A Christmas wish list for each team in the AL Central

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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 09: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians calms down Trevor Bauer #47 on the mound against the New York Yankees during the second inning in Game Four of the American League Divisional Series at Yankee Stadium on October 9, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

As the holiday season is heating up and Christmas is closing in, the Hot Stove season in the AL Central is far from finished.

After one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of the MLB, the AL Central is due for a comeback.

Fans of the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins are hoping for a better outcome in 2019. But, will their teams deliver?

Overall, in 2018, all five of the AL Central teams were disappointing. Yes, the Indians made it to the playoffs, but they were quickly defeated in the ALDS and not by a close margin. The Astros outscored the Tribe by 15 runs in three games.

To show how bad the AL Central was in 2018, the Indians took the division with 91 wins. If the Indians were in the AL East or West, they would have been third and not even in the running for a Wild Card bid.

When it came to losses in 2018, only one other division (the AL East) had a 100-loss team, the Orioles. The Tigers has 98 losses and finished third in the Central. In the AL West and all three NL divisions, the Tigers would have finished last or tied for last (the Marlins also had 98 losses).

At this point in the Hot Stove season, there are still too many unknowns. Free agents still need to be signed and trades need to happen before rosters are completed before Opening Day.

Other than competitive rosters that move their teams into the post-season, what would AL Central fans like to see “under the tree” on Christmas morning? Health and wellness are must-haves on a few of the teams. Big spending will be under the tree for others. For other teams, not being in the 100-loss club should be a Christmas wish, too.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 05: Starting pitcher Michael Kopech #34 of the Chicago White Sox delivers the ball against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The White Sox were one of the two teams in the AL Central with 100 losses – exactly 100 losses. The team is in a rebuild, but it is at the point where spending can happen and veterans can be signed.

With a few holes to fill and money to spend, there are a few wishes on the list. One is Bryce Harper and the other is Manny Machado. Although, it seems that most fans want one or the other, not both.

With Avisail Garcia and Matt Davidson non-tendered, there is clearly a position for an outfielder and an DH. The team did sign Yonder Alonso, who can hit, so the DH position could already be filled. Machado visited Guaranteed Rate Field on his tour of potential landing spots, but he is rumored not to make a decision until after the New Year.

White Sox fans should also have hope for a quick recovery by fireballer Michael Kopech. The Tommy John announcement seemed to bring down not only the fans, but the team, too. Kopech has been staying in touch with fans via social media, but it’s not the same as seeing him throwing in the off-season.

When it comes to the young guys, Eloy Jimenez reaching the big leagues is another wish for fans. He’s been put on hold for the remainder of the winter baseball season, but should be ready to go in the spring.

Another big wish for the 2019 season should be a decrease in strikeouts. The White Sox led the MLB in K’s in 2018 with 61 more than the Padres (second-place team) and 405 more than the Indians (last place). Yoan Moncada led the league with 217. For comparison, Jose Ramirez – who had the same number of at-bats (578) – had only 80 K’s in 2018. Moncada has some work to do. It’s also easy to see why Ramirez finished third in the MVP race and earned a Silver Slugger.

Lastly, White Sox fans should also hope for quality pitching in 2019. The team had a combined ERA of 4.83, which put them 26th in the MLB. They had a rotating door of closers, but with Alex Colome, the team should have some consistency in the ninth. Adding Ivan Nova to the rotation should help the team, too.

HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 06: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians reacts against the Houston Astros in the sixth inning during Game Two of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park on October 6, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Indians and their fans have one hope: to win a World Series ring before the door closes.

How close are they? Honestly, they are probably farther away than they were in 2018. Losing Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller, Yan Gomes, and Josh Donaldson to free agency didn’t help. As a smallish-market team, the Indians don’t have the same money to spend as their competition in the AL East and AL West.

So, the team has to be creative. Fortunately, the team has the same starting rotation and Carlos Carrasco decided to make it easy for the team and signed a reasonable contract that let the Indians keep the rotation intact.

Along with keeping Carrasco for the long-term, the Tribe also brought back team favorite, Carlos Santana.

