NL Central: A midseason 2022 front office assessment
By Bill Felber
The NL Central is a two-team race. But only one front office in the division has thus far boosted its team’s chances of winning the pennant.
Through the season’s first half, moves made by the front office of the Milwaukee Brewers have improved the team by 3.2 games. None of the other four NL Central front office operations are in positive figures.
The analysis that follows is an assessment of the impact each NL Central front office’s personnel decisions since November of 2021 have had on their team’s standing right now. It is based on the aggregate Wins Above Average of moves made in five areas:
- Players acquired by trade, purchase or waiver claim.
- Players signed as free agents or extended for more than one year.
- Minor league callups.
- Players lost via trade, waiver claim or sale.
- Players lost to free agency or released.
Wins Above Average is the preferred metric for this calculation because it is zero-based, meaning that it approximately reflects the number of games by which a front office either helped or hurt its team in the standings.
There was one change of significance to front office leadership in the division this season. That occurred in Chicago, where general manager Jed Hoyer was elevated to the position of president of baseball operations, and Carter Hawkins succeeded Hoyer as general manager.
Otherwise the roster of front office bosses remains unchanged from 2021:
- Cincinnati: Nick Krall, vice president and general manager.
- Milwaukee: David Stearns, president of baseball operations; Matt Arnold, senior vice president and general manager.
- Pittsburgh: Ben Cherington, general manager.
- St. Louis: John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations; Mike Girsch, senior vice president and general manager.
In order of effectiveness, here’s how all five NL Central front offices have performed thus far in 2022.
Also listed are the most statistically significant impacts by each front office.