Minnesota Twins: Breaking Down the 2022 AL Central Rivals-Kansas City
By Otto Johnson
The Minnesota Twins enter 2022, and the team is looking to compete in a much-improved American League Central. The team has made some big moves in the offseason, but the other teams in their division did as well.
To get ready for the season, we’re taking a look around at the other division rivals; their lineups, their rotations, bullpens and their offseasons. To do this, I enlisted the help of the other FanSided network experts to help break down their team. To start out, I talked to Mike Gillespie from Kings of Kauffman about the Kansas City Royals.
We’re breaking down the Minnesota Twins American League Central rivals, starting with the Kansas City Royals.
The Kansas City Royals finished last year fourth in the division, and raised their win percentage by 14%. They’ve been in a very long rebuild for several years, but the team seems to be consistently improving year after year. In 2022, they made several moves to help continue that process, so we’ll start off the breakdown off their offseason.
Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival Important Offseason Moves
Key Kansas City Royals Additions: RP Amir Garrett, RP Taylor Clarke, SP Zack Greinke
Key Kansas City Royals Departures: SP Mike Minor, INF Hanser Alberto, RP Greg Holland, RP Wade Davis
For the rebuilding Kansas City Royals, most of their key moves weren’t all that big of a deal. The team is going to see at least of six of their Top 10 prospects and several more of their Top 30 Prospects this season, so it’s not a surprise that they didn’t make any major moves.
Trading Minor for Garrett adds a potential stud to the bullpen, and they replaced Minor in the rotation with Zack Greinke. Greinke, who started his career in Kansas City, is returning to a place he’s comfortable. Taylor Clarke is a solid option for the bullpen depth.
As far as departures go, Minor, Alberto, Holland, and Davis are far past their prime and all four didn’t have good years in 2021. Here’s how Mike Gillespie felt about the offseason:
"Royals fans always want big moves but seldom get them. Signing Zack Greinke made this winter a bit different and is an excellent move. His tank clearly isn’t empty and he’ll be a great mentor for the team’s young starters, who definitely need good mentoring. And bringing him back certainly won’t hurt attendance. KC signed several relievers to minor league deals, but the best bullpen move was trading for Amir Garrett. Picking up Taylor Clarke, who’s having a good spring, may work out well."