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After what was arguably the most impactful series of the year thus far, the Minnesota Twins have now put the AL Central Division on ice. With a magic number at nine, and 13 games left against the divisional doldrums, all eyes are on October. The first opponent of the final homestand in 2019 is none other than the Chicago White Sox. Doubling up on them thus far, Rocco Baldelli’s club gets their final three cracks at Rick Renteria’s squad.Brief Overview: When you play any team 19 times in one season you’re going to get to know them quite well. Chicago knows the Twins are what they aspire to be (in a few years), and Minnesota is familiar with the up-and-coming names on the White Sox. Luis Robert did not garner a September look, so this is the same squad we’ve grown accustomed to. What They Do Well: At 65-84 it’s not shocking that there’s very little the White Sox do well. These two teams last played against each other on August 29th so it’s worth trying to isolate the numbers since that point. Over the past few weeks the White Sox own the 10th best offense in baseball. That’s actually superior to the Twins, which isn’t surprising given what Minnesota has had to run out there. There isn’t a specific category that truly jumps off the page for Chicago in that time, but they have done a great job hitting for average. With a .272 batting average they have the fifth best tally dating back to the 30th. What They Do Not Do Well: Pitching has been pretty middle of the road for Chicago since the end of August. Lucas Giolito has continued to look the part of a staff ace and that’s helped to anchor a group that’s definitely lacking as a whole. Where Chicago really falls off, as has been the case most of the year, is in the field. You can’t isolate defensive metrics over a sample size so small, but the White Sox have been 25th in fielding over the course of the season. They have a whopping -59 defensive runs saved and have a whole collection of guys that struggle to provide any range. It’s a dated stat, but only the Seattle Mariners have made more errors than Chicago’s 111, and that many miscues is hardly a positive. Individuals Of Note: The same names you’ve gotten to know all year are worth mentioning again in this space. Eloy Jimenez is the big-bat prospect that Chicago is pinning its future hopes on. Lucas Giolito is that late-blooming arm that has developed into a staff ace, and now looks like one of the best starters in baseball. Tim Anderson has electrified the sport and provided plenty of excitement all year long. If there’re two guys that have flown a bit under the radar in terms of recognition, it’s James McCann and Yoan Moncada. The former was an All-Star (because Mitch Garver wasn’t on the ballot), and has fallen off in the second half, but he’s having a career year. The latter is a former superstar prospect that has finally met expectations and looks the part of a franchise cornerstone. McCann will need to substantiate the 2019 results, and Moncada will also, but it’s Yoan that can be a guy you build around. Recent History: Minnesota swept Chicago at the end of August on the road but dropped two of three the week before at Target Field. On the season, the Twins have gone 11-5 against the White Sox and they own a healthy +59 run differential. Recent Trajectories: The Twins wrapped up their last difficult stretch of the season going 6-6 against the Red Sox, Nationals, and Indians. Chicago is 4-6 across their last ten and have been losers in each of their last two. Pitching Matchups: Monday: Berrios vs Lopez Tuesday: Perez vs Giolito Giolito now done for the year with a lat strain Wednesday: Odorizzi vs Covey Ending Thoughts: There’s no denying that Minnesota should have a healthy amount of wins awaiting them in this final 13 game stretch, but the reality is they still need to play the games and compete. The Twins bumped Jose Berrios to get another day of rest, and they should prioritize getting ready for October. They’ll get solid tests against Lopez and Giolito though, so dropping the series is something they should be keyed in on avoiding. I don’t see a sweep, but Minnesota needs to assert some home dominance against bottom feeders the rest of the way. Take two and call it good. Click here to view the article

Cleveland has been at the top of the AL Central for two consecutive seasons and things seem to be trending that way again in 2018. By season's end, the AL Central might end up being the easiest division in baseball. Besides Minnesota and Cleveland, there are a lot of young, rebuilding clubs. This could help both the Indians and the Twins to separate themselves from the pack in the American League. Will Minnesota be able to catch Cleveland, the Kings of the AL Central?I was on 670 The Score out of Chicago last week to help them preview the AL Central. TAKE A LISTEN HERE. Cleveland Indians 2017: 102-60, first place, lost to New York in ALDS Manager: Terry Fancona (sixth season) New Faces: 1B-DH Yonder Alonso, LF Rajai David, RHP Alexi Ogando Key Losses: 1B Carlos Santana, OF Jay Bruce, RHP Bryan Shaw Outlook: Cleveland hasn’t won the World Series since 1948 and they’ve suffered through some postseason heartaches over the last two years. In the 2016 World Series, they blew a 3-1 to the Cubs. Last year, they were up 2-0 on the Yankees before losing in the divisional round. Cleveland might have the best pitching staff in all of baseball, including the reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Offensively, Jose Ramirez led the AL in doubles and Francisco Lindor smashed 33 home runs. Veteran players Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley need to stay healthy. It might be World Series or bust for Cleveland this year. Minnesota Twins 2017: 85-77, second place, lost to New York in Wild Card game. Manager: Paul Molitor (fourth season). New Faces: RHP Lance