. As early as next year, things are going to look a lot different around the five teams, as free agency is going to change things up quite a bit on each club. There are no exemptions to this rule.

Let's check out each team's upcoming free agent situation. While we're at it, we're going to run down which teams has the most money coming off their books and which ones have the least.

Spoiler alert: the Brewers are mostly untouched here, but one of their two pending free agents is going to be one of the hardest losses fans have experienced in a while.

#5 - Cincinnati Reds: $5.25 million coming off the books

Upcoming free agents:

  • RHP Buck Farmer - $2,250,000 salary in 2024
  • LHP Justin Wilson - $1,500,000 salary
  • UTIL Amed Rosario - $1,500,000 salary

The Reds are a young and increasingly exciting team that could be a whole lot of fun to watch in the very near future. They have a young and controllable core led by Hunter Greene, who they've already locked up and a ton of pre-arb talent like Graham Ashcraft, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain and of course - Elly De La Cruz.

Cincinnati is only going to lose three players to unrestricted free agency this winter, and none of them are significant losses. Two relievers and a utility player will be easy to replace for them as the offseason rolls on.

#4 - Milwaukee Brewers: $14 million coming off the books

Upcoming free agents:

  • SS Willy Adames - $12,250,000 salary in 2024
  • RHP Joe Ross - $1,750,000 salary

Losing Adames is going to be a massive blow for fans, but it'd be best for them to start coming to terms with the inevitable as soon as possible. He's one of the best offensive shortstops in the game and he'll be hitting the open market on the heels of one of the best walk-year showings we've seen in a long, long time. He's good as gone.

Ross filled an important swingman role for the Brewers throughout the season and deserves to be commended for it. Adames is an obvious superstar and hero on the roster, but Ross dominated after a switch to the bullpen in the second half of the season and while he doesn't carry as much starpower as Adames, he's a player worth bringing back.

#3 - Chicago Cubs: $16.3 million coming off the books

Upcoming free agents:

  • RHP Kyle Hendricks - $16,000,000 salary in 2024
  • RHP Jorge Lopez - $373,978 salary

The Cubs could not be more excited to get Hendricks, their one-time ace, off of the payroll in 2025. He is a living legend 'round those parts, but his arm is not what it used to be and he looked rough nearly every single time he took the mound this season. The money they'll be saving with him moving on is going to be helpful, as they'll undoubtedly have their sights set at the top of the free-agent market.

Lopez, a former Brewer, split his time between the Mets and Cubs in 2024. The at times controversial right-hander will hit the free agent market on the heels of a 2.89 ERA showing.

#2 - Pittsburgh Pirates: $20.7 million coming off the books

Upcoming free agents:

  • LHP Aroldis Chapman - $10,500,000 salary in 2024
  • LHP Jalen Beeks - $1,675,000 salary
  • LHP Ryan Borucki - $1,600,000 salary
  • OF Andrew McCutchen - $5,000,000 salary
  • C Yasmani Grandal - $2,500,000 salary

The Pirates surprised many this year, hanging in the race longer than expected. They fizzled out in the second half, but the core of Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz and Jared Jones is legit, and Pittsburgh is not going to go away anytime soon.

The club will have a ton of faces depart in free agency, but none are going to impact them more than the loss of Chapman. The ex-Reds closer appeared in a career-high 68 games for the Buccos, earning 14 saves while nearly striking out 100 batters for what would've been the sixth time in his 15-year career.

#1 - St. Louis Cardinals: $29 million coming off the books

Upcoming free agents:

  • 1B Paul Goldschmidt - $26,000,000 salary in 2024
  • INF Matt Carpenter - $740,000 salary
  • RHP Andrew Kittredge - $2,262,500 salary

The Cardinals may not have the largest quantity of players leaving, but they top the charts when it comes to the amount of money they're shedding. The vast majority of that will come from Goldschmidt, a future Hall of Famer who didn't look like himself throughout this season. A strong second-half will get him another contract in 2025, but the Cardinals are thrilled to have him off the roster.

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