The AL Central is the worst division in baseball. Only one team has a positive run differential (Cleveland), and they’re a whopping +1. The fourth place team (Minnesota) has a differential 25 runs worse than the last place team (Kansas City). The division leader (Detroit) would be four games out of the NL wild card race, and six out in the AL wild card race. All of the teams could use a little work. I’m going to look at three teams: the Tigers, Indians, and White Sox. I’m not going to look at the Twins, who are only seven out, because of their awful differential and the fact that, quite frankly, they’re not that good of a team. Let’s get this party started.
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are looking like a pretty solid team right now. Their offense is excellent right now, with Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta both sporting OPSes above .900, and Alex Avila, Brennan Boesch, and Victor Martinez above .800. But then…there’s the rest of the offense, and it isn’t pretty. Austin Jackson has been terrible in his sophomore season, posting a .670 OPS and only stealing 16 bases (in 19 attempts). The Tigers are going to stick it out with him for the long haul, though. Magglio Ordonez was brought back on a one year, $10 million deal, and he’s rewarded the Tigers with a .616 OPS in 56 games. Brandon Inge has been beyond awful at third with a pathetic .483 OPS, and the team actually already made a move to replace him, acquiring Wilson Betemit from the Royals this weekend. Betemit has six strikeouts and three hits in his first 12 at bats as a Tiger. Ryan Raburn can play anywhere on the field, but can’t hit at all. The return of Carlos Guillen could be a huge help for Detroit, and I don’t think they’re going to make a move for offense at the deadline.
Starting pitching as been an absolute chore for the Tigers. Justin Verlander has been Cy Young worthy, but of the other four starters, Max Scherzer’s ERA is the lowest at 4.35. So there’s your major trade deadline target for the Tigers: starting pitching. If the Rockies were willing to trade Ubaldo Jimenez, he could be a very good fit for the team. The Tigers have also been linked to veteran starters, like Derek Lowe of the pitching rich Braves and Hiroki Kuroda of the bankrupt Dodgers. Kuroda would probably be the best fit for the team, as he is having a great year with a 3.19 ERA and a 3:1 K:BB ratio. Kuroda is going to get traded, but where? As for Lowe, it’s been hinted at that the Braves don’t want to move him. I’m not sure why not though, as the team has a surplus of young pitching, and for a cash-strapped team like Atlanta, the opportunity to dump Lowe’s $15 million contract could be well worth it.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians have a lot of issues. They have a young, weak offense, and a young, struggling pitching staff. We’ll start with the bright spots on offense. Asdrubal Cabrera is having a breakout season, and has been the team’s best player over the course of the season. He’s got 17 homers and 12 stolen bases, after having 18 homers and 27 steals over the rest of his entire career. When healthy, Travis Hafner has been completely awesome, with a .908 OPS. Problem is, he has less than 200 at bats on the season. Health has always been a sticking point with Hafner. The rest of the offense has been ugly. Grady Sizemore was good when healthy, but has only played in 61 games. Orlando Cabrera has been awful at second base. Jack Hannahan is good defensively at third, but awful with the stick. Former all-world player Shin-Soo Choo has struggled this year, and has been both injured and marred with scandal after a DUI. Then there’s Matt LaPorta, who continues to leave his potential unfulfilled.
What can the Indians do? There isn’t much, due to the youth of their offense and not wanting to cut the cord too early on some of these players. The only real struggling veteran is Orlando Cabrera, who should be traded off to a team looking for a veteran defensive help. The team can plug prospect Jason Kipnis in at second, and hope for the best. But Cleveland is in a tough place right now, debating whether or not to go for it this season and abandon some of their young players, or bide their time. Personally, I’d keep the youngsters and wait for the future.
The Indians starting pitching has had varied results this year. Fausto Carmona continues to struggle after what are looking like miracle seasons in 2007 and 2010. Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin and Justin Masterson have all been average to good, for varying reasons. Carrasco has been the quintessential league average pitcher, Tomlin is succeeding despite allowing more home runs than walks, and Masterson is a ground ball machine who is adept at eating innings. The fifth starter’s position has been bad, but it’s like that for most teams. They could use a veteran arm in the rotation, someone like a Jason Marquis, Livan Hernandez, or possibly someone like an Aaron Harang.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are a team of broken potential. Adam Dunn, Juan Pierre and Alex Rios, all of whom are making eight figures this year, have been awful. That is the key reason for the struggles of the Sox: they have so much payroll invested in these three players, and none of them is contributing at all. And the thing is, the rest of the offense isn’t too bad. Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin are powering the offense with great years. Gordon Beckman has been a disappointment, as has Alexei Ramirez. Both players are still young and should improve. But I don’t think that the ChiSox are going to look for offense at the deadline with how much money is tied up in their offense right now.
And you know what? Pitching isn’t an issue for Chicago either. The team has a 3.70 ERA as a whole, and Gavin Floyd’s 4.11 ERA is the worst on the staff. Well…that doesn’t include Jake Peavy, who has only made ten starts of 5.19 ball. Peavy seems to be a lost cause right now, and the team is locked into his ugly contract, just like they are with Dunn, Rios, and Pierre. The White Sox bullpen has been great this year too, despite early struggles. Closer Sergio Santos has been amazing since taking hold of the job in April while former closers Matt Thornton and Chris Sale have rebounded after an awful April to be solid contributors to the pen.
Chicago doesn’t need to make a move. They just need their high priced talent to start playing like they’re capable of. Out of all of the teams in the division, I think the White Sox are primed best to make a move in the second half, and head to October baseball.
