NL Central

The Chicago Cubs have been very active this offseason after starting off slow, adding catcher Miguel Montero via trade and pitchers Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Jason Motte via free agen

Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty finally made a significant play on the last day of the winter meetings, flipping Alfredo Simon for two of Detroit's top-10 prospects before swapping Mat Latos for two promising young talents from Miami.

When you also consider the departures of other names such as Jonathan Broxton, Ryan Ludwick, Jack Hannahan, Logan Ondrusek and Chris Heisey, in total, the Reds have shed about $30 million in payroll.

On the same day the Chicago Cubs officially announced they signed Jon Lester, the team is reportedly shoring up the bullpen.    

According to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, the Cubs agreed to a one-year deal with veteran reliever Jason Motte:

The Chicago Cubs officially introduced starting pitcher Jon Lester as the newest member of the organization on Monday afternoon.    

Fox Sports: MLB captured the moment on Twitter:

After being disappointing for most of the offseason by missing out on a couple coveted free agents, the Chicago Cubs made their first major free-agent splash in five years. That splash, of course, was the six-year, $155 million contract they signed ace Jon Lester to at the winter meetings.

The Cincinnati Reds made headlines Thursday with two big trades in which they parted with two of their five starting pitchers from the 2014 season.

In the early a.m. on Thursday, I gave Walt Jocketty a C- for his participation in the winter meetings. This was clearly before Mr. Jocketty's phone went nitro and things started to move.

With an array of talented pitchers eligible for free agency next season, the Cincinnati Reds—unlikely to re-sign them all—are a logical trade partner for teams looking to improve their staff.     

Unsurprisingly, Johnny Cueto, the man at the top of Cincy's rotation, is the most desirable. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal has the newest rumor: 

With executives from all 30 Major League Baseball teams in San Diego for the winter meetings, eye-opening names were bound to be discussed. The Cincinnati Reds have apparently decided to stoke the hot-stove fires by adding closer Aroldis Chapman to their list of available talent.     

The Pittsburgh Pirates are keeping the gang together.