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Grading the AL Central's offseason: After sending 3 teams to the playoffs, how did the division fare this winter?

The Guardians, Royals and Tigers have taken differing approaches to building off their successful 2024 seasons

jordan shusterman
Senior writer
·12 min read

No division surprised more in 2024 than the AL Central. A quintet of clubs that had been historically bad as a collective in recent years managed to produce not one, not two, but three postseason teams, with the division champion Guardians and two resurgent wild cards in Detroit and Kansas City. Although the defending division champion Twins had a dismal second half and missed the playoffs, they still managed to finish above .500, making the AL Central the only division in MLB with four winning teams. The White Sox … well, we know what happened with them, but the avalanche of losing that transpired on the South Side did not ruin what was otherwise a huge step forward for the AL Central.

Last season’s success also set the stage for an offseason in which the division carried more intrigue than in recent years, when it was less clear how many of its clubs were legitimate contenders. This time around, with three teams coming off trips to October, another still in its contention window and a rebuilding White Sox team holding the most attractive trade chip on the market, the AL Central appeared primed to provide a healthy amount of transactional activity. But with nearly three months of moves behind us and February just around the corner, results have been mixed.

Let’s get to grading.

Read more: AL East grades | NL East grades | NL West grades

  • Re-signed SP Shane Bieber to a 2-year deal

  • Acquired SP Luis Ortiz via trade from Pittsburgh

  • Acquired SP/RP Slade Cecconi via trade from Arizona

  • Signed 1B Carlos Santana to a 1-year deal

  • Signed RP Paul Sewald to a 1-year deal

  • Traded Andres Gimenez to Toronto

  • Traded Josh Naylor to Toronto

While they might not be splashing around nearly as much cash as the three other semifinalists from last year’s postseason, the Guardians have been plenty busy this winter. Keeping Bieber, who reportedly turned down more lucrative offers to remain with the organization that drafted and developed him, was a huge victory. But with Bieber not expected to return from Tommy John surgery until later this summer, Cleveland recognized its immediate need for rotation help and got rather creative in addressing it.

A dizzying sequence of trades involving Toronto and Pittsburgh sent second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Blue Jays and ultimately netted the Guardians Ortiz, a hard-throwing right-hander with mid-rotation potential that he demonstrated in the second half of last season. Later in December, another infield mainstay in Josh Naylor was dealt to Arizona in exchange for 25-year-old right-hander Slade Cecconi, a former first-round pick who isn’t as much of a sure bet for a 2025 rotation spot but has the talent to compete right away. The Guardians then immediately replaced Naylor with Santana, a beloved veteran who remains a productive first baseman as he returns for his third stint with the organization.

With Gimenez out the door, second base remains a fairly big question entering 2025, but Cleveland clearly determined that this sequence of deals was best for the long-term health of the organization. With these moves — plus sending Myles Straw’s contract and international bonus money to Toronto to aid a failed pursuit of Roki Sasaki — Cleveland cleared a ton of future payroll commitments and picked up a handful of promising prospects, plus a draft pick from Arizona.

Finally, the Guardians decided to add to their already-stacked bullpen with veteran righty Paul Sewald. A breakout closer and strikeout savant with Seattle before he was dealt to Arizona and contributed to the D-backs’ pennant run in 2023, Sewald took a marked step back in 2024, making him something of a wild card entering free agency. Cleveland clearly believes that with the right tweaks and a healthier campaign in 2025, Sewald can get back to his dominant self as part of a high-leverage group. And while the core four of Emmanuel Clase, Case Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin remain, the trades of Eli Morgan and Nick Sandlin this winter did vacate some crucial bullpen innings that need to be replaced in some form. With Clase in tow, Sewald won’t be tasked with closer duties in Cleveland, but he should be another valuable weapon for manager Stephen Vogt to give the ball late in games.

While it’s understandably frustrating for fans to watch Cleveland operate within its inflexible, self-imposed budgetary constraints, credit to the front office for not just sitting on their hands like some other cash-strapped teams. They weren’t afraid to shake things up. Time will tell if these moves put them in the best position to defend their AL Central crown, but I generally like where they ended up.

