The American League Central made clear in 2013 that it is no longer the joke of baseball, as the Detroit Tigers advanced to their third consecutive American League Championship Series and the Cleveland Indians earned the top Wild Card spot.
This offseason has been one of the craziest in recent memory, and all five AL Central teams have made important moves. Here is how they stack up so far.
1. Detroit Tigers
Despite going to the ALCS three consecutive seasons, the Tigers have undergone a fairly extreme makeover this offseason.
Gone are Jhonny Peralta, Omar Infante, Prince Fielder, Doug Fister, Jose Veras and Joaquin Benoit. New are Rajai Davis, Joe Nathan, Steve Lombardozzi, Ian Krol, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kinsler.
Looking at the lineup and comparing it to last season’s, it seems as if Detroit has downgraded. While Nathan is one of baseball’s best closers, the rest of the bullpen, which was dismal last season, has not seemed to improve. In fact, Drew Smyly, one of the team’s best relievers from last season, has now moved into the rotation to replace star starter Fister.
As far as offense goes, the team is faster but less explosive. There still seems to be a hole in left field despite the Davis signing, and there is not much protection behind Victor Martinez. Who will hit fifth? Alex Avila? Rookie Nick Castellanos?
Nevertheless, Detroit is still the team to beat in the Central.
2. Kansas City Royals
The team that is clearly the inspiration behind Lorde’s hit song has quietly made the right moves this offseason.
Kansas City used its tremendous bullpen depth to grab Norichika Aoki from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for reliever Will Smith. Aoki, while productive, caused somewhat of a logjam in the outfield that was partially solved on Wednesday when David Lough was sent to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Danny Valencia.
Valencia will be a decent backup for Mike Moustakas at third base if Moustakas underachieves again, but even without Lough, the Royals still may have too many outfielders. Especially if they decide to sign Shin-Soo Choo or Nelson Cruz to boost their low power numbers from last season.
Former Detroit Tiger Omar Infante is also the new second baseman in Kansas City. Infante has proven to be one of the most underrated second basemen in the game and should help provide a nice spark to the offense.
Kansas City is still waiting on Ervin Santana, but it went out and signed Jason Vargas to fill his spot in the rotation if he does not return.
The Royals finally had a winning season in 2013. Look for them to show even more improvement in 2014 and make a run at the playoffs.
3. Cleveland Indians
The Indians made the playoffs last season, only to be dispatched by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Game. This offseason, they have already made some huge improvements.
First of all, Cleveland’s main problem was its bullpen. Because of this, the Indians signed closer John Axford to fill the role of the struggling Chris Perez.
The Indians also signed outfielder David Murphy, who should be an upgrade in right field. This allowed them to trade Drew Stubbs to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Josh Outman, another productive reliever.
Expect Cleveland to be very similar to last year’s team that finished only a single game behind Detroit in the AL Central.
With Terry Francona as manager, a fairly decent offense and an improved bullpen, the Indians could pose a major threat to Detroit’s reign over the division.
4. Chicago White Sox
There is a huge gap between the top three and bottom two teams in this division, but the White Sox are currently looking like underdogs in the tight race for last place with the Minnesota Twins.
While the South Side may not have anything special coming its way this season, the future is looking very bright.
The White Sox have restructured the outfield with the young duo of Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton, who could develop into very productive players offensively and defensively.
They also signed Cuban defector first baseman Jose Abreu, who should provide some serious pop in the lineup if his hefty contract means anything.
Chicago also sorted out the future of the other corner of the infield traded relief pitcher Addison Reed to Arizona for young up-and-coming third baseman Matt Davidson.
Finally, while Chicago’s pitching is atrocious other than Chris Sale, the White Sox bullpen improved on Thursday with the signings of Scott Downs and Ronald Belisario.
Don’t get your hopes up too much for 2014, South Side, but there should be plenty to be excited about in the coming years.
5. Minnesota Twins
The rebuild is in full swing for the Minnesota Twins.
While the team has signed Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes (and possibly Bronson Arroyo in the coming days) to improve a dreadful pitching staff, the Twins may very well lose 100 games this season.
Joe Mauer, who will be moved to first base full-time in 2014, is one of the very few bright spots in a lineup that will feature many a plethora of young players.
With Ryan Doumit already traded away and Josh Willingham’s name popping up on the trading block, many youngsters could have a shot to prove their worths in Minneapolis.
Like the White Sox, however, the future may be very bright for the Twins. Outfielder Byron Buxton may be baseball’s best prospect, and not far behind is third baseman Miguel Sano.