MLB Offseason Outlooks: American League Central

2016 Results:

Cleveland Indians: 94-67 (Lost in WS)

Detroit Tigers: 86-75 (8 GB)

Kansas City Royals: 81-81 (13.5 GB)

Chicago White Sox: 78-84 (16.5 GB)

Minnesota Twins: 59-103 (35.5 GB)

2016 brought upon a major shift in this division. The Royals entered the season as the 2-time defending American League Champions and there was no reason to believe anything would change. The Royals were decimated early by injuries and after a hot April, the White Sox fell off a cliff. The Twins were the worst team in the AL all season long and with inconsistencies in the Tigers pitching staff, the door was open for the Cleveland Indians. Lead by a terrific starting rotation and talented lineup, the Indians made a mid season trade for RP Andrew Miller and solidified themselves as the AL Central’s elite. They road their incredible bullpen all the way to game 7 of the World Series, falling just short in extra innings to the eventual champion Chicago Cubs. Heading into 2017, there is no doubt that the Indians are the team to beat and in the rest of this article I will outline each teams offseason outlook.

2017 Needs by position:

CLE: OF, 1B/DH

DET: CL, OF, C

KC: OF, DH, SP

CWS: DH, OF, RP

MIN: SP, CI, OF, RP

Players To Target In Offseason:

CLE: OF Carlos Gomez, OF/DH Carlos Beltran

DET: CL Mark Melancon, OF Dexter Fowler

KC: OF Coco Crisp, SP Doug Fister,

CWS: 1B/DH Mike Napoli, CL Kenley Jansen

MIN: SP Scott Kazmir, 3B Justin Turner

2017 Predictions:

1) Indians win the Central

2) Royals trade Moustakas, Cain and Escobar

3) White Sox trade Chris Sale

4) Tigers stay in tact and win wild card spot

5) Twins struggle and get continue getting younger