Earlier this winter, Elly De La Cruz drove to the hotel where Terry Francona was staying in Santo Domingo to make the first meeting more convenient for his new manager, and as they chatted, Francona had a question for his shortstop: What do you want to accomplish?
"I want to be the best player in baseball," De La Cruz responded, hardly an outlandish statement. Last year, in his age-22 season, he hit 25 homers and stole 67 bases.
Francona offered an amendment in thought: How about De La Cruz aim to become the best player in baseball on the best team in baseball, and that sounded good to De La Cruz, with the two men agreeing to work together toward that end.
The National League Central is a land of opportunity, given its competitive context. The Milwaukee Brewers won the division last season, but this winter, they lost their best position player (Willy Adames) and best reliever (Devin Williams). The Chicago Cubs are trying to improve but are not in the same weight class as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. The St. Louis Cardinals are at the outset of a reconstruction, although it's hard to explain why. The other day, Pirates fans at a fanfest event chanted for Bob Nutting to sell the team, but the club is not for sale, and Pittsburgh seems to be looking for bargain signings in free agency, again.
Within this NL Central vacuum, the Cincinnati Reds have been the most aggressive team to date in the Central so far -- hiring Francona, a future Hall of Famer, trading for starting pitcher Brady Singer, adding catcher Jose Trevino and a couple of weeks ago, trading for infielder Gavin Lux. The Reds went 77-85 last season, but if their winter ambitions are realized in the summer, and they successfully address some of the problems that ailed them last year, they could be one of baseball's sleepers in 2025, contending for a playoff berth or more.
Here are the five teams positioned to be the most improved in 2025.