MLB Off-Season Moves: AL Central, Twinning in 2020

With respect to fans from Kansas City, Minnesota, Detroit, Cleveland, and South-side Chicago, the American League Central may be the MLB division with the least media coverage in the sport. Now part of that may just be the areas of America that they play in, but the other reason is the teams have not been very competitive recently, usually producing one contender per year that sweeps the division while the rest populate the deepest depths of the league. Even so, there isn't that big market team here, last year the Minnesota Twins were that governing force with the Cleveland Indians dominating the stretch before that. I actually do feel this division could be slightly more well-rounded in 2020 than in recent history, but first let's take a look at the AL Central since its creation in 1994.

Although the Brewers were in the division the first few seasons, it's mostly been these five teams for the entirety of its history. The Cleveland Indians have been the most successful, winning 10 AL Central titles, and three AL pennants since '94. They also added three pennants before joining the Central, and their only two franchise World Series came in 1920 and 1948. The Minnesota Twins come in after that, with seven division banners, but no W.S. appearances out of this division. They did win three championship titles out of six opportunities before '94. Next come the Detroit Tigers with four AL Central wins, and two AL pennants (no rings). Before joining the division the Tigers won four World Series out of nine attempts (11 total including the two after '94). The Chicago White Sox have three division titles, and are one of the only teams to win a World Series out of this division in 2005. They add two more rings and six total AL pennants before joining the AL Central. The other AL Central W.S. Champ was the Kansas City Royals, who were victorious in 2015 (after back-to-back appearances in the title series, '14-'15). They had one other championship in their franchise's history, and two other pennants. So as you can see, with only two rings coming out of the AL Central in its 26 year history (playoff strike in 1994), and only four total wildcard winners by the way, this division has been largely unsuccessful over the last three decades. Who will come out on top in 2020, and will that team be a title contender?

Off-Season Changes in Order of Predicted 2020 Standings

5. Detroit Tigers (manager: Ron Gardenhire)

The Tigers brought in a bunch of veterans this off-season, including 2B Jonathan Schoop, but it won't be enough to get this organization out of the cellar. Photo Credit: Detroit Free Press

• Notable Hitting Additions- Jonathan Schoop (2B), CJ Cron (1B), Cameron Maybin (OF), Austin Romine (C), Jordy Mercer (IF, re-signed), Kennys Vargas (DH/1B)

• Notable Pitching Additions- Ivan Nova (SP), Zack Godley (RP), Alex Wilson (RP), Dario Agrazal (SP), Hector Santiago (RP/SP)

• Notable Hitting Losses- Josh Harrison (IF), John Hicks (C/1B)

• Notable Pitching Losses- Tyson Ross (SP), Matt Moore (SP), Edwin Jackson (SP), Blaine Hardy (RP)

It feels like Detroit has been a disaster since the 2012 World Series loss, when players like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer still made up this pitching staff. The aces of this franchise going into 2020 are Matt Boyd and Jordan Zimmerman (Michael Fulmer is out long-term), what a fall from grace. They bring in Ivan Nova (eh), but not much else when it comes to starting pitching, and this will probably end up being one of the worst rotations in baseball because of that (it wasn't good in 2019 and they lost some veteran depth). A few fliers like Godley, Wilson, and Agrazal are competing to make the Opening Day roster. The bulk of the money went to veteran bats this Winter, stealing Schoop and Cron from rival Minnesota, plus Maybin and Romine from the Yanks. These guys are all solid role players on a good team, but none of them can carry a poor roster. The Tigers were 47-114 in 2019, so they might be able to improve on that, but expect another 100 loss season in Detroit this year.