But the Indians roster has holes and fans should be hoping to find a few good players in their stockings. It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Indians to win the division in 2019, but they still need talent to replace Brantley and someone competitively flexible to replace Miller. Even the catching position could use an upgrade.

As time ticks on, that World Series ring becomes more difficult to acquire. The last time the Tribe won was in 1948. That 70-year drought is the longest in the MLB. Hopefully, for fans, Santa will be good to the Tribe and quench that drought.

DETROIT, MI – MAY 30: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park on May 30, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers won 6-1. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Tigers are one of the teams in the midst of a rebuild and fans are still recovering from the big sell off in 2017.

In 2018, fans in the seats needed to have a lineup card of their own to keep track of the new names that appeared on a daily basis.

As 2019 is on the horizon, Tigers fans have a few wishes for Santa. The biggest one involves health. Miguel Cabrera and Jordan Zimmermann, who have the biggest contracts on the team, need to have healthy seasons in 2019.

Along with health for the guys making big bucks, it would certainly be nice to see Daniel Norris get a regular spot in the rotation and stay there for the whole season. On the current depth chart, Norris is sitting uncomfortably in the sixth spot behind Matt Boyd, Zimm, Michael Fulmer, and the new guys, Matt Moore and Tyson Ross. It doesn’t bode well for the Van Man.

Tigers fans aren’t very hopeful for a successful 2019. There are just way too many unknowns for this young (and old) team. Fans are hoping that JaCoby Jones will get his bat going and that he won’t injury himself trying to cover his own position in center field as well as the corners that are covered by slightly slower Christin Stewart and Nicholas Castellanos.

While the Tigers are far from contending for the playoffs, it would be nice to see Stewart win the AL Rookie of the Year award. A subtle nod toward the future would be a nice gift to the incredibly disappointed Tigers fan base.

One more wish for the fans in the Motor City is that the team stays far, far away from the debacle that was 2003, when the Kitties lost 119 games (the most losses in MLB history).

On March 14, 2017, with the Kansas City Royals, Terrance Gore smiles after scoring a run against the Los Angeles Angels during spring training in Surprise, Ariz. (John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/TNS via Getty Images) /

The Royals off-season can be summed up in two words: Terrance Gore. The speeding pinch runner was re-signed by the Royals and fans are confused by the unnecessary move.

The team is a long way off from the 2015 World Series win, but they still have Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon. A Christmas wish would be that those two continue to lead the team and possibly even earn All-Star invitations in 2019.

The Royals and Tigers are in relatively the same spot, in the early phase of rebuilding. So, it would be expected that Royals fans would hope that Santa would give them more wins than the Tigers get. But, with the off-season signing of Gore, the hopes for more wins than the Tigers could be merely a dream.

But, Gore isn’t the only off-season signing the Royals have made. They also signed Chris Owings and Billy Hamilton. It is clear that the Royals are looking for speed, but they aren’t too concerned with batting stats. Hamilton could be a big help in the big outfield at Kauffman Stadium.

In 2015, the Royals had a bullpen that wouldn’t quit and was highlighted by Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Luke Hochevar. Royals fans Christmas wish list should include getting the bullpen in order, now that the last of the 2015 pen – Herrera – is now a free agent. Wily Peralta is signed through 2020, so wishing him a successful season should be included in a letter to Santa.

While asking for a good season out of the pen, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for healthy starters, too. Of the five pitchers in the rotation, no one had close to 200 innings. Jacob Junis – who was up and down all season – pitched 177 innings. Everyone else had less than that.

It might be difficult for Royals fans to wish for anything beyond just getting fewer than 100 losses. It’s a good place to start, because the only way to go – after finishing 5th in the worst division in the MLB – is up.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN- AUGUST 16: Miguel Sano #22 of the Minnesota Twins looks on against the Detroit Tigers on August 16, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 15-8. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

In 2017, the Twins were the biggest surprise in the MLB. And, in 2018, they were the biggest disappointment.

The Twins were expected to offer some competition to the Indians, but ended up finishing 13 games back. To make matters worse, they lost the face of the franchise – Joe Mauer – to retirement.