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Both the Cardinals and Brewers made major changes to their roster this off-season, let's see how they stack up

The St. Louis Cardinals are the resigning National League Central Champions, finishing a very comfortable 7 games above the Milwaukee Brewers. But after both teams made some aggressive changes to their roster this off-season, it's worth comparing the division foes once again.

Over at Reviewing the Brew, FanSided's Milwaukee Brewers coverage, they compared the two clubs position by position. In case you wondered, they seemed pretty optimistic about how their Brewers would fair in 2023.

Let's be honest, outside of the addition of Willson Contreras, the Cardinals are relying on a lot of internal progression in 2023. While that can lack the excitement of making splashy moves, it seems like the right route for the time being.

Let's compare the two clubs by position group, and see who comes out with the edge this coming season.

Catcher

Reviewing the Brew made the argument that William Contreras is better than Willson Contreras, citing Willson's comments about his younger brother as the older brother admitting defeat in their matchup.

First, let's compare the brothers defensively. Although it's not a major advantage, I would still give the advantage to Contreras defensively.

Willson Contreras: 625 innings, -3 rSZ, -1 rCERA, 2 rSB, 0 rGFP, -1 DRS, -3.5 FRM, 3.8 Def

William Contreras: 518.2 innings, -3 rSZ, 1 rCERA, -1 rSB, 0 rGFP, -4 DRS, -2.8 FRM, 0.7 Def

It's hard to gauge how much William will improve defensively in future seasons, but it's also worth monitoring how much he'll actually catch. He caught about 40% of the Braves games last year while Travis d'Arnaud caught 60% or so. His bat is valuable regardless, but does it diminish in production if he is catching more consistently? And if he is not catching the number of games his older brother is, you have to give the edge to Willson.

When the Cardinals met with Willson this off-season, they wanted to know that he will be the primary catcher, ideally catching about 120 games for the club. Honestly, best case scenario for his younger brother is 100 games, which is a big difference.

Willson had a 132 wRC+ in 2022 and William put up a 138 wRC+. They were very similar offensively, and Willson has the track record to back up continued success. FanGraphs projections have Willison finishing with a 119 wRC+ in 2023, while William is projected at 115 wRC+.

It's close, but I think the clear answer here is Willson Contreras. Advantage Cardinals.

Not surprisingly, the Miami Heat are involved in yet another trade rumor. This time being linked to Milwaukee Buck’s veteran big man Serge Ibaka.

Report: Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks monitoring Serge Ibaka https://t.co/VGMujzjEGF

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) January 23, 2023

Ibaka hasn’t played recently for the Bucks due to personal reasons, and both sides are reportedly working to find a new home for the PF/C. Ibaka has been in and out of the rotation for the Bucks since he arrived there. He struggled with some injury problems the year prior when he was on the LA Clippers. The last time he was really utilized came in the 2020 season, where he had averages of 11.1 PPG AND 6.7 RPG on 51% shooting.

When given a role, this is a player who can still make an impact off the bench either as a back up 4 or 5. Ibaka has championship experience on the Toronto Raptors coincidentally with Kyle Lowry, when they both were on the 2019 roster in Toronto. For his career he also has averages of 12.0 PPG and 7.1 RPG on 51.3% shooting.

The Heat aren’t alone with interest in Ibaka, as the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks are also in the mix. The asking price isn’t rumored to be too much for him, as the Bucks are just looking for a second round pick or two. If there ends up being no suiters for their price, he could very well wind up on the buy out market.

If it comes down to that, Miami can sell him on the culture and championship pedigree, along with living in sunny South Florida. However, there would definitely be competition if it wound up being that way considering the relationship him and Kevin Durant have going back to their OKC Thunder days. Like always, only time will tell how exactly it pans out. Miami seems to be interested though, and Ibaka is yet another name who has been linked to the Heat in the past before.

The Denver Nuggets (34-14) take on the Milwaukee Bucks (30-17) Wednesday at Fiserv Forum. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Nuggets vs. Bucks odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

The Nuggets came away with a 99-98 win over New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday but failed to cover as 3-point road favorites. Denver has won 9 of its last 10 games.

The Bucks cruised to a 150-130 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Monday to cover as 11-point favorites on the road. Milwaukee has won 3 of its last 4 games.

Nuggets at Bucks odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10 a.m. ET.

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Nuggets at Bucks key injuries

Nuggets

Bucks

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

Nuggets at Bucks picks and predictions

Bucks 117, Nuggets 107

PASS.

Taking Milwaukee (-310) to win straight up isn’t worth doing at the current odds.

With the Nuggets playing the 2nd leg of a back-to-back, BUCKS -7.5 (-115) is an enticing bet. This is a spread that makes it seem as if Denver will be without either or both of C Nikola Jokic and G Jamal Murray.

Even though the trends point toward the Nuggets covering, the Bucks have F Giannis Antetokounmpo back and they are at home.

UNDER 233.5 (-108) is how I’d wager on the total in this matchup. Assuming that Denver rests a couple of starters on a back-to-back, there could be less scoring than expected.

The Nuggets have gone 6-1 to the Under in their last 7 games following an ATS loss.

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After a frustrating past two seasons, Brian Anderson is once again healthy and turning the page in his career.

The 29-year-old utility man is now as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, and will be expected to contribute at a handful of positions now that his troublesome left shoulder is fully healed.

"I really fought through the shoulder thing," said Anderson, who was limited to 67 games with the Miami Marlins in 2021 before undergoing surgery on his shoulder capsule in September of that year.

Then last year, Anderson played only 98 games after suffering a subluxation in the same shoulder while diving for a ground ball in late August. He posted career worsts with a .222 batting average, .657 OPS and 28 runs batted in as a result.

