Pack detail

NL Central: Rotation Availability, IL Return Windows, and Remaining Schedule Strength

One row per NL Central club covering the three things that actually decide a division race in the second half: how many of the five rotation slots are staffed by a healthy starter today, where every starting pitcher sits on the injured-list and rehab-assignment clock, and how hard the schedule still standing in front of the club is. Injured-list status is carried with the distinction that matters for arrival dates — a 15-day placement, a 60-day placement that also cleared a 40-man roster spot, and a rehab assignment already running against its 30-day pitcher limit imply very different return dates from the same phrase 'throwing bullpens.' Schedule strength is computed only on games not yet played, weighted for park, travel, and the off-days and doubleheaders that determine whether a short rotation can be hidden. Method: placements and transfers are taken from daily official transaction logs, rehab appearances from minor-league box scores, expected return language from club media availabilities and beat reporting, and the schedule side from the published master schedule joined to current standings; the four streams are reconciled per club into one dated row so that a club's reported timeline and its actual roster mechanics are visible in the same record.