The Lineups
The addition of Hannum is a large one, despite the loss of long time Cardinal outfielder Kendall Hernandez in the trade. Hannum gives the team a legit MVP contender to go with Joey Votto in the middle of the batting order. The offense has been a large problem for this team in recent years, and hopefully it was fixed this offseason.

Lineups v/R
1) SS J. Reyes
2) CF S. Moss
3) 2B G. Hannum
4) 1B J. Votto
5) LF N. Markakis
6) RF R. Baldelli
7) CA R. Nutter
8) 3B J. Luevano
9) PS P. Spot

Lineups v/L
1) SS J. Reyes
2) CF S. Moss
3) 1B J. Votto
4) 2B G. Hannum
5) LF R. Baldelli
6) RF N. Markakis
7) CA R. Nutter
8) 3B J. Luevano
9) PS P. Spot

The Bench
Ronny Cedeno and Khalil Greene are both solid backups and pinch hitters in the middle infield(though one of the two may be traded). Despite not hitting in his rookie season, Herbert Barranco will continue to help back up at 3B. Rookie David McKeen will also be used this season as a full time 4th outfielder. With Rocco Baldelli's struggles against right handers, McKeen may get a shot to play in LF this season.

The Rotation
With Halsey's talent drop last season, Michael Tessier is the undisputed #2 pitcher and should team with Danks for a long time to come as the staff's aces. Halsey's stats were still pretty good last year, and facing an opponents' #3 start instead of #1 should help him even more. Mark Michael and Matt Belisle will fill the other 2 rotation spots, with youngster Genaro Figueroa waiting in the wings.

1) LHP John Danks
2) RHP Michael Tessier
3) LHP Brad Halsey
4) RHP Matt Belisle
5) RHP Mark Michael

The Closer
Francisco Reyes. Career Stats: 262 games, 156 saves, 2.07 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 225-24(!) K to BB ratio. Yup.

The Bullpen
John Jones is the undisputed top setup man, and will team with Geronimo Arreola once again. Paul Henry was an all star as a 7th inning bridge last year, and Figueroa was solid as a 5th starter when Telmo Arroyo started struggling. Mark Villalon will get work in the middle innings and in the mopup role, with Craig Vivas playing in Triple A this season.

Closer: Francisco Reyes
Setup: John Jones and Geronimo Arreola
Middle: Paul Henry and Genaro Figueroa
Mop Up: Mark Villalon

Projection
The offense has to come up big this season. Another 3rd place finish is likely but something had to be done. Once again, if Tessier and Danks are injured this season, the team could slip down into a 4th or 5th place finish, due to lack of pitching depth.