*Photo from the Franchise League*
We did the AL East, so now it's time for the AL Central team previews for the 2020 season.
*Photo from Twins Daily*
Minnesota Twins
2019 record: 101-61
The Bomba Squad had a breakout year in 2019, winning the AL Central and 101 games, but that was rendered moot when the New York Yankees swept them out of the playoffs in the ALDS. Now, they look similar and will look for a different ending in 2020. They lost two of their best bats in CJ Cron and Jonathan Schoop this winter, but effectively replaced their production by snagging Josh Donaldson to play 3rd base. Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez left holes in the rotation with their departures this winter, but Rich Hill and Homer Bailey were brought in via free agency and Kenta Maeda was acquired by trade. Hill and Michael Pineda will miss time to start 2020, but the rotation should be fine. The bullpen is basically the same as it was last year, minus Sam Dyson. The AL Central is Minnesota's to lose.
*Photo from the New York Times*
Cleveland Indians
2019 record: 93-69
The Indians narrowly missed the playoffs in 2019, and management responded to that failure by getting worse. They traded their ace in Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers for an iffy outfielder and a reliever who's now shut down. Outside of Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber, there are questions in the rotation, and there's the whole Francisco Lindor trade rumor thing that's been haunting them all winter. The Indians also had no interest in bringing back Yasiel Puig, as he's still a free agent. The Indians have good pieces, but they don't have the complete puzzle, and they'll struggle in 2020 and likely miss the playoffs because of it.
*Photo from Bleacher Report*
Chicago White Sox
2019 record: 72-89
It is time. The White Sox have made the jump to playoff contention with an offseason of spending. They extended Jose Abreu and top prospect Luis Robert, traded for Nomar Mazara, and signed Dallas Keuchel, Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Gonzalez, and Yasmani Grandal to solidify depth and give the young corps some reinforcements. The bullpen still looks a little sketchy, but the White Sox are back in the playoff fold. Lucas Giolito exploded last season, and he'll pair with Keuchel at the top of the rotation. Carlos Rodon will be a middle rotation piece once he comes back from Tommy John Surgery. Pay attention to the southsiders this season.
*Photo from the Kansas City Star*
Kansas City Royals
2019 record: 59-103
It was a pretty quiet offseason in Kansas City. They named Mike Matheny their next manager, and they brought back Alex Gordon on a reduced salary. Whit Merrifield is still his hitting machine self, Jorge Soler is blasting dingers, and Salvador Perez is back after missing all of 2019. There's some promise here, but the Royals will be bad this season, and will continue to be bad for a few more years to come. This is the fate of a rebuilding team. They'll be back in like 5 years, right?
*Photo from Forbes*
Detroit Tigers
2019 record: 47-114
I didn't think it was possible for a team to be worse than the Baltimore Orioles, but my god it's happening right here in Detroit. Matthew Boyd is here to lead the starting rotation and that's the only good I can see other than Casey Mize potentially arriving next year. The hitting doesn't have a lot of wow, the pitching is awful outside of Boyd, and it's gonna be a long, long season in Detroit, and it will be for several years to come. The silver lining is the first overall pick.
Division assessment:
This division is split into a few categories. The contenders, which include the Twins and White Sox. The mediocrity, which will be home to just the Indians, and the basement dwellers, which are the Royals and Tigers. The division is Minnesota's to lose, but the White Sox can sneak up on them. Watch Minnesota and Chicago this season, you won't see much else from the other three teams.
Division assessment:
This division is split into a few categories. The contenders, which include the Twins and White Sox. The mediocrity, which will be home to just the Indians, and the basement dwellers, which are the Royals and Tigers. The division is Minnesota's to lose, but the White Sox can sneak up on them. Watch Minnesota and Chicago this season, you won't see much else from the other three teams.
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