2023 MLB Trade Deadline Buyers-Sellers: AL Central Edition
We finally make our way to the worst division in baseball: the AL Central. It’s honestly a shame that one of these teams is going to steal a playoff spot. The leading team (Twins) sits with a 54-50 record which would put them in the middle of the pack in almost every other division. Does that mean every team will sell or are there some hidden buyers? Let’s find out.
Twins: Buy, I guess
The Twins have essentially forced themselves to be buyers at this deadline. Extending the likes of Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Jorge Lopez means the Twins cannot really sell. I mean, you don’t bring those guys back only to sell a year later with the possibility of making the playoffs. The other issue is that the Twins have depleted their farm system over the last couple of years in an attempt to build a win-now team, meaning they won’t have a ton to work with in terms of trade assets. They won’t need to do much to secure the AL Central, but if they want to make a serious run, they need some relief pitching along with another bat or two.
Guardians: Buy and Sell
I know this answer sounds a little weird, but I promise it will all make sense. Like seemingly every year, the Guardians are at a crossroads in terms of buying or selling. Seeing as they also have a chance to win this weak division, it wouldn’t make sense for them to outright sell, but I also don’t think they need to outright buy. As I’m writing this the Guardians traded Ahmed Rosario, so it seems like they are more leaning towards selling. They can sort of buy while selling if they get the right pieces back. Either way, they shouldn’t commit too hard to either option.
Tigers: Sell
Now it gets easy as we get to the teams who almost certainly will be selling, starting with the Detroit Tigers. Sure, they are only 6.5 games back from first, but that’s more a testament to how bad the division is, not how good the Tigers have been. The obvious name for them to trade is Eduardo Rodriguez. He has an opt-out at the end of this year and seeing as he likely will exercise that, it makes sense to trade him rather than watch him leave in free agency. A name like Michael Lorenzen could also be on the move along with Jose Cisnero. The Tigers have some pieces to sell, it’s just a matter of them getting the right pieces back in return.
White Sox: Sell
This White Sox season has been a shit show, that’s putting it very lightly. Expectations were high going into this year, but it seems that Lucas Giolito and Luis Robert were the only players who got that memo. Not a lot has gone right and it’s about time the White Sox become serious sellers. Giolito was traded to the Angels late Wednesday night. Dylan Cease‘s name has also been thrown around and I can’t see why the White Sox wouldn’t at least consider it. Try and bring in as many prospects or MLB-ready guys as you can and shake this team up drastically, because it’s clear that what they doing in Chicago just isn’t working and running it back won’t fix it.
Royals: Sell but don’t oversell
As the only MLB team with a better record than the A’s, it’s no surprise the Royals will be sellers this year. They already started this process when they traded Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers. A name like Scott Barlow will also likely be moved, but aside from him and maybe a couple of other relievers, the Royals don’t have too much to offer — beside pieces that they should want to move off of. This Royals team is very young and needs a few more years to allow prospects to develop. They should move off guys they don’t have a lot of control over and are older in age, but by no means should they start selling guys who could be future pieces for this team.
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