By now, it’s evident that the AL Central is the worst division in MLB.
The Minnesota Twins lead it with a 55-53 record, and everyone else is playing below .500.
If the trade deadline is any indication, the Twins are also the only team in the division with the intention to win.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale noted that the Twins were the only squad in the Central that didn’t sell.
“Congratulations to the Minnesota #Twins, who clinched the AL Central title. They are barely over .500(55-53), 2 games ahead of the #Guardians, but were the only team in the AL Central who didn’t sell at the trade deadline. They just stayed pat and watched everyone else get worse,” he tweeted.
Congratulations to the Minnesota #Twins, who clinched the AL Central title. They are barely over .500(55-53), 2 games ahead of the #Guardians, but were the only team in the AL Central who didn’t sell at the trade deadline. They just stayed pat and watched everyone else get worse
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 2, 2023
He’s right: without making any major moves, the Twins’ odds just got better because everyone else got worse.
The Cleveland Guardians traded Josh Bell and Aaron Civale, and even though they can theoretically replace them, it’s hard to argue they were win-now moves.
The Detroit Tigers flipped Michael Lorenzen and had a deal in place to trade Eduardo Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers before he vetoed it.
The Kansas City Royals dealt Scott Barlow, Ryan Yarbrough, and others, not to mention Aroldis Chapman a few weeks ago.
And the Chicago White Sox kept Dylan Cease but traded Lance Lynn, Keynan Middleton, Joe Kelly, and Jake Burger.
Minnesota made a somewhat lateral move several days ago, trading Jorge Lopez for Dylan Floro, but outside of that, watched from afar how its rivals tore things down.
They might have secured the division after the deadline, without even breaking a sweat.
