Our offseason grades continue with the AL Central, a division rarely associated with the kind of high-dollar signings or splashy transactions that seize headlines during baseball’s down months.
For the most part, this winter was no different. Until Detroit’s recent pitching payroll surge — some voluntary, some via Tarik Skubal’s historic victory in arbitration — no division had spent less combined in free agency than the AL Central, with the last-place White Sox surprisingly spending the most. On the trade market, the White Sox and Royals swung a few interesting deals, but most of the offseason’s biggest swaps occurred elsewhere around the league.
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Before we fully turn the page on hot stove season, let’s evaluate what these five Midwestern clubs have accomplished since last season concluded.
More offseason grades: NL East | NL Central | NL West | AL EastCleveland Guardians
Significant outgoing free agents: RP Jakob Junis, OF Lane Thomas, SP Ben Lively
Major moves:
Extended 3B José Ramírez on a 7-year deal
Re-signed C Austin Hedges to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Shawn Armstrong to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Connor Brogdon to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Colin Holderman to a 1-year deal
Selected RP Peyton Pallette from White Sox in Rule 5 Draft
Offseason grade: D+
Division champs in three of the past four seasons and postseason participants in seven of the past 10 campaigns, the Guardians have proven to be one of the most reliably competitive teams in baseball. But the offseason is decidedly not when this franchise shines, and this winter was another glaring example of Cleveland’s unwillingness to raise its payroll beyond the absolute basement of the league — the Guardians’ current payroll ranks 29th ahead of only the Marlins — or be aggressive on the trade market in search of more cost-efficient upgrades.
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While the club’s decision to extend the face of the franchise, José Ramírez, was a commendable effort to ensure their best player will be a Guardian for life, paying someone who was already under contract for three more seasons did not make the 2026 club any better. It’s a move that can and should be celebrated in the context of Ramírez’s commitment to the organization and the team’s investment in Ramirez in return. But it did little to advance the club’s stated goals of returning to the World Series and ending the longest active championship drought in MLB.
Cleveland’s list of external additions consists primarily of new bullpen pieces on one-year deals, with veteran righty Shawn Armstrong’s $5.5 million pact the most prominent of the bunch. Adding relief depth makes sense as the organization continues to ponder life without closer Emmanuel Clase, but none of the newcomers jumps off the page. As for meaningful upgrades to an offense that ranked 28th in wRC+ last season, there weren’t any, with respect to the minor-league deals with Stuart Fairchild and Carter Kieboom. Given an overflow of young position players either at or nearing the major-league level, the Guardians decided not to block any of them with more proven pieces and are instead banking on internal steps forward to fuel an improved offensive unit.
Of course, pessimism surrounding Cleveland’s offseason inactivity does not preclude optimism that the Guardians can once again be relevant characters in the AL Central race; counting them out prematurely would be foolish. But Ramírez will be an MVP candidate for only so long, and with limited reinforcements joining from the outside, there’s substantial pressure on the inexperienced in-house personnel to form a worthwhile supporting cast around Ramírez sooner rather than later.
Detroit Tigers
Significant outgoing free agents: SP Chris Paddack, INF Andy Ibanez, RP Jason Foley, RP Tommy Kahnle, RP Alex Lange
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Major moves:
Signed SP Framber Valdez to a 3-year deal
Retained 2B Gleyber Torres via qualifying offer
Signed RP Kenley Jansen to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Kyle Finnegan to a 2-year deal
Signed RP/SP Drew Anderson to a 1-year deal
Signed SP Justin Verlander to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: B-
For the first three months of the offseason, the Tigers were awfully quiet. A major bit of business was taken care of quickly when second baseman Gleyber Torres accepted the qualifying offer in November, and Detroit bolstered its pitching staff with some modest moves in early December, re-signing Kyle Finnegan, adding veteran closer Kenley Jansen and bringing in rotation candidate Drew Anderson after a stellar stint overseas.
All the while, it was clear that Detroit’s winter would revolve around super-ace Tarik Skubal, first with trade speculation and then with the potentially historic arbitration hearing to determine his salary in the final year of his contract. Detroit’s inactivity through the month of January suggested a preference to gain clarity on Skubal’s salary before making any other moves. Then, the night before it was announced that Skubal won the hearing to secure a $32 million salary for 2026, the Tigers reportedly agreed to a humongous, three-year, $115 million deal with free-agent lefty Framber Valdez, exploding from the shadows to give themselves one heck of a one-two punch atop the rotation. Less than a week later, a reunion with old friend and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander strengthened the starting staff further.
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Suddenly, the Tigers boast an outstanding rotation and a payroll well above $200 million, leaps and bounds above their AL Central peers. Both are undeniably encouraging for a franchise that hasn’t claimed a division title since 2014. But without any upgrades whatsoever to a lineup that was roughly average in the 2025 regular season and sputtered badly in October, it’s tough to give Detroit too favorable a grade for its winter activity. Like the rival Guardians, Detroit is counting on the hitters already on the roster — and the ultra-talented prospects on the way — to take the necessary steps forward to enable a more productive offense in 2026. Whether such a strategy will work remains to be seen, but completely neglecting the opportunity to add better bats this winter deserves a demerit on an otherwise solid grade.
