Pittsburgh Pirates
The National League Central is likely baseball’s deepest division. Although the Chicago Cubs didn’t make any huge moves, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Yasmani Grandal, the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Paul Goldschmidt (more on him in a little), and the Cincinnati Reds attempted to significantly reshape their roster.
The Pirates? Well, they spent a total of $7.8 million on major-league signings for Jung Ho Kang, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jordan Lyles. However, they entered Thursday’s game against the Cubs just 0.5 games out of first place with a 6-4 record.
Pittsburgh’s offense hasn’t been too spectacular, but the pitching staff has picked up the slack. The rotation owns a 1.93 ERA heading into Thursday, which is the league’s second-best mark. It’s been a total team effort, as none of the Pirates’ five starters (Lyles, Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, Jameson Taillon, and Chris Archer) own an ERA higher than 3.00.
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