This division is perhaps the youngest in baseball in terms of the players on their roster. After the Cleveland Guardians captured the division title last season, can they do it again with the young core that they have? Or did the Minnesota Twins do enough along with the White Sox and even the Detroit Tigers? Here are every team’s offseason grades in the American League Central.
Cleveland Guardians: C
After winning 92 games and the division with the youngest team in baseball, Cleveland was expected to make some moves to improve their teams, but they really didn’t. The Guardians were relatively quiet this offseason and did not make splash moves. If anything, they added an extra bat by signing first baseman Josh Bell to a two-year contract but that was basically it. They still have a majority of the players they had on their team last year which is promising, but will that be good enough to get back into the postseason. A ‘C’ seems like the right grade to give to the Guardians.
Chicago White Sox: B
After a disappointing season for the Chicago White Sox, it was very important that they have a good offseason to get back into the playoffs and I think they sure did. They started by saying goodbye to their controversial hire as manager Tony La Russa and hired Pedro Grifol to take over the reins. And even though they lost Jose Abreu in free agency to the Houston Astros, they brought in a pretty solid bat by signing veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi to a five-year bat who they hope will provide some major offense in the absence of Abreu. And to address their starting pitching, they signed righty Michael Clevinger on a one-year contract. While they should still make some more significant moves as they’re still not quite there with the Twins and Guardians, I think this was a good offseason for Chicago.
Detroit Tigers: D
Nothing about the Tigers offseason would make me feel like they got any better and they would rebound after losing 96 games last season. They did not address the needs they need on offense and their pitching which was already bad enough, lost some guys from lefties Andrew Chafin and Gregory Soto. If they improved their offense even by the slightest, they did acquire center fielder from the Phillies Matt Vierling who has shown some flashes of being a good player. But realistically, not a good offseason for Detroit.
Minnesota Twins: A-
The Twins were extremely active this offseason. In free agency, Minnesota re-signed Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200 million deal after he tested the free-agent waters. The Twins also brought in veteran catcher Christian Vazquez on a three-year, $30 million deal. The final major signing was the front office taking a flier on outfielder/designated hitter Joey Gallo on a one-year, $11 million contract. Minnesota was also active in the trade market. The most notable move was sending 2022 AL batting champion Luis Arraez to Miami in exchange for solid starter Pablo Lopez and prospects Jose Salas and Byron Chourio. The Twins also acquired outfielder Michael A. Taylor and infielder Kyle Farmer. Minnesota should be ready to compete again this season, especially if its pitching staff stays healthy.
Kansas City Royals: F
The Royals somehow had more notable departures than acquisitions this offseason. Kansas City sent away Adalberto Mondesi and Michael A. Taylor in trades to Boston and Minensota respectively. The only major signings the Royals made were veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman and 39-year-old starter Zack Greinke, who will be the team’s ace. Kansas City offers a very underwhelming lineup that only features Bobby Whitt Jr. and Salvador Perez and a bad rotation headlined by Greinke and Jordan Lyles. To make matters worse, I am not sure that KC has anything it can trade at the trade deadline in July. It is going to be a very long year for the Royals.