Can the Royals or White Sox surprise in the low-spending AL Central?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)Kansas City Royals
Significant outgoing free agents: OF Mike Yastrzemski, RP/SP Michael Lorenzen, INF Adam Frazier, RP Hunter Harvey, OF MJ Melendez, OF Randal Grichuk
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Major moves:
Extended 3B Maikel Garcia on a 5-year deal
Extended C Salvador Perez on a 2-year deal
Acquired OF Isaac Collins, RP Nick Mears from Brewers for RP Angel Zerpa
Acquired RP Matt Strahm from Phillies for RP Jonathan Bowlan
Signed OF Lane Thomas to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Alex Lange to a 1-year deal
Offseason grade: B-
Are you sensing an AL Central theme? Here’s another club with some contender-like qualities, but an offensive unit that severely lacks the depth to warrant a bullish forecast. The Royals’ outfield in particular has been problematically awful in recent seasons, even as Kansas City has returned to relevance in the AL. It’s no surprise then that the team made multiple moves this winter to try to address that shortcoming, signing bounce-back candidate Lane Thomas and acquiring unlikely rookie breakout Isaac Collins in a swap with Milwaukee.
Thomas is coming off a completely lost season due to injury but has a solid track record of offensive output. Conversely, Milwaukee’s trade of Collins could be interpreted as a sell-high maneuver suggesting some regression could be in store for him as a sophomore. Perhaps Thomas and Collins can solidify the Royals’ outfield in supporting roles behind the stars at the top of the lineup, but there are questions with both.
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Otherwise, the Royals didn’t do much. Extensions for breakout third baseman Maikel Garcia and franchise anchor Salvador Perez were both nice to see, but they don’t overshadow the complete lack of free-agent spending. Only the Nationals gave out less guaranteed money to major-league free agents this winter than Kansas City’s $6.15 million to Thomas and reliever Alex Lange. That’s disappointing considering the Royals’ recent willingness to occasionally splurge in the middle tier of free agency for guys such as Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.
But the Royals did get better this winter. The outfield additions, plus a reliable lefty reliever in Strahm to backfill the loss of Zerpa, put this roster in position to compete in this mediocre division. It was an uninspiring but respectable winter for Kansas City.
Minnesota Twins
Significant outgoing free agents: C Christian Vazquez, RP Genesis Cabrera
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Major moves:
Hired Derek Shelton as manager
Signed 1B Josh Bell to a 1-year deal
Signed C Victor Caratini to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Taylor Rogers to a 1-year deal
Acquired C Alex Jackson from Orioles
Acquired 1B Eric Wagaman from Marlins
Acquired OF Tristan Gray from Red Sox
Offseason grade: D
Yikes. Despite heavy rumors that the dramatic deadline teardown would continue this winter with the offloading of star veterans such as Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez or perhaps even Byron Buxton, Minnesota held on to all of its main pieces. That would be fine if the team had decided that July’s roster overhaul was a temporary measure and that this winter would be spent reinforcing the parts of the roster that were diminished with those trades. Instead, the Twins did next-to-nothing to backfill the depleted bullpen and failed to make other additions that would inspire confidence while payroll sunk to troubling lows. To top it off, the club parted ways with longtime front office head Derek Falvey at the end of January, extremely unusual timing for a transition of power to take place in baseball operations.
The lack of cohesion or direction appears to be the result of what’s going on at the ownership level. The Pohlad family’s decision not to sell the franchise after initially announcing their intention to do so has led to a change in leadership structure involving Tom taking the reins from his younger brother, Joe. That turbulence at the top has left the roster and the fan base in a state of unease entering 2026, as there’s just enough talent in place to squint and see a competitive team but such an unstable infrastructure that it’s difficult to feel certain this team will be good enough to avoid another painful sell-off in July. There are some really good players on this roster, but few teams, if any, had a more concerning winter than the Twins.
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Chicago White Sox
Significant outgoing free agents: OF Mike Tauchman, RP Tyler Alexander, SP Martin Perez, SP/RP Bryse Wilson
Major moves:
Signed 1B Munetaka Murakami to a 2-year deal
Signed RP Anthony Kay to a 2-year deal
Signed SP/RP Sean Newcomb to a 1-year deal
Signed RP Seranthony Dominguez to a 2-year deal
Signed OF Austin Hays to a 1-year deal
Signed SP Erick Fedde to a 1-year deal
Acquired SP Jordan Hicks, SP/RP David Sandlin from Red Sox for SP Gage Ziehl
Acquired UTL Luisangel Acuña, RP Truman Pauley from Mets for OF Luis Robert Jr.
Selected SP Jedixson Paez, RP Alexander Alberto in Rule 5 Draft
Offseason grade: B+
We conclude this AL Central offseason wrap-up with some shockingly good vibes on the South Side. While the rest of the division largely laid dormant this winter, the White Sox were busy making a series of moves focused on building for the future but also raising the floor of the present-day club. By surrounding its promising position-player core with reliable veterans on both sides of the ball, Chicago has put itself in position to put a far more respectable product on the field in 2026 than the abysmal displays of the past two seasons.
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Let’s be real, though: This winter was all about landing Munetaka Murakami. That his market collapsed to such a degree that the White Sox were involved is obviously a red flag, but the monumental upside remains for the 26-year-old slugger. His arrival will single-handedly bring to spring training a level of anticipation that few other camps will feature, and his transition to the majors will be one of the biggest stories of the season. He has enormous questions to answer at the plate, but credit to Chicago for jumping at the unexpected opportunity to add a rare talent capable of energizing a fan base, even with the concerns attached.
That said, let’s not celebrate this winter of wheeling and dealing too much. This team still projects to be one of the worst in baseball, and no team playing in Chicago should have a payroll that ranks 28th in the sport, no matter where the club is in its competitive window. Still, for the first time in a while, there are things to look forward to with this team, and this offseason featured a more cogent and intentional roster-building strategy. The squad on the South Side is noticeably more compelling because of it.