4. Kansas City Royals (manager: Mike Matheny)

With Ned Yost (left) retiring and former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny (right) entering the fold, it's a new era for Royals' baseball. Photo Credit: KC Kingdom

• Notable Hitting Additions- Alex Gordon (OF, re-signed), Maikel Franco (3B)

• Notable Pitching Additions- Greg Holland (RP), Braden Shipley (RP), Chance Adams (SP), Trevor Rosenthal (RP)

• Notable Hitting Losses- Cheslor Cuthbert (IF)

• Notable Pitching Losses- Drew Storen (RP), Brian Flynn (RP)

The Royals are still in rebuild mode since their championship roster in 2015. Contrary to the Tigers though, they at least have some younger players in place to work around (Hunter Dozier, Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi, Ryan O'Hearn). Unfortunately, their pitching staff hasn't rebounded as well as their everyday lineup. Aside from Danny Duffy, there is not much to like, and KC really didn't do anything to supplement that staff this off-season. They upgraded on Cuthbert with Franco, they upgraded slightly on the bullpen with Holland, but really the Royals hung back this Winter and elected to take it slow with another year of development for their prospects. One positive is that veteran catcher Salvador Perez will be back from injury. With Mike Matheny coming in to replace the legendary Ned Yost (retired after '19 season), the team may be under the "fan microscope" a little more than usual in 2020, but Kansas City does at least have some things to be excited about.

3. Cleveland Indians (manager: Terry Francona)

With Bauer and Kluber gone, the Mike Clevinger preseason injury becomes that much more crucial to the Indians' chances in 2020. Photo Credit: Bleacher Report

• Notable Hitting Additions- Cesar Hernandez (2B), Domingo Santana (RF), Delino DeShields (CF), Sandy Leon (C), Cameron Rupp (C)

• Notable Pitching Additions- Emmanuel Clase (RP), Dominic Leone (RP)

• Notable Hitting Losses- Yasiel Puig (RF), Jason Kipnis (2B), Kevin Plawecki (C), Carlos Gonzalez (RF), Andrew Velazquez (3B)

• Notable Pitching Losses- Corey Kluber (SP), Tyler Clippard (RP), Dan Otero (RP), AJ Cole (RP)

The Cleveland Indians have already begun their sell-off of the AL Champion roster, whether they admit it to their fans or not. Key 2016 players like Trevor Bauer, Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Yan Gomes, and now Jason Kipnis and Corey Kluber are all wearing different uniforms. Francisco Lindor has been shopped openly on the trade market. Thankfully for Indians fans, no one bit on Lindor's price tag, and this is still a decent roster that actually had some mild improvements over the off-season. Cesar Hernandez was a great pickup, he adds more on all sides of the ball than an aged Kipnis did. Domingo Santana replaces Puig, who is still available if the Indians wanted to bring him back as well. Catching depth was improved behind Roberto Perez. Emmanuel Clase was even a nice young bullpen return, although he is injured to start 2020.

I liked the moves by Cleveland, but the Clevinger injury this February was almost a lethal blow to this roster after the Kluber trade. Shane Bieber and Carlos Carrasco are still there, but a ton of less-experienced options make up the rest of the rotation (Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Logan Allen, Adam Plutko). The bullpen isn't outstanding either, so what was once the strength may become the Indians' greatest weakness if Clevinger doesn't return in a hurry. While I'll be interested to watch the output of hitters like Oscar Mercado, Franmil Reyes, and Jake Bauers, Cleveland desperately needs a bounce-back season from 3B Jose Ramirez. I don't expect this team to completely tank out of the wildcard race, but they should be outmatched in the division.

2. Chicago White Sox (manager: Rick Renteria)

Dallas Keuchel proved he could still pitch in 2019, now he'll be heavily relied on in Chicago this season. Photo Credit: Ron Vesely, Getty Images

• Notable Hitting Additions- Jose Abreu (1B, re-signed), Yasmani Grandal (C), Nomar Mazara (RF), Edwin Encarnacion (DH), Cheslor Cuthbert (IF)

• Notable Pitching Additions- Dallas Keuchel (SP), Steve Cishek (RP), Gio Gonzalez (SP), Adalberto Mejia (RP), Ross Detwiler (RP, re-signed)