  • Extended SP Michael Wacha on a 3-year deal

  • Acquired 2B Jonathan India, OF Joey Wiemer via trade from the Cincinnati Reds

  • Signed SP Michael Lorenzen to a 1-year deal

The Royals were one of the best stories of last season, going from 106 losses in 2023 to 86 wins and a playoff berth, one that featured an upset of Baltimore in the wild-card round before bowing out against the Yankees in the ALDS. The rejuvenated franchise carried that momentum into the winter, with the swift extension of Wacha before he hit the open market and the acquisition of India in November to fortify the lineup. But as the action picked up around the league in December and January, the Royals were virtually absent from the headlines. A reunion with Lorenzen came together to backfill some of the innings vacated by Brady Singer, who was sent to Cincinnati for India, but otherwise, Kansas City has stood pat.

And so, with India as the only notable alteration to last year’s roster, does this winter feel like a meaningful step forward for the Royals? It was clear by the end of last season that even with a spectacular headliner in Bobby Witt Jr., the offense badly needed another established bat. India definitely brings that, though his defensive fit remains curious at best. The lineup still looks concerningly thin beyond the top four, and unless last year’s first-round pick, Jac Caglianone, rockets through the minors, there doesn’t appear to be much help coming from the Royals’ shallow farm system.

It’s also a lot to ask the rotation to repeat the sensationally high level of effectiveness it demonstrated in its collective breakout last year, which could leave less margin for error for the offense. While adding India and retaining Wacha — before he entered an open market that has proven to be quite lucrative for starting pitchers — were a strong start to the winter, the Royals’ lack of additions since then has resulted in something of an incomplete effort, particularly if K.C. wants to feel confident about returning to October in 2025.

  • Signed 2B Gleyber Torres to a 1-year deal

  • Signed SP Alex Cobb to a 1-year deal

  • Signed RP Tommy Kahnle to a 1-year deal

As with Kansas City, Detroit’s surprise run to the playoffs dramatically shifted our perception of where the franchise sits in its competitive cycle. In turn, there were expectations for the Tigers to ratchet up their spending this winter in hopes of bolstering an ultra-young roster that proved its mettle against Houston and Cleveland in October and appears eager to take the next step. Instead, the Tigers have run a similar playbook to recent offseasons: little to no trade activity and short-term free-agent contracts for veterans trying to reestablish their value.

Strangely enough, the team’s two biggest additions cost the same: 1 year, $15M to Torres and Cobb. Torres should provide much-needed reliable production to a troublingly thin lineup. I quite like his addition, even if it prompts some uncomfortable questions about the future of former No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson, with Colt Keith expected to move to first in deference to Torres.

Kahnle should be a nice veteran complement to the bevy of younger arms who shined in various bullpen roles in 2024. Cobb, though, is more of a head-scratcher. Yes, he was an All-Star as recently as 2023, but he has had hip surgery since then, and that rehab plus myriad nail and blister issues limited him to five total starts in 2024. How the 37-year-old Cobb performs relative to Charlie Morton and Justin Verlander — who also received 1-year, $15M pacts this winter — will be one of the more interesting subplots to monitor this season. The Tigers clearly needed rotation reinforcements beyond Tarik Skubal, but I’m not sure Cobb is the most encouraging version of such support.

Free agent Alex Bregman looms as the most obvious opportunity remaining for Detroit to make a big splash, given his relationship with manager AJ Hinch and clear positional fit on a Tigers roster that has a lot of intriguing young infielders but nothing resembling a cornerstone. Bregman would seem to check a lot of boxes for the kind of veteran star a team in Detroit’s position could build around, but the Tigers have thus far been unwilling to meet his hefty contract demands. If that changes and they spend big to land him, the whole narrative about their winter will shift. If not, this offseason could end up feeling like a fairly big missed opportunity.

  • Acquired C Diego Cartaya via trade from Los Angeles

  • Acquired C Mickey Gasper via trade from Boston

  • Selected SP Eiberson Castellano from Philadelphia in Rule 5 Draft

If you’re scratching your head at some of those names being designated as “major moves,” don’t blame me; it’s slim pickings when looking at Minnesota’s transaction log. Since committing significant dollars to shortstop Carlos Correa a couple of years ago, the Twins have been a complete nonfactor in free agency. Their willingness to stretch the budget to accommodate a superstar in Correa was admirable at the time, but Minnesota’s reluctance to push further to complement the roster has been frustrating to watch. The Twins are one of just four teams (along with the Brewers, Cardinals and Marlins) that haven’t signed a free agent to a major-league deal this offseason, and they’ve yet to make a consequential trade (though they are reportedly exploring deals).

Minnesota’s inactivity can at least partially be attributed to the franchise being in something of a transitional state with regard to its ownership. The Pohlad family announced in October their intentions of selling the team, and while several intriguing potential buyers have emerged, a resolution has yet to be reached. While it hasn’t involved the level of drama of the legal dispute involving San Diego’s ownership this winter, it seems that, like the Padres’, the Twins’ front office has been frozen as far as its ability to make moves to upgrade the roster.

The only reason this grade isn’t a flat-out F is because even with the lack of activity, the current Twins roster, if healthy, might be good enough to compete in this division in 2025. But for a club that would seemingly be motivated to be active in order to flush its disappointing 2024 and show that 2023 is a better reflection of the team’s potential — like what the Texas Rangers have done this winter — Minnesota has been maddeningly quiet. While there’s still time for a trade that could bump this grade up a bit before Opening Day, it’s tough to be too charitable at this stage.

  • Acquired OF Braden Montgomery, C Kyle Teel, INF Chase Meidroth and SP Wikelman Gonzalez via trade from Boston

  • Signed SP/RP Bryse Wilson to a 1-year deal

  • Signed SP Martin Perez to a 1-year deal

  • Signed INF Josh Rojas to a 1-year deal

  • Signed OF Mike Tauchman to a 1-year deal

  • Signed OF Austin Slater to a 1-year deal

Fresh off one of the worst seasons the sport has ever seen, the White Sox had two primary goals entering this winter: hire a new manager and trade ace lefty Garrett Crochet for a haul of promising prospects. Their offseason began with the selection of former big-league outfielder Will Venable as skipper. It’s impossible to know how good of a hire this is before he has managed a game, but Venable is highly regarded within the industry and appears better equipped than his predecessor, Pedro Grifol, to handle the challenges of managing a team in a deep rebuild.

More crucially, in the Red Sox, the White Sox found a trading partner flush with position-player prospects and a dire need for starting pitching. In exchange for Crochet, Chicago scored an exciting quartet of young talent: two recent first-round picks in Teel and Montgomery, a high-probability big-league contributor in Meidroth and a high-octane arm whose role has yet to be defined in Gonzalez. While this return will take years to fully assess, it looks far more encouraging on paper than what the White Sox have recouped in other significant trades in the early stages of the rebuilding process. Trading Crochet now was certainly the right decision for the franchise, and how these players progress could significantly impact how quickly the White Sox can emerge from the darkness.

Beyond the Crochet blockbuster, the White Sox have acted roughly as you’d expect a team in their position to act. They’ve held on to their higher-profile trade candidate in Luis Robert Jr., hoping he can reestablish his value in 2025 and eventually net a Crochet-esque return in the not-so-distant future. They’ve signed a handful of veterans on one-year deals, players who could be flipped in July to contenders seeking reinforcements. Their payroll has plummeted to one of the lowest marks in the league.

Hopefully the White Sox can avoid being historically awful again in 2025, but there is still a lot more losing to come for this team. That’s by design, though, and the focus must remain on building an infrastructure at all levels of the organization that can better support a winning team at some point down the line. By those standards, this winter has generally gone according to plan.