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.
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Cleveland Guardians
Major moves:
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Re-signed SP Shane Bieber to a 2-year deal
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Acquired SP Luis Ortiz via trade from Pittsburgh
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Acquired SP/RP Slade Cecconi via trade from Arizona
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Signed 1B Carlos Santana to a 1-year deal
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Signed RP Paul Sewald to a 1-year deal
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Traded Andres Gimenez to Toronto
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Traded Josh Naylor to Toronto
Offseason grade: B
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,…