Minnesota Twins: Breaking Down the 2022 AL Central Rivals-Chicago

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, starting  out with the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians.

We’re continuing today with the Twin’s main competition in the Chicago White Sox, last year’s Division winner and a trendy World Series pick for some analysts. I talked with Vincent Parise over at Southside Showdown.

We’re breaking down the Minnesota Twins American League Central rivals, continuing with the Chicago White Sox.

We may disagree about our favorite teams and just how far the team will go, but we broke down the roster, how we expect the team to perform, and we start the same area as we did yesterday: the team’s offseason.

Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival Important Offseason Moves

Key Chicago White Sox Additions: LF A.J. Pollock (trade with Dodgers), 2B/3B/LF Josh Harrison, (1 year, $5.5M), C Reese McGuire (trade with Blue Jays), RP Kendall Graveman (3 years, $24M), RP Joe Kelly (2 years, $19M), SP Vince Velasquez (1 year, $3M), SP Johnny Cueto (1 year, $3M)

Key Chicago White Sox Departures: Craig Kimbrel, Carlos Rodon, Cesar Hernandez, Zack Collins, Ryan Tepera

Twins fans are super concerned about the team’s rotation, and the fans feel the team didn’t do enough. The Chicago White Sox didn’t do enough either, but they still did a lot to address some of their major concerns.

The team sent out Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera and replaced him with Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly (who’s currently injured). Reese McGuire is a major upgrade at backup catcher over Zack Collins. A.J. Pollock and Josh Harrison are HUGE upgrades over Cesar Hernandez and Yermin Mercedes (Andrew Vaughn will move to designated hitter and out of left field).

Those were all good moves, but the big issue is now the rotation. Replacing Carlos Rodon with Velasquez and Cueto is a massive drop off, and with Lance Lynn out for a while, one of baseball’s best groups last year is suddenly very thin. The team expects internal development in the rotation though, and the other moves were actually really strong.

Parise thought the offseason was okay, but he also really liked several of their moves:

My favorite move was the trade a few days ago when the White Sox acquired AJ Pollock for Craig Kimbrel. He will add some necessary depth and experience to the outfield. I also enjoyed shoring up the bullpen with Joe Kelly and Kendall Graveman.

Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival Projected Lineup

• C: Yasmani Grandal
• 1B: Jose Abreu
• 2B: Josh Harrison
• SS: Tim Anderson
• 3B: Yoan Moncada
• LF: Eloy Jimenez
• CF: Luis Robert
• RF: A.J. Pollock
• DH: Andrew Vaughn

The White Sox lineup is quite formidable. If Luis Robert, A.J. Pollock, Eloy Jimenez can stay healthy, that’s one of the best offensive groups in baseball. Jose Abreu and Yasmani Grandal have been remarkably consistent, even as they age. Tim Anderson is the engine for this offense though.

He’s a 20-20 threat, and if he’s playing well, the team is. Moncada, Harrison, and Vaughn round out the starters, but their bench is deep too. Gavin Sheets, Leury Garcia, Reese McGuire, Micker Adolfo, and Adam Engel are a solid bench, and with Jake Burger and Adam Haseley at the Top of the minors, there’s more help on the way.

As far as prospects go, Parise doesn’t see many arriving in 2022:

There is a good chance that Micker Adolfo makes his MLB debut soon if the Sox don’t trade him. Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets are locks to make the team, so Jake Burger is the next best prospect that could see time. I’m not really expecting anyone else.

Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival 2022 Predictions

Let’s get right to it: unless the team gets hit with even more injuries, the Chicago White Sox should win this division. The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are going to be way better in 2022, but this is Chicago’s division to lose.

The best case scenario for the White Sox is easy to envision. Cease and Kopech take the expected big steps to join Giolito and Lynn as the most fearsome foursome in baseball. Keuchel rebounds to be a solid fifth starter. The bullpen doesn’t miss Crochet and the pitching group is the best in baseball.

The lineup is dominant and the young players stay healthy and the lineup is baseball’s best, leading the White Sox to 100 wins. They then march through a weaker American League before bringing home a World Series (or at least the AL Pennant).

Parise agrees: “The best case scenario for this team is that they win the World Series. It is hard to do that, but they are one of the best teams in the AL.” It’s also not hard to imagine the worst case scenario for this team, especially with the injuries that have already happened.

Lance Lynn doesn’t look like himself in his return, the vaunted outfield plays 162 games combined, and Kopech is injured facing a much larger workload. The back of the rotation overworks the bullpen, and a team with title aspirations wins 80-85 games and barely makes the playoffs (or misses them entirely.

The likely scenario is closer to the first. The Royals and Guardians are going to be murdered by this team, and though it’s not as easy as the AL West, it’s far easier than the AL East. The White Sox should win 95 games, the division and probably a playoff series or maybe two if everyone stays healthy. If the Twins plan to compete, the road to the division title runs through Chicago.