Lynn, RHP Jake Odorizzi, DH-1B Logan Morrison, RHP Fernando Rodney, RHP Addison Reed, LHP Zach Duke, RHP Michael Pineda. Key Losses: C Chris Gimenez, LHP Hector Santiago, LHP Glen Perkins Outlook: Minnesota surprised the baseball world by becoming the first team to finish in the playoffs one year after losing 100 or more games. Now the Twins will need to try to surprise again as they attempt to hunt down the Indians. With a core of players under the age of 25, the Twins seem to rising at the right time. Adding Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn to the rotation helps to address a weakness and there are plenty of other arms populating the Rochester staff. While the American League looks a little top heavy, the Twins should have enough to fight for a Wild Card spot. Thankfully, the Twins are scheduled to play each of the teams listed below 19 times in 2018. Kansas City Royals 2017: 80-82, third place. Manager: Ned Yost (ninth season). New Faces: RHP Jesse Hahn, CF Jon Jay, 1B Lucas Duda, RHP Wily Peralta, RHP Justin Grimm. Key Losses: 1B Eric Hosmer, CF Lorenzo Cain, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP Mike Minor, OF Melky Cabrera, DH Brandon Moss. Outlook: Out with the old and in with the new. Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain are off to greener pastures, which is going to put more pressure on new additions Jon Jay and Lucas Duda. Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar didn’t get great offers on the free agent market so they returned to Kansas City. Even with them back in Royals blue, it could be tough for this club to be around the .500 mark. There are holes in nearly every part of their roster. Look for them to be busy at the trade deadline as they might be forced to go into full rebuilding mode. Chicago White Sox 2017: 67-95, fourth place. Manager: Rick Renteria (second season). New Faces: RHP Miguel Gonzalez, C Welington Castillo. Key Losses: LHP Derek Holland, RHP Mike Pelfrey, RHP Al Alburquerque, C Geovany Soto. Outlook: While the Royals haven’t hit full rebuild mode yet, Chicago traded away plenty of pieces last season. This means the White Sox have a nice young core with players like Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito and Miguel Gonzalez. There are other top prospects on the way but that could mean Chicago is still a year or two away from making a playoff push in the AL. A completely rebuilt bullpen makes it hard to know what to expect in late game situations. Chicago will likely continue to take its bruises this year while the young guns try to figure it all out at the big league level. Detroit Tigers 2017: 64-98, fifth place. Manager: Ron Gardenhire (first season). New Faces: OF Leonys Martin, RHP Mike Fiers, LHP Francisco Liriano, OF Victor Reyes. Key Losses: 2B Ian Kinsler, RHP Anibal Sanchez, INF Andrew Romine, RHP Bruce Rondon. Outlook: Ron Gardenhire’s return to managing doesn’t seem exactly like a dream job. He will have to piece together a roster that traded away Justin Verlander, Justin Upton, J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler over the last calendar year. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez are still part of this roster but no one is sure how much they have left in the tank. Gardy is very familiar with the AL Central but he is going to have his hands full in a division that looks top heavy entering 2018. What are your predictions for the AL Central? What will it take to catch the Indians? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. News came out on Thursday evening that Edwin Encarnacion has signed a three year, $60 million contract with Cleveland. Encarnacion's season came to an end at the hand of Cleveland in the playoffs this year. After pushing their way into the World Series and coming up short in a Game 7 against the Cubs, Cleveland is adding a major impact bat, arguably the best bat on the free agent market.Things have been interesting this offseason in the American League Central. Let’s check out where the four teams are and what more they might want to do. Might as well start with the defending AL Central and American League champions. CLEVELAND Signing Edwin Encarnacion is a big deal. Mike Napoli is a nice player and continues to show great power but Encarnacion is one of the best hitters in baseball. He has a tremendous eye. He puts the ball in play, and he can hit the ball a mile. You have to wonder if Chris Colabello knew about this signing when he agreed to a minor league deal with the team earlier in the week. Cleveland had been pretty quiet this offseason to this point, but they should have been. They have terrific starting pitching. Their bullpen is stacked. They have a terrific lineup that will now only be enhanced in the middle. Not only is Cleveland trying to defend their AL Central crown, but this is the kind of move that makes them a legit World Series contender again. DETROIT The Tigers are that team that could go in either direction. In the last couple of offseasons they have lost the two 2016 Cy Young Award winners (Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello). Justin Verlander may have deserved the American League Cy Young Award in 2016, and Jordan Zimmerman missed a lot of time in the first season of his huge contract. But Miguel Cabrera is still there. Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez aren’t getting younger. They did trade Cameron Maybin right after the conclusion of the season, but they have been quiet. There were rumors of them dealing JD Martinez, but at least to this point it hasn’t happened. Unless they are surprisingly able to keep all of their pitching healthy, it’s hard to think they can compete with Cleveland. Are they good enough right now to be a Wild Card contender? Maybe. KANSAS CITY The Royals added outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs, but to do so, they traded Wade Davis, one of baseball’s best closers. The Royals, after representing the American League in the World Series the two previous years, went backwards in 2016, finishing 81-81. During the Winter Meetings, there were a lot of rumors about the Royals looking to make some trades involving some of their talented players that are about to get expensive.To this point, Davis is the only player they have traded. They haven’t done much in free agency either. They brought back Drew Butera. Rumors have seemed to quiet in Kansas City. Maybe they are going to spend to keep their talent. I doubt it. They’re going to have to make some tough decisions on players such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakus, Lorenzo Cain and others. They do still have a strong bullpen, even with the loss of Davis. CHICAGO The White Sox were one of the biggest winners at the Winter Meetings. They were able to trade Chris Sale to Boston in exchange for baseball’s top prospect Yoan Moncada, a triple-digit throwing phenom in Michael Kopech, and two more solid prospects. The next day they traded outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals in exchange for their three top pitching prospects (Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning). There continue to be rumors that they are making every attempt to trade Jose Quintana (for another king’s ransom, and understandably so). Could they also trade third baseman Todd Frazier? And I’m a little surprised that they haven’t already traded closer David Robertson. Clearly they are not looking to compete for division titles the next couple of years, so there really is no reason for a top closer. With the closer market as it has been this offseason, Robertson should be able to bring back another nice prospect haul. The White Sox are punting the next couple of seasons to take a run with a new core in a couple of years. They went from one of baseball’s worst minor league systems to having one of the top ten systems in baseball. They also signed lefty Derek Holland to take Sale’s spot in the rotation (no, he’s obviously not replacing the production of Sale, but he can be a solid contributor. MINNESOTA So, what have the Twins done, coming off of their 103-loss season in 2016? Well, first they hired Cleveland’s assistant GM Derek Falvey to change the direction and lead the organization. Then he hired Thad Levine - previously the long-time assistant GM in Texas - to be the team’s new General Manager. The new regime went into the offseason aggressively. They targeted Jason Castro and were able to sign him. It was a clear sign that things will be different in the Twins front office. Castro hasn’t hit well the last three years, but he’s consistently been a top pitch-framer. The thought is that what he does with the bat is a bonus. However, if he can convince the home plate ump that borderline pitches are strikes instead of balls, he will help his pitching staff. There have been Brian Dozier trade rumors since the season came to a merciful ending, maybe even earlier. Things are pretty quiet right now. It could mean that talks have backed off. It could be that the Twins and Dodgers are giving each other the Christmas weekend to collect their thoughts. Who knows? It could be the calm before the sto… trade. The Twins are a few years ahead of where the White Sox are trying to get. Their high-level prospects are here. They took their lumps in 2016. You’ve heard it before, but the Twins have the talent to win ten more games in 2017 than they did in 2016 just by the progression of the likes of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios, Ryan Pressly, JT Chargois. Over the next couple of seasons, the Twins will likely also get contributions from several of the following: Mitch Garver, Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Jay, Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero, Felix Jorge, Kohl Stewart, Jake Reed, Nick Burdi, Trevor Hildenberger and more. Will they all pan out? Of course not. That’s not how it works. Surprisingly, there has been little talk about Ervin Santana this offseason. Teams know what they are getting in him, and the fact that Jason Hammel is currently the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, you would think there would be more interest in a quality pitcher at a reasonable rate for just two years. Do the Twins need to trade Brian Dozier this offseason? Absolutely not. If they don’t get a package that Falvey/Levine are thrilled with, they should hold on to him. As much as it might be fun to see a 2018 rotation including Berrios, De Leon, Romero and Gonsalves, the Twins should absolutely expect to get more than just one pitcher with four MLB games under his belt for a guy like Dozier. The Twins won’t compete with Cleveland in 2017, but they should be greatly improved. Short-term, it’d be far better to keep Dozier and Santana. Long-term, which is clearly the more wise, logical view that the front office should be looking at, most would say that adding a couple of top prospects to help them in 2019 and beyond is the more important goal. The other thing to remember for Twins fans (and for the other teams), there is still a lot of offseason to go. The White Sox are likely to trade at least one more start (Quintana, Roberton, Frazier). The Twins are still quite likely to make a trade involving established veterans for near-MLB ready talent. Detroit? They probably should start selling off ,but maybe they won’t. Kansas City could also trade some of their stars. Cleveland might be done, but they are also in the catbird seat. The Encarnacion signing certainly indicates to their fans that they’re looking to be even better than they were in 2016. It just feels like there is still a lot more to happen, transaction-wise, in the American League Central following the holidays. Who knows, maybe even during the holidays! Click here to view the article