Cubs' Rizzo: 'We’re going to win the NL Central'

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has had enough of occupying the basement of the National League Central. 

The 25-year-old has spent three of his four major league seasons on Chicago's North Side and has a been a part of a trio of fifth-place finishes. 

However, the combination of top up-and-coming prospects in Jorge Soler and Javier Baez, paired with the marquee free-agent signing of Jon Lester and new manager Joe Maddon, Rizzo sees the winds of change blowing through Wrigley Field and is breathing them in. 

“I mean it’s going to happen this year. It’s what we’re going to do,” Rizzo told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. “We’re going to win the NL Central.”

Rizzo knows his prediction is brash, but he isn't wavering. He believes in the talent that the Cubs have and has no issue setting his sights for the top of the division. 

“We should be the team," Rizzo said. "With all due respect to every other team (in the division) – they’re just as good talent-wise. But we’re going to do some things this year. That’s what we’re expecting, that’s what we’re going to put our sights on, and we’re not going to settle for anything less.”

The St. Louis Cardinals claimed the division crown last season with 90 wins – a number the Cubs haven't reached since a 97-win campaign in 2008.