Rival Roundup, Vol. 24: The Offseason Begins

Well, it’s officially the off-season for the entirety of the American League Central.

You know what that means — it’s:

RIVAL ROUNDUP TIME, BABY

(cue fireworks)

With the New York Yankees having officially trounced the Cleveland Guardians and advancing to the ALCS against the Houston Astros — participants in the Championship Series for an astonishing sixth consecutive season — all five Midwest mammoths are sitting at home and waiting until they can sign free agents.

Well, not everybody is sitting at home. Presumably, some members of the front office are still getting some work done, especially considering two teams — the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox — will be on the hunt for new skippers.

(Personally, I’m all aboard the Ozzie Guillen hype train, and would welcome a reunion between the championship-winning manager and the White Sox organization purely for entertainment purposes.)

So, with rumors, movement, and intrigue in mind, let’s grab a bite of some of those hot links.

• Although Terry Francona’s health held through to the end of the season, it’s not out of the question that the longtime Cleveland manager could look to take a step back — it’s been a prevailing storyline over each of his last few seasons. If such a thing happened, it would leave only Rocco Baldelli and A.J. Hinch as returning managers; but Francona’s comments following Cleveland’s elimination seemed to suggest that he’s in this for the long haul:

• Speaking of Cleveland and health, it’s hand surgery this offseason for Jose Ramirez, although he’s projected to be back in plenty of time for spring. Something to keep an eye on, nevertheless.

• Elsewhere in the world of job postings, the Detroit Tigers are looking for a whole bunch of fancy-schmancy new employees, mostly statistical analysts with some biomechanical experts lumped in there. The front office will be shaken up this year in the wake of the hiring of Scott Harris, replacement for Al Avila and new President of Baseball Operations in the Motor City.
• If you’re interested in more Scott Harris content, he recently sat down with radio mainstay Dan Dickerson for a chat about the future of player development and acquisition for the Kitties.
• Speaking of the Tigers, this week was the anniversary of both Kirk Gibson’s dramatic intentional non-walk in the 1984 World Series, as well as Magglio Ordonez’s walk-off blast that sent the Tigers to the 2006 Fall Classic. A good week to be from the greater Detroit area, then wait 22 years, then still be from there.
• It could be a busier winter than normal for the Kansas City Royals, who like Detroit have not been able to put the pieces back together after their most recent window. Having fired both their manager and boss man Dayton Moore in 2022, new boss man J.J. Piccolo (of the New Jersey Piccolos) will start his interview process with one Dusty Wathan, current third-base coach for the Phils.

Most of these wheels will start spinning after the conclusion of the World Series, which will unfortunately feature either the Yankees or the Astros. In the meantime, who would you rather see them face coming out of the National League? Drop your thoughts in the comments, as well as any other musings regarding the state of the American League Central, and its top players heading into the end of the calendar year.

Until next week!