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2022 MLB front office rankings: The American League Central

By Bill Felber

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 03: Vice President/General Manager Rick Hahn Senior of the Chicago White Sox speaks during a press conference prior to a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 03, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 03: Vice President/General Manager Rick Hahn Senior of the Chicago White Sox speaks during a press conference prior to a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 03, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
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From a front office standpoint, the AL Central story is two-fold: How did Mike Chernoff get so much out of what appeared to be so little and how did Rick Hahn get so little out of what appeared to be so much this MLB season?

Chernoff’s seventh season in Cleveland working in partnership with team president Chris Antonetti was also his most successful. Hahn’s 10th season in charge of matters on Chicago’s South Side was all the more disappointing because of preseason expectations that virtually conceded the division to his White Sox.

The analysis that follows is an assessment of the impact each AL Central front office’s personnel decisions since November of 2021 have had on their MLB team’s standing right now.

It is based on the aggregate Wins Above Average of moves made in five areas:

  • Players acquired by trade, purchase or waiver claim.
  • Players signed as free agents or extended for more than one year.
  • Minor league callups.
  • Players lost via trade, waiver claim or sale.
  • Players lost to free agency or released.

Wins Above Average is the preferred metric for this calculation because it is zero-based, meaning that it approximately reflects  the number of games by which a front office either helped or hurt its team in the standings.

There was one change of significance to front office leadership in the division this season. That occurred in Kansas City, where  long-time general manager Dayton Moore was initially kicked upstairs, and then removed entirely in favor of J.J. Picollo. In Detroit, long-time general manager Al Avila was dismissed two-thirds of the way through the season, but that change came too late for any impact to be felt this year.

Here is the AL Central front office lineup as it impacted 2022.

Chicago: Ken Williams, executive vice president; Rick Hahn, senior vice president and general manager.

Cleveland: Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations; Mike Chernoff, general manager.

Detroit: Al Avila, executive vice president and general manager.

Kansas City: Dayton Moore, president of baseball operations; J.J. Picollo, general manager.

Minnesota: Derek Falvey, president of baseball operations; Thad Levine, senior vice president and general manager.

From best to worst, here’s an assessment of the work of the five AL Central front office systems.

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