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

As 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, Cleveland Guardians, and the Chicago White Sox.

We’re finishing up the series today with the AL Central team that improved the most this  offseason, the Detroit Tigers. To wrap this series up, I reached out to site expert Roger Castillo over at Motor City Bengals.

We’re breaking down the Minnesota Twins American League Central rivals, finishing out with the Detroit Tigers.

Loaded with young talent, one of the ways the team became so strong was an offseason spent bringing in loads of new talent.

Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival Important Offseason Moves

Key Detroit Tigers Additions: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, C Tucker Barnhart (traded from Reds), SS Javier Baez, OF Austin Meadows, RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Andrew Chafin

Key Detroit Tigers Departures: UTL Niko Goodrum, OF Nomar Mazara, RHP Matthew Boyd, RHP Jose Urena

Easily the best offseason from any team in the division, the Detroit Tigers correctly saw that the team was getting closer to competing and spent big to come even closer. Eduardo Rodriguez comes in a as an established arm to put on top of the rotation. Javier Baez is a superstar (though he does strikeout too much). Tucker Barnhart is an elite defender.

The team is seeing it’s young prospect talent take over in the lineup and rotation, so adding talented veterans is the best way to win. The Tigers did a great job of that and only lost Niko Goodrum and Matthew Boyd as key contributors. Castillo agrees:

They addressed almost everything that this team needed to do in put themselves in a better position in 2022. I would have liked to have seen another veteran right-hander in the bullpen but that is really about it.

Rotation

1. Eduardo Rodriguez
2. Casey Mize
3. Tarik Skubal
4. Matt Manning
5. Tyler Alexander

Bullpen

• Gregory Soto
• Michael Fulmer
• Alex Lange
• Joe Jimenez
• Jason Foley
• Jacob Barnes
• Andrew Chafin
• Drew Hutchinson
• Jason Foley
• Jose Cisnero
• Kyle Funkhouser

The  Detroit Tigers’ rotation and bullpen will decide just how far this team can go. The lineup has improved, but the team is counting on a trio of former top prospects in Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Manning to carry the rotation. It’s not a bad bet. Castillo thinks it may be the team’s biggest strength: “Plenty of upside with Mize, Skubal and Rodriguez as your big three.”

Skubal had a good rookie season, an incredible Spring Training, and looks to be a breakout candidate in 2022. Mize and Manning have struggled thus far in the big leagues, but both are former Top 10 picks who haven’t even turned 25. Both should take steps forward in 2022.

The bullpen has some good pieces, but a whole lot of question marks. Castillo’s worried as well: “Too many injuries currently. Someone will need to step up.” If nobody is able to do so, this could be the group that hurts them the most.

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Minnesota Twins: AL Central Rival 2022 Predictions

The Tigers still aren’t ready to compete. The team has some major holes in their bullpen, and if the young players aren’t ready to go, this team could return to close to last year’s levels (though Baez, Meadows, and Rodriguez will make sure they don’t fall apart further).

With that being said, this team is far better than they were in the past. There’s a very real chance that this team wins 80 games and sets themselves up for a big year in 2023. Castillo feels they might fall just short:

I think 79-83 is realistic because the AL as a whole got better. The AL East is just a beast. 4 teams could win 90 games in that division and in the AL West, Seattle got better and Houston is still very good. Minnesota kept up with the Tigers and White Sox on upgrading their rosters.

Even if they don’t hit that .500 mark, the Tigers will be a lot more fun to watch than last year.