American League Central

Chicago White Sox

2022 - 81-81 (2nd place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added SP Mike Clevinger, OF Andrew Benintendi, IF Elvis Andrus

2023 Outlook - The White Sox were the most disappointing team of 2022. Many, including myself, had them making the World Series. Instead the season was a disaster, riddled with injuries, poor management, and underperformances. It was a miracle they ended up at .500 but missing the postseason entirely was a huge failure. Looking to 2023, the team on the field didn’t get much better but they did fire manager Tony La Russa and hire Pedro Grifol. That’s at least a step in the right direction. And even though they lost former MVP Jose Abreu in free agency, they still have some top talent in Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, and Yasmani Grandal. Their pitching at the top ain’t too bad either with Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn, and Lucas Giolito. There are depth concerns and where this team stands after such a disaster of a year in 2022 remains to be seen. Their one hope is that they are in a weak division and could rise above the rubble.

Wins prediction - 83 (3rd place)

Cleveland Guardians

2022 - 92-70 (1st place, lost to Yankees in ALDS)

Offseason - Added 1B Josh Bell, C Mike Zunino

2023 Outlook - The Guardians exceeded expectations last season on their way to the AL Central title and winning a postseason series against the Rays. 92 wins was a very impressive total for a team that seemed to lack depth past their stars Jose Ramirez and Shane Beiber. But they got huge contributions from players like Andres Gimenez, Steven Kwan, and Emmanuel Clase. They’ll need that again in 2023. As is the theme for most teams in this division, the depth is lacking but there’s no doubt the Guardians have a good enough roster to make the postseason again. The bottom half of the rotation is a big question mark but Cleveland is a scrappy team that knows how to put wins together. I expect them to be in the hunt for another division championship.

Wins prediction - 90 (2nd place)

Detroit Tigers

2022 - 66-96 (4th place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added SP Michael Lorenzen

2023 Outlook - Okay, this is where this division really starts to get sad. The Tigers have been a bottom dweller in this division for a long time and it’s going to continue that way in 2023. The pitching rotation will be one of the worst in the league. The only real reason to pay attention to the Tigers this season is the development of Spencer Torkelson. Still not really sure why Javier Baez wanted to sign in Detroit. They did move on from their long time GM Al Avila so we’ll see what the new era decides to do to turn this franchise around.

Wins prediction - 63 (5th place)

Kansas City Royals

2022 - 65-97 (5th place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added RP Ryan Yarbough, RP Aroldi Chapman

2023 Outlook - The Royals are in a very similar situation as the Tigers. They have been a bad team for several years trying to rebuild but haven’t gotten very far. They also have a new GM looking for a different way to build this team. For 2023, it’s not going to be great. It will be the Bobby Witt Jr show and that’s about it. They need a lot of their young arms to prove they can handle big league hitting. Kansas City has a long way to go until they are relevant again.

Wins prediction - 65 (4th place)

Minnesota Twins

2022 - 78-84 (3rd place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added C Christain Vasquez, OF Joey Gallo, SP Pablo Lopez

2023 Outlook - The Twins are looking to bounce back after missing the postseason in 2022. They were hit by the injury bug and never really hit the ground running all season. That being said, there is a lot to like on this roster heading into 2023. They were able to get Carlos Correa back after a circus of free agency. Adding Pablo Lopez was an under-the-radar move that I think will really help this club. They’ll need to stay healthy, especially Bryon Buxton, which is a big ask. That’s the main concern for the Twins. But the starting pitching, in my opinion, is the best in the division led by Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, and Pablo Lopez, and they’re getting Kenta Maeda back from injury. This is a wide open division. A lot needs to go right but I think the Twins get it done.

Wins prediction - 91 (1st place)

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

2022 - 74-88 (3rd place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added OF Cody Bellinger, SS Dansby Swanson, SP Jameson Taillon, SP Drew Smyly, C Tucker Barnhart, 1B Eric Hosmer, UTL Trey Mancini, SP Michael Fulmer, IF Edwin Rios

2023 Outlook - The Cubs had a very busy offseason. The best grab was Danby Swanson who will be their shortstop for the foreseeable future. Past that, they signed a lot of players that could be either very good or very bad. In particular Cody Bellinger who was a Rookie of the Year, MVP, and postseason hero with the Dodgers but has also gone through extended periods of slumps at the plate that can be painful to watch. Maybe Chicago can fix his hitting struggles. Adding pitcher Jameson Taillon makes their rotation respectable along with Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks but there are just a lot of arms past their prime. There’s talent on this roster, no doubt, but is it the right talent to win? I’m not so sure.

Wins prediction - 78 (3rd place)

Cincinnati Reds

2022 - 62-100 (4th place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added OF Wil Myers

2023 Outlook - Man, the Reds are just awful. I’m not gonna sugar coat it. It’s between them and the Nationals for the worst record in the National League. I hope Joey Votto gets traded to a contending team cause he deserves another shot at a ring before he retires. Hunter Greene is a great talent who is entertaining to watch (could be a trade piece too). It’s a bleak future in Cincy.

Wins prediction - 56 (5th place)

Milwaukee Brewers

2022 - 86-76 (2nd place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added SP Wade Miley, IF Brian Anderson, OF Jesse Winker

2023 Outlook - The Brew Crew just missed out on the postseason in 2022 but are looking to redeem themselves in 2023. They had some injury issues on the pitching side of things. Then trading away Josh Hader made their front office look real dumb. Despite that, they still have Devin Williams who has the nastiest changeup in baseball. And the starting pitching is elite with Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff leading the way. This is an offense that has always struggled to score but the additions of Brian Anderson and Jesse Winker should help. But the biggest name on this roster that needs to step up is Christain Yelich. He has not been the same MVP-level player for the past couple of seasons. If he can get his swing back, the Brewers should be a very good team.

Wins prediction - 93 (2nd Place)

Pittsburgh Pirates

2022 - 62-100 (5th place, missed postseason)

Offseason - Added IF Ji Man Choi, C Austin Hedges, SP Rich Hill, OF Andrew McCutchin

2023 Outlook - The Pirates have been in rebuild mode for a while now but look for them to make strides in 2023. They’re not a winning team yet but gone are the 100-loss, last place seasons. We should see a lot of young talent really make their mark and the return of Andrew McCutchin brings back some mojo of the Pirates teams that made the postseason not too long ago. Pittsburgh should raise the Jolly Roger a lot more often this season.

Wins prediction - 75 (4th place)

St. Louis Cardinals

2022 - 93-69 (1st place, lost to Phillies in WCS)

Offseason - Added C Wilson Contreras

2023 Outlook - The Cardinals are the favorites to win the division again in 2023. Other than a change of the guard at catcher (gone is Yadier Molina, in is Wilson Contreras), this team is mostly the same from 2022. The pitching is deep in the rotation and bullpen and they have one of the best lineups in the game led by last year’s MVP Paul Goldschmidt. There’s not a lot of reason for concern for this team other than how they match up with the other elite NL teams (aka Braves, Dodgers, Mets, Padres). It’s not a matter if they’ll make the postseason but how far they’ll go. They certainly have the talent to make a deep run. If they stay healthy and perform to their potential, this is as good a team as any in the National League.

Wins prediction - 96 (1st place)

2023 MLB Division Previews - AL & NL Central