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Tim McCullough
2/12/2008
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Chicago White Sox What changed this offseason? GM Ken Williams chose to keep the core of his lineup together, even though they sputtered through much of the 2007 season. He did dispose of a few failed experiments though, most notably Darrin Erstad, Ryan Bukvich, and Alex Cintron. Scott Podsednick, the oft-injured speedster who lost his stick and has yet to find it, is gone, as is Jon Garland, who was traded to the Angels for SS Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera had a strong first half last season, then faded badly in the second half, so it will be interesting to see which player shows up on the South side this season. No matter what, Cabrera is a defensive upgrade over Juan Uribe, who will now be the back-up middle infielder for the team. Two new outfielders were acquired over the winter. Carlos Quentin, the much-hyped slugger, whose injured shoulder postponed last season’s coming out party, joins the club. The hope is that he can at least platoon in a corner outfield spot. He can hit, despite his struggles early last year. If he breaks out this spring, Ozzie Guillen could play him full time. Nick Swisher was the other outfielder they picked up. The friendly confines of U.S Cellular field should help boost Swisher’s home run totals.While Williams is hoping that Swisher can add a little more punch to the lineup, the current plan has him playing center field, which is not his natural position. Whether or not Swisher plays center, will be determined by Jerry Owens. If Owens shows that he can hit and get on base, he will play center and Swisher will shift to left field. Because of his speed, Owens could also lead off. Otherwise, the Sox will be without a legitimate leadoff hitter and will instead put Cabrera in that role, an option that may not work very well. Joe Crede is returning from back surgery and wants his third base job back. But Josh Fields did such a great job filling in last season that the team is thinking about sticking with the youngster and shipping Crede out in a trade. The latest rumors have Crede going to the Giants for a young pitcher (Matt Cain?) in return. Everything rests on Crede’s health this spring. Another new face on the team this year is Cuban mystery man Alexei Ramirez. He is a multi-talented player who could be something special if he can play with major leaguers. Trouble is, nobody seems to know much about his ability, or which position he plays best, so he will be a player to watch in spring training. Another key player to watch this spring will be Danny Richar, currently expected be the every day second baseman. The Sox were pleased with his big debut last season, and the hope is that he continues to develop as a hitter. Finally, Scott Linebrink was brought in the bridge the gap between the starters and closer Bobby Jenks. Linebrink’s last two seasons show his skills trending downward, so it will be interesting to see if he turns things around with a change of scenery, or continues to regress. It almost seems as though there are more questions about this team than there were at the beginning of winter. The Southsiders will have their work cut out for them in the AL Central, but they really can’t be any worse than they were last year, so there is nowhere to go but up. Projected Lineup Starting Rotation Closer Closer-in-waiting
Cleveland Indians What changed this offseason? The Indians made very few changes this offseason. Of course, coming off the kind of success they enjoyed in 2007, changes really were not needed. There are a few players that have been let go, most notably outfielders Trot Nixon and Kenny Lofton, and infielder Chris Gomez. The players they added over the winter were primarily for depth, as the team will be fielding essentially the same lineup that walked off the field last October. Infielder Jamie Carroll, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, was signed as a back up for Asdrubal Cabrera who will continue to be the starting second baseman. Cabrera was brought up from the minors to replace the dreadful Josh Barfield, who couldn’t hit a beach ball with a tree trunk last season. Carroll will be used in a utility role, and as a late inning defensive replacement. He also has decent speed and will likely pinch run now and then. The Indians also signed Japanese league closer Masahide Kobayashi, who has 227 career saves over his nine-year career. The 33-year-old right-hander is expected to take on a middle relief role for the Tribe. The addition of Kobayashi gives the Indians another potential closer should Joe Borowski struggle. Borowski has the dubious distinction of being the first closer to save 45 games with an ERA of 5.07. If Borowski is ineffective, the Indians now have