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"In ‘21 I tried to play through it. But as of now I feel great. I’m healthy, I’m working out, I’m full go," Anderson continued. "I don’t even notice my shoulder anymore, so that’s great news. I’m excited to have an actual offseason where I’m healthy and can go in and really try to build that strength and try to put on more muscle. That way I can really drive the ball again the way that I should."

Until now a Marlins lifer – he was a third-round pick of the team in 2014 – Anderson reportedly will make $3.5 million with the potential for another $2 million in incentives after signing a one-year contract with the Brewers.

He arrives having logged 309 starts at third base and 185 in the outfield (179 in right field and six in left) while seeing limited time at first base, second and even shortstop.

"Brian is a well-rounded player that should help us in a number of ways on both sides of the ball," general manager Matt Arnold said. "His tools and athleticism, along with how hard he plays the game, are all characteristics we value here with the Brewers, and we are excited to have him on board."

A right-handed hitter, Anderson said he's been told third base will be his focus. He was a Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalist there in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but has accounted for minus-one defensive runs saved at that spot for his career.

Luis Urías has been Milwaukee's primary starter at third the past two seasons, while Mike Brosseau and other offseason acquisitions Abraham Toro and Owen Miller are also capable of playing there.

"They talked a lot about third base kind of being the primary role they were looking at with me, with occasionally spending time in the outfield and maybe even some first base," Anderson said. "First base is one of the positions I have the least amount of work at (seven total innings).

"What really appealed to me about Milwaukee was just the whole organization. I’m just excited to be with an organization whose focus is really on winning and competing at every level."

Aside from Tyrone Taylor, Anderson is also the only other right-handed-hitting outfield option on the 40-man roster (Blake Perkins is a switch-hitter but is yet to make his major-league debut).

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"I definitely enjoy the outfield," he said. "That’s an area where I can show off one of my better attributes – I can throw people out from the outfield pretty well. So that’s always something there. Like I said, I’m open to any of it. I want to be with a winning team and a winning culture and be part of that fun baseball again.

"That’s more what I’m looking forward to than anything. Third base, first base, outfield. It doesn’t really matter to me."

Anderson's best seasons came in 2018, when he hit .273 with 11 home runs and 65 RBI over 156 games en route to a fourth-place finish in National League rookie of the year balloting, and in 2019, when he hit .261/20/66 with an .811 OPS in 126 games.

For his career, Anderson is a .256 hitter with 57 homers, 233 RBI and an OPS of .750 in 531 games.

Interestingly, he has hit better against right-handed pitching (.262/.766) than left-handed pitching (.238/.702).

"That’s a good question actually," he said when asked about it. "I’m not a huge analytical guy. Early on in my career, I think I was better against lefties and I think in more recent years it switched the other way. I do put thought into it if it’s really affecting how I’m playing, but as far as if I’m training any differently in the offseason or anything like that, no.

"I feel like if anything, I feel the same against lefties and righties. I have the same opportunity to see the ball and drive the ball. I feel like when I’m playing every day, I can hit both."

Anderson also addressed the elephant in the room – what's it going to be like sharing a name with the Brewers' well-known TV play-by-play announcer?

"I’m really excited to work with him," he said with a laugh, noting the other Brian Anderson has already reached out to him.

"I’ve heard nothing but great things about him. I’ve met him two or three times just over the course of running into each other in Milwaukee. It’s going to be fun. I know that everyone’s going to be talking about that. It’s funny because in college (at Arkansas) whenever we were going through all the pre-draft stuff, there was actually an article written where somebody said I suffered from boring-name syndrome.

"Now, it’s actually worked out to my advantage. So, here we go.”

To clear space for Anderson on the 40-man roster, first baseman Jon Singleton was designated for assignment.

While the bulk of the Brewers offseason work has been completed, they may not yet be quite done making moves before spring training begins.

After signing Brian Anderson to a one year deal to help address needs at third base and right field, the Brewers have now shifted their focus to a different area: the bullpen.

The market for left-handed relievers has been oddly slow this offseason. This is due in large part to the Phillies signing Matt Strahm to a two year, $15MM contract earlier this winter. With inflated expectations among the remaining lefty relievers and teams unwilling to pay those prices, the market has taken some time to cool.

There are three very good good left-handed relievers left on the market right now: Matt Moore, Andrew Chafin, and Zack Britton. They're all capable and deserving of big league bullpen jobs and pitching in high leverage spots. Yet they've remained unsigned.

With the departure of Josh Hader last year, the Brewers are without a southpaw for high leverage situations, unless you count Hoby Milner in that category. Milner and Aaron Ashby are the only southpaws on the 40 man roster that could see time in the bullpen in 2023 but Ashby is a starter by trade.

According to Rosenthal, the Brewers are among several teams still searching for left-handed relief help and are in the markets for the three top remaining southpaws of Moore, Chafin, and Britton. There are eight other known teams also in the market, including the Cubs and Cardinals.

The Brewers bullpen currently lacks experience at the back end. Devin Williams is slated to be the closer while Matt Bush is the most likely option to be the 8th inning setup man. The rest of their bullpen options have limited big league experience and even more limited high leverage experience.

It looks like the additions on the position player side are complete and the rotation has been fully stocked. The only remaining area of need is the bullpen and they need both experience and another left-hander back there. Signing one of Moore, Chafin, or Britton would accomplish that.

Rumors are, the Brewers are in the market. They have a lot of competition though, so we shall have to wait and see if they end up signing one of these relievers to address the hole on their roster and finalize their offseason work.