Search the Community

After the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins were riding high last week, both came crashing back down to earth. The Cleveland Guardians are now second in the division, and the Detroit Tigers nearly swept the leaders in a five game set. The Standings: Minnesota 30-23 Cleveland 22-24 Chicago 23-26 Detroit 21-30 Kansas City 16-33 Despite going just 5-5 over their last ten games, a three-game winning streak for the Guardians was enough to overtake second in a division trending downwards. Detroit has gone 7-3 in their last ten and looked like a better club than the division-leading Minnesota Twins. Only the NL East can join in the misery of having a single team with a winning record. The Stories: For Minnesota at the top, this week has been marred with injury and Covid. Losing Royce Lewis innings after his promotion and then watching Sonny Gray join him on the IL, it’s been a continued downfall. Add in a trio of players testing positive for Covid and it’s been an experiment to see who’s even available. Chicago has had a mixed bag of emotions. They were manhandled north of the border by the Blue Jays, and lost star shortstop Tim Anderson to a groin injury. It does appear that they’ll be getting reinforcements soon, however, with Lance Lynn and Eloy Jimenez both out on rehab assignments. The hope for Tony La Russa’s club is that Anderson could be back before the end of the month. They’ll get a bit easier stretch at the end of the month, but the Dodgers come to town and will provide another tough test. Jose Ramirez continues to be one of the best third basemen in baseball, and his production this year has kept the Guardians relevant. It’s a good thing they got a contract extension done because seeing him walk would’ve been a catastrophe. Cleveland needs pitching help and they’re looking at getting it in the form of star reliever James Karinchak. He’s begun a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Infielder Yu Chang was recently designated for assignment by the club and he ultimately dealt to the Pirates for cash considerations. Starter Aaron Civale was set to return from glute tightness, but he doesn’t seem ready when he’ll be eligible on June 6. There’s also no certain timetable for the return of Franmil Reyes. It’s not as though Minnesota is a juggernaut of a division leader, but Detroit certainly reminded them of that this week. Detroit kept things light with Beau Brieske introducing a new pregame routine of throwing footballs amongst the pitching staff. More fun than that may be Riley Greene blasting his first homer of 2022, albeit at Triple-A. He’s now played in three games but was slated to open the year with Detroit. The Tigers could get added power to their lineup in short order. This may win up being among the best stretches A.J. Hinch’s team sees all season. While Detroit and Cleveland took advantage this week, Kansas City slid further back. They are just 2-8 over their last ten and now own the worst record in baseball. Michael A. Taylor is nearing a return as he’s begun a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha, but it remains to be seen how his body reacts as he’s been out since May 19 with Covid. Catcher Cam Gallagher is also nearing a return, but how he fits remains a mystery as Salvador Perez and M.J. Melendez are both superior talents. Veteran Zack Greinke was placed on the injured list with a right flexor strain. It’s certainly not ideal seeing him dealing with forearm discomfort. The Week Ahead: This could be a defining week in the first half for the Twins. Licking their wounds from Detroit, they head across the border shorthanded to play the Blue Jays before returning home to face the Yankees. Against the top of the AL East, they’ll have their work cut out for them. It doesn’t exactly get easier for the White Sox either. They continue the AL East tour heading to St. Petersburg for three with Tampa and then return home to face a very good Los Angeles Dodgers team. The top of the AL Central could look much different by this time next week. Playing good baseball right now, Cleveland has to be excited about the prospects of a series with the Orioles, even if it’s on the road. They do get another beatable group in Texas and Oakland when they return home. Although Detroit handled the Twins, they’ll have a tougher task in going to The Bronx over the weekend. If there’s a reprieve, it’s that they head to Pittsburgh from there with off days on both sides of that two-game set. If the Royals weren’t already sick of taking their lumps, they’ll get rewarded by welcoming both Houston and Toronto to Kansas City. What are you looking forward to this week? Can the Twins hang on? Who’s coming for them? View full article