Kobayashi and Raphael Betancourt as potential closer options. There are a few other notable arms among the non-roster invitees who could end up on the roster. Jorge Julio and Brendan Donnelly will both be in camp with the Tribe this spring, and both have some experience closing games. Julio has bounced around to several teams, primarily due to his inconsistent performance. Donnelly had an injury last season, and will need to show that he’s healthy before the Indians hand him a job. The Indians are fairly deep with starting pitching, although there is some question about whether the team will be able to re-sign C.C. Sabathia who will be a free agent after the 2008 season. Cliff Lee, Jeremy Sowers, and Aaron Laffey will all be competing for the fifth spot in the starting rotation. The Tribe also has pitching prospect Adam Miller knocking on the door. If Lee and Sowers are healthy, and Laffey wins the fifth starter’s job, the Indians may deal someone, with Lee being the most likely to go. Another possible trade could involve third baseman Andy Marte, who is out of options. He’s expected to be on the Indians bench this year, but could be packaged with Lee if necessary before Spring Training ends. Projected Lineup Grady Sizemore CF Starting Rotation C.C. Sabathia Closer Joe Borowski Closer-in-waiting Rafael Betancourt
Detroit Tigers What changed this offseason? The Tigers were arguably one of the most aggressive teams in the trade market this winter. They sacrificed several of their promising prospects, in the name of a “win now” gambit, and secured three major impact players for 2008. Miguel Cabrera takes over at the hot corner, as well as the five-hole in the lineup, adding some additional punch to the Tiger’s already stout offense. The addition of Cabrera leaves former starting third baseman Brandon Inge without an every day job, so he will be relegated to a utility role and could end up behind the plate again if the Tigers get their way. The Tigers also made a major upgrade at shortstop with the acquisition of Edgar Renteria. Defensively, he is a much better player than Carlos Guillen, who moves over to first base this season. Offensively, Renteria effectively replaces Sean Casey in the lineup, which again is a major improvement for the team. Jacque Jones was also signed and will platoon with Marcus Thames in left field. Jones should do well in this lineup only having to face right-handed pitching, against which he has averaged .285 over the last three seasons with 43 home runs. Pitching, or the lack thereof, is the main reason the Tigers collapsed in the second half last season. Other than Justin Verlander, who put together a stellar effort in ’07, the starters struggled mightily, and the bullpen was even worse. Were it not for some strong defense and the slugging of Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson, the Tigers never would have over achieved as long as they did. While the addition of left-hander Dontrelle Willis may appear to be an improvement to the staff, the fact is, Willis is coming off a dreadful performance himself in 2007. Granted, he is only 26 years old, and just three years removed from winning 22 games, but he is switching leagues and will be facing tougher lineups. Don’t be surprised if Willis struggles with the adjustments this season. The Tigers bullpen was absolutely dreadful, and the team did little to improve that aspect of the team this winter. They are hoping that minor league free agent Francisco Cruceta can step up to be a decent middle inning pitcher, and are largely counting on last year’s crew of Fernando Rodney, Bobby Seay, and Todd Jones to hold down the end of games again. Projected Lineup Curtis Granderson CF Starting Rotation Closer Closer-in-waiting
Kansas City Royals What changed this offseason? The Royals have been the bottom dwellers of the AL for a couple of decades now. However, unlike some of baseball’s other bad teams, Kansas City is at least trying to rebuild themselves back into relevance and contention. They started last winter by signing Gil Meche to anchor the pitching around, and bringing Alex Gordon up to the majors to learn on the job. This winter they continued the process of rebuilding by finally cutting loose some of the dead wood that’s been hanging around the team for so many years, draining the already small payroll. The contracts of Reggie Sanders and Mike Sweeney both expired, and both are now gone. Though there have been rumors that Sweeney is still hanging around the Royals front office, rattling a tin cup and begging for a job. He averaged 94 games a season for the last five years, never playing more than 122 in that time. I’m guessing he realizes he’s not going to find another sucker team to put up with that. Also gone from the ranks are David Riske, Jason LaRue, Emil Brown, and Odalis Perez. A slew of new faces