• Notable Hitting Losses- Yonder Alonso (1B), John Jay (CF), Welington Castillo (C), Alex Avila (C), Yolmer Sanchez (3B/2B), Charlie Tilson (CF), Brandon Guyer (RF)

• Notable Pitching Losses- Ivan Nova (SP), Nate Jones (RP), Juan Minaya (RP), Dylan Covey (SP), Hector Santiago (RP)

The White Sox finished 72-89 in 2019, but there was definite progress for a team that had been in the dumps for some time. With a young core finally emerging, the Chi-Sox decided to finally spend some money this off-season, as one of the more active teams in the MLB. These additions included Grandal at catcher, Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez in the rotation, Encarnacion at DH, Cishek as a veteran reliever, and a new contract for Jose Abreu. Most of the losses were guys that were just taking up space on the roster, not one of those 12 names I listed above feels detrimental in my opinion. They even trade for Nomar Mazara, who is an extremely consistent right fielder. The big thing for this team will be how well the veterans and prospects gel together. The free agent acquisitions are the veterans, but the prospect pool is filled with familiar faces, as well as a few fresh ones. 2B/3B Yoan Moncada just signed a long-term extension, SP Lucas Giolito looked like a CY Young candidate for part of 2019, LF Eloy Jimenez showed sheer power down the stretch, and SP Dylan Cease displayed flashes of talent as a rookie. Add in hyped five-tool center fielder Luis Robert and possibly 2B Nick Madrigal (at some point this year) and this roster is loaded with potential. Both the rotation and the bullpen lack depth, but there's a lot to like in this flourishing White Sox franchise.

1. Minnesota Twins (manager: Rocco Baldelli)

The Twins' agenda was clearly pitching this off-season, but they did bring in one bat, former AL MVP and 2019 Comeback Player of the Year Josh Donaldson. Photo Credit: Twins Daily

• Notable Hitting Additions- Josh Donaldson (3B), Alex Avila (C)

• Notable Pitching Additions- Jake Odorizzi (SP, re-signed), Sergio Romo (RP, re-signed), Kenta Maeda (SP/RP), Homer Bailey (SP), Rich Hill (SP), Michael Pineda (SP, re-signed), Tyler Clippard (RP), Jhoulys Chacin (RP/SP), Juan Minaya (RP), Cory Gearrin (RP), Blaine Hardy (RP), Parker Bridwell (SP)

• Notable Hitting Losses- Jonathan Schoop (2B), Jason Castro (C), CJ Cron (1B), Ronald Torreyes (UTIL), Dustin Garneau (C)

• Notable Pitching Losses- Kyle Gibson (SP), Martin Perez (SP/RP), Trevor Hildenberger (RP)

There was clearly an emphasis on pitching this Winter for Minnesota, my recap above shows just how much they prioritized both starting and relief pitching. With a great lineup in 2019 that only lost a few bats going into this year, all they really needed to do was improve their arms, so you got to give them credit for doing so. At the tail-end of the free agency period though, the Twins went all-in when they signed Josh Donaldson. I'm not so sure about the four-year length of this deal, but if Donaldson proved anything last season, it's that he's not washed up yet. If Minnesota can win a championship in one of the next two seasons, they won't care about the final two years of the deal, it'll have been worth it already. Inserting Donaldson into a lineup that already includes sluggers like Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano, and Max Kepler is a scary thought (especially in this division of weak pitching staffs). This will absolutely be one of the top offenses again in 2020, after breaking home run records in '19.

Despite all the help, any World Series questions will still come on the pitching side of things for the Twins. Rich Hill and Michael Pineda will both miss time to start the season, so the rotation will likely be made up of "Joe's" like Jake Odorizzi, Homer Bailey, Kenta Maeda, and Jhoulys Chacin behind ace Jose Berrios. The bullpen is also a bit blue-collar in terms of prestige, Sergio Romo returns along with veteran Tyler Clippard to supplement Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, and more. Unless the White Sox totally click and fire on all cylinders, Minnesota should have no trouble repeating as AL Central Champs, but do they have what it takes to make a playoff run...