Cubs' Epstein: 'Our goal is the (NL) Central title next year'

After finishing fifth in the National League Central in each of the past five seasons, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein believes his team is ready to make a significant jump in 2015.

“I think we’ve proved we can be very competitive in this division and when you have a chance to compete, you should set your sights high and that means our goal is the (National League) Central title next year,” Epstein told MLB.com on Tuesday.

With a slew of their top prospects - including Javier Baez and Jorge Soler - making it to the majors in 2014, and bounce-back years from Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs posted their highest win total (73) since 2010. 

Epstein said the plan for the offseason is to add talent through free agency in the form of a starting pitcher, left-handed reliever, and an outfielder, in hopes of building around the current nucleus of young players. 

“We’re being open about the fact that we’re here to compete and our goal is to win the (division) title, but at the same time we’re not going to bail on our young players, we’re not going to abandon our vision,” he said. “We just have to make the tough decisions and strike that balance the right way.”

Epstein and the Cubs will have their work more than cut out for them to achieve what appears to be a lofty goal. St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee all finished with at least 82 wins this season, while an injury-plagued Cincinnati team finished 76-86.