were brought in this winter, including pitchers Ron Mahay, Brett Tomko, Hideo Nomo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta, another Japanese league import. Mahay and Yabuta should be the primary set up men in the pen for Joakim Soria, while Hideo Nomo will ease Yabuta’s transition to the US and compete for a rotation spot. Nomo is 39 years old and hasn’t pitched since elbow surgery in ’06. He’s a long shot to make the roster, unless his split finger fastball has it’s old magic. Brett Tomko can start or work out of the bullpen, with the latter being his most likely role, especially if prospect Luke Hochevar is ready for the big time. Alberto Callaspo was acquired to be the second baseman of the future. He’ll back up Mark Grudzielanek this season and provide some depth off the bench until he’s ready to take over at second. Jose Guillen was signed to add a right-handed power bat to the lineup. Currently, Guillen has a 15-game suspension to server for his involvement with performance enhancing drugs. If Guillen gets his way, he will play right field, which means Mark Teahen will have to shift over to left field after learning right as a new position last season. It will also be interesting to see if Teahen’s power comes back, or if ’06 was the aberration and last year the norm for him. Billy Butler figures to be the DH, though the team is working him out at first base to get his bat in the lineup more. He hit the ball well last September, so watch him in the spring as he has power sleeper written all over him. The Royals seem destined to be bottom dwellers again this season. Then again, the pitching could gel, kids like Alex Gordon, Butler, and Teahen could develop into a productive lineup, and the Royals could at least get out of the AL Central basement. But I doubt it. Projected Lineup Starting Rotation Closer Closer-in-waiting
Minnesota Twins What changed this offseason? It might be simpler to write about what didn’t change this season for the Twins. The changes start at the top for the Twins, who have a new general manager in Bill Smith. Smith did not waste any time putting his personal stamp on the team’s makeup, and initiating some organizational changes that are a departure from past practices. One unusual move, for the Twins anyway, was the signing of Justin Morneau and Mike Cuddyer to long term deals that committed a total of over 100 million dollars in payroll. It’s odd that Smith wouldn’t open the coffers for Torii Hunter, but then smashed the piggy bank to bits, and charting new ground for the organization by giving so much to just two players. They now represent the cornerstones around whom Smith intends to rebuild the team. Besides Hunter, several other key players are no longer with the Twins. SS Jason Bartlett and P Matt Garza were two of the players sent to the Rays in the trade that brought outfielder Delmon Young and infielder Brendan Harris to Minnesota. Carlos Silva departed to test the free agency waters, and the team also said goodbye to Matt LeCroy, Rondell White, Lew Ford, Jason Tyner, and Sydney Ponson . All these departures will result in a whole new lineup this season, except for first base. Harris takes over at second base, Adam Everett brings his smooth fielding to Minnesota as their new shortstop, and Mike Lamb will be counted on as their new third baseman. Everett doesn’t have much of a stick, and he no longer runs very well, but his defense should be at least as good as Bartlett’s. There are questions about Lamb being able to play every day, as he has platooned for most of his career, so it is possible that Nick Punto gets half of his old job back. The big news is of course the trade of Johan Santana to the Mets for speedy outfielder Carlos Gomez and three other prospects. Gomez has a reputation as a defensive whiz in center field and will compete for the starting job with Jason Pirdie, another player acquired in the deal with the Rays. Craig Monroe was also added to the team this winter. Monroe can play the corner outfield spots, but will likely platoon with Jason Kubel in the DH slot. The Santana trade leaves the Twins starting rotation staffed with nobody over the age of 26 and shifts the balance of power in the AL Central a bit, as the Twins are clearly playing to compete in 2010 when their new stadium opens. Of course, it is possible that Delmon Young suddenly matures into a 20/20 talent, and Chris Gomez gets on base enough to use his speed effectively. An ace could be born from among Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey, or reborn in the case of Francisco Liriano. But the reality is, the Twins are likely to be mediocre this season, finishing no better than third behind Detroit and Cleveland. Projected Lineup Carlos Gomez CF Starting Rotation Closer Closer-in-waiting
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