Assessing how the rest of the American League Central did at the trade deadline 

The 2025 trade deadline has come and gone, and the American League Central looks very different compared to how it looked 48 hours ago. Here’s a look at how the changes have impacted the Guardians. 

Assessing how the rest of the American League Central did at the trade deadline 

Detroit Tigers
64-46; 9 games ahead of the Guardians 

In: RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Rafael Montero, RHP Codi Heuer, RHP Kyle Finnegan and RHP Charlie Morton
Out: C Enrique Jimenez, INF Jim Jarvis, RHP Matt Manning, RHP Josh Randall and RHP R.J. Sales and LHP Micah Ashman

Well, that’s one way to handle a trade deadline. The Tigers, apparently unhappy with how their bullpen has been producing this year, went out and acquired four different relievers along with a starting pitcher in Morton. 

After starting things by grabbing Montero from the Braves on Wednesday, the Tigers acquired Sewald from the Guardians on Thursday morning in exchange for a Player to be Named Later.

They then added Heuer from the Rangers for cash considerations and Finnegan from the Nationals for Randall and Sales. They snuck their deal for Morton in at the buzzer. 

Finnegan is the best player of this group, but he’s posted a 4.80 ERA in 69 1/3 innings since July 2024. The one-time All-Star has racked up 58 saves over the past two seasons, but he ranks in the 24th percentile in whiff rate and was non-tendered after last season. 

This is a group that raises Detroit’s floor, not its ceiling. The Guardians are still looking up at the Tigers, but they don’t look like a juggernaut. 

Kansas City Royals
54-55; 1/2 game behind the Guardians

In: RHP Ryan Bergert, RHP Stephen Kolek, RHP Bailey Falter, 2B Adam Frazier, OF Randal Grichuk and OF Mike Yastrzemski
Out: SS Cam Devanney, RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Evan Sisk, 1B Callan Moss, C Freddy Fermin and RHP Yunior Marte.

The Royals were moderate sellers at this year’s deadline despite having a record under .500, but it remains to be seen if it’ll be enough to help the Royals skip past the Guardians in the Wild Card and division standings. 

The Royals grabbed Bergert and Kolek from the Padres in exchange for Freddy Fermin in a sneaky good deal for Kansas City.

Both pitchers saw MLB action for the Padres this year and have an abundance of team control, so getting them for a backup catcher like Fermin is a no-brainer trade. 

They also added Falter from the Pirates for two minor leaguers, though the trade is more of a wash. While Falter has a 3.73 ERA across 113 1/3 innings, he only has 70 strikeouts and has an expected ERA of 4.53. It’s hard to imagine the Royals giving him the ball in a postseason game. 

They also added Yastrzemski at the buzzer in a deal with the Giants to shore up their outfield picture. The Royals already added Frazier and Grichuk earlier this month, but the left-handed hitting Yastrzemski will serve as some additional reinforcements for a Royals team that’s gotten a wRC+ of 67 from its left-handed hitters this year. 

Minnesota Twins
51-57; 3 games behind the Guardians

In: C Enrique Jimenez, LHP Garrett Horn, HP Sam Armstrong, RHP Ryan Gallagher, OF Hendry Mendez, RHP Geremy Villoria, C Eduardo Tait, RHP Mick Abel, LHP Matt Mikulski, OF James Outman, OF Alan Roden and RHP Taj Bradley
Out: OF Harrison Bader, RHP Brock Stewart, LHP Danny Coulombe, INF Willi Castro, SS Carlos Correa, RHP Louis Varland, 1B Ty France, Jhoan Duran, RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Griffin Jax

There’s a firesale, and then there’s what the Twins did over the last week

After dealing away Paddack on Tuesday and Duran on Wednesday, the Twins traded eight players on Thursday. The biggest trade from that time was their deal to send Correa back to Houston to play third base in place of the injured Isaac Paredes. 

They also traded away some other solid pieces like Bader, Castro and Coulombe and snuck in a trade of Jax right before the 6 p.m. deadline. 

That trade may end up helping the Twins in the long run as it netted them Bradley from the Rays. While he has a 4.61 ERA this season, he had a 4.11 ERA last season and was once viewed as the next great Rays starter. Now he’ll get a chance to hone his stuff in a low pressure environment in Minnesota. 

They also nabbed Outman from the Dodgers in their deal for Strewart and Roden from the Blue Jays in their deal for Varland. 

Outman has played in 230 games with the Dodgers over the past four seasons (but has hit just .224), while Roden hit .204 in 43 games with the Blue Jays this year. 

While the Twins may one day reap the rewards of their trade deadline sell-off, it confirms that they're not going to be competing for a division title any