Coming off their third consecutive NL Central crown, the Brewers are once again among the most-doubted teams, as many pundits have picked the Cubs to leapfrog Milwaukee.
For the third straight offseason, the Brewers traded a key arm (Corbin Burnes before 2024, Devin Williams before 2025, and now Freddy Peralta) while also losing a few other key players in Jose Quintana, Tobias Myers, Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin, and Nick Mears. They also added Luis Rengifo, Gary Sánchez, Akil Baddoo, and a whole bunch
of youngsters. The Cubs did reload with a few pitchers and Alex Bregman, but they also lost Kyle Tucker. The Pirates have a guy named Paul Skenes, and they added a few offensive options to the group around him in the form of Marcell Ozuna, Ryan O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe, and Jake Mangum. The Reds — who a lot of people forget snuck into the playoffs last year — brought old friend Eugenio Suárez back, along with JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe, but they also are without Hunter Greene to begin the season. Lastly, the lowly Cardinals unloaded their veterans, sending Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras away in a series of trades.
As a reminder, here’s how the NL Central shook out in 2025:
Milwaukee Brewers: 97-65
Chicago Cubs: 92-70 (5 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 83-79 (14 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 78-84 (19 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 71-91 (26 GB)
Here are our contributors’ NL Central standings predictions for 2026.
Paul Dietrich:
Milwaukee Brewers: 94-68
Chicago Cubs: 91-71 (3 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 85-77 (9 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 78-84 (16 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 74-88 (20 GB)
I know that everyone outside of Wisconsin seems to think that the Cubs have overtaken the Brewers, but haven’t they been saying that for three years in a row, now? Chicago will be helped by the return of Justin Steele. They traded for Edward Cabrera, which might be a nice move, but he’s also only one year removed from having a 4.95 ERA and walking nearly five batters per nine. They have some young players who will probably improve. They swapped Kyle Tucker for Alex Bregman, who is an older and worse player. But if Pete Crow-Armstrong doesn’t hit 31 homers again, it’s difficult to excuse his .287 OBP. The infield looks good today, but it’s getting older. There are still some questions about the pitching staff.
Elsewhere, Cincinnati could surprise us, but Hunter Greene just had surgery and won’t pitch until July, and I’m not sure how much Eugenio Suárez moves the needle. Pittsburgh has been getting some hype, but this was a dreadful offense last season that added Ryan O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe, and 36-year-old Marcell Ozuna. Is that enough to get them from terrible to average? I kind of doubt it, and their defense — which no longer includes Ke’Bryan Hayes — will be worse.
I don’t know. I guess I just think that the team that had the best record in the league and creatively addressed the loss of its star pitcher deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Harrison Freuck:
Milwaukee Brewers: 91-71
Chicago Cubs: 89-73 (2 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 85-77 (6 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 82-80 (9 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 64-98 (27 GB)
As I said last year, the only thing I’m confident about at this point is that the Cardinals are not going to be good. You could easily make an argument for any of the other four teams in the division, but I’ll give the Brewers the upper hand just because they’ve proved they’re the team to beat over the last three seasons. I think they can fend off the rest of the division for at least one more season.
The addition of Alex Bregman sounds great on paper, but it seems like everyone forgets that they also lost Kyle Tucker. The Reds were a sneaky playoff team in 2025, but they’re going to be without their ace in Hunter Greene for the first half of the season. The Pirates got better offensively, but, as Paul said above, is it enough?
Dave Gasper:
Milwaukee Brewers: 93-69
Chicago Cubs: 89-73 (4 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 86-76 (7 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 80-82 (13 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 69-93 (24 GB)
Every year, it looks like the Brewers’ roster got worse over the offseason, and everyone thinks they’re due to come crashing down to Earth. And every year, that crash never materializes. Even with Freddy Peralta’s departure, the Brewers have a much deeper starting rotation picture heading into 2026 with plenty of talent and upside, even if they’re lacking proven experience. Give me the Brewers to win 90-plus games again.
The Cubs continue to make the gap closer with the Brewers, and they finally started acting like a big-market team this offseason. They’ll be in the hunt, but the Brewers continue to prove they’re the better team. The Reds looked better under Terry Francona last year, and I suspect they’ll continue to get better in his second year. The Pirates have made some additions as well and should be better. But they are still the Pirates, and I can’t put them any higher than fourth in the division until they prove otherwise. In last place, I have the Cardinals. They traded away all of their quality veterans and have embarked on a rebuild. St. Louis rarely ever bottoms out, but for the time being, they look like a non-threat in the division.
Jason Paczkowski:
Milwaukee Brewers: 91-71
Chicago Cubs: 90-72 (1 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 82-80 (9 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 78-84 (13 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 70-92 (21 GB)
With the regular season about to start, I’m left at basically the same place as I was at the start of last season. The Cubs are still right at the brink of being great, while the Brewers once again traded away a couple of key players (this time Freddy Peralta and Caleb Durbin). Once again, the media is hyping up the Cubs and sees this as their year to shine and maybe compete against the Dodgers. However, there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last several years: Don’t bet against the Brewers. Until the Cubs prove otherwise, I’m believing in the Brewers.
Looking down the standings a bit, the Pirates are a team that’s becoming more and more concerning. They already have Paul Skenes to lead the rotation, and they’ve been building up again. This might be the year that they’re back over .500. The Reds are in a tough spot following the injury to Hunter Greene, and the Cardinals are looking at another rebuilding year.
Adam Zimmer:
Milwaukee Brewers: 92-70
Chicago Cubs: 90-72 (2 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates: 81-81 (11 GB)
Cincinnati Reds: 79-83 (13 GB)
St. Louis Cardinals: 72-90 (20 GB)
I’m picking the Brewers to win the NL Central, as they’ve done four of the last five years. Despite the losses of Freddy Peralta, Caleb Durbin, and a couple of other contributors, the depth and versatility that the Brewers currently have — both on the major league roster and in the minors — will ensure that they don’t slip too far from last year’s 97-win season. The Cubs did lose Kyle Tucker, who’s now in Los Angeles, but they picked up Alex Bregman from the Red Sox and made a couple of other additions that will help them win games next year. The battle for the NL Central crown should be a dogfight.
Pittsburgh was active this offseason, signing Ryan O’Hearn, Gregory Soto, and Marcell Ozuna and acquiring Brandon Lowe from the Rays to bolster their lineup. They still have one of the best pitchers on the planet in Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. Cincinnati also added Eugenio Suárez, but will be without ace Hunter Greene until around the All-Star Break, and they lost Gavin Lux, Austin Hays, and Brent Suter from last year’s team. They’ll be in the Wild Card race, but won’t seriously compete for the division.
St. Louis, on the other hand, is clearly rebuilding after trading Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Sonny Gray. Chaim Bloom will get the Cardinals back to contention eventually, but it probably won’t happen this year.
Fans:
