In today’s episode of the Exit Velo Podcast, Curt Bishop examines where each team in the American League Central is, and what they may do at the trade deadline. Will they buy, sell, both, or hold pat? Hear Curt’s thoughts and takes on what will happen with the transcript below.
Good afternoon baseball fans, this is Curt Bishop and you are listening to the Exit Velo Podcast, where we talk all things MLB. Today we’re going to be continuing to break down each team’s trade deadline strategy based on a recent MLB.com article that predicted what each team would do. I will of course put in my two cents on whether I agree with their takes or not. Today our topic is the AL Central.
Now this division is a pretty one sided affair. You’ve got the White Sox at the top who also have the best record in the AL, despite key injuries taking out Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez. They’re 9.5 games ahead of Cleveland, who after trading off Francisco Lindor, are long shots to win the central, but aren’t too far back in the Wild Card race, even with Shane Bieber on the shelf. Somehow, the Tigers have made it up to third place and are only six games under .500, which is better than I thought they’d be. They have some tradable pieces available. As do the fourth place Twins, who after winning the division back to back years have taken a nosedive into fourth. It’ll be interesting to see what they do at the deadline for sure with guys like Jose Berrios and Nelson Cruz. And then at the bottom we have the Kansas City Royals, who started hot but are now well out of the race. Even worse, they just had to place Danny Duffy back on the IL, which could really hurt his stock at this deadline.
Chicago White Sox
We’ll start with the White Sox, who like I’ve mentioned have the best record in the AL despite Tony La Russa being an old head who’s stuck in the past and throws his own players under the bus. They’ve fought through injury troubles and grinded it out without two of their best players, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. Both are now on rehab assignments but they’ve also lost Nick Madrigal for the year. The article has them as buyers and it’s hard to imagine that they won’t be. Their starting rotation is rock solid with Lance Lynn, Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, and Dallas Keuchel. But with injuries to Madrigal, Jimenez, Robert, and Yasmani Grandal, it would be wise for them to look for a bat or two. The article talks about how a lot of their young players that may previously have been considered trade pieces are making a big impact on the club right now, so if the White Sox want to go for it, as they should, they need to gauge which pieces are off limits and which could be used as trade bait.
Cleveland Indians
Now on to Cleveland. They’ve also had a rash of injuries, most notably with their starting rotation. They’ve really struggled without Shane Bieber and Zach Plesac. The folks at MLB.com expect them to buy and sell at the same time, and I think that is very likely. They really need a starting pitcher, bad. As we talked about yesterday, starting pitching is at a premium and every team is looking for a guy. While it’s unlikely they pull off a deal for Kyle Gibson, I could see them targeting some other options. Some guys that come to mind here are Tyler Anderson and Jon Gray. In terms of selling, the article mentions Cesar Hernández as a potential piece they could put on the trade market. They could use him to get a pitcher, or even an outfield bat, which is something they’ve needed for a while. They could potentially even target someone like Cedric Mullins or Trey Mancini. The division title is probably a lost cause at this point, but the second Wild Card is still within reach.
Detroit Tigers
Let’s move onto the motor city, where the Tigers are still in the rebuilding process, but playing better than expected. The article has them as a seller. With them not really having any chance of getting back into the race, it would only make sense. They’ve run into a bit of a problem however, as pitchers Michael Fulmer, Matthew Boyd, and Spencer Turnbull are all on the shelf with injuries, and these were guys who they could potentially sell off. However, Jonathan Schoop is one piece they could still get something for, as the article talks about. He’s a free agent at the end of the year, and it’s possible that they could get some prospects for him. They’ve had some recent success in acquiring some under the radar prospects, so I think it’d be worth trying. But Jason Beck reports that with them playing a little better, they’ll want pieces who will help them improve in both the short term and long term, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can muster at the deadline.
Minnesota Twins
Up next we have the Minnesota Twins, who have had quite a disappointing year. They’re expected to be a seller and that’s what they should do. Several teams have contacted them about Nelson Cruz, including the Tampa Bay Rays according to Ken Rosenthal. There are also several teams reportedly in on Jose Berrios, who is an attractive option not just because he’s an ace, but because he still has a few years of team control left. The price will have to be right for the Twins to budge on that, however. Michael Pineda is another guy who could be on the market, given that he will be a free agent after this season. Teams like the Cardinals, or even the Indians, could make a push for him. The Twins still do have talent on that roster, so they shouldn’t go on a complete fire sale, but it’s worth seeing what they can get for some of these guys.
Kansas City Royals
Finally we have the Royals. The article predicts that they will buy and sell, but I’m not so sure about that. Do I think they’ll trade off Whit Merrifield? No. He’s too valuable and is a guy who’s really the future of this team. The article mentions they could dangle Carlos Santana and Mike Minor as trade pieces. I think they could get some decent prospects for those guys, but the team’s beat reporter, Anne Rogers, has stated that they value those players as guys who could potentially stay around to help the next wave of young talent develop. However, I find it unlikely that they won’t try to get something for those guys. And if they want to contend in a few years, they need to look at pieces that can help them down the road, and it would be foolish to not at least see what they can get for some of their veteran players.
That’s it for today. Thanks so much for tuning in. We’ll be back at it tomorrow with the AL West. Once again, I’m Curt Bishop and you have been listening to the Exit Velo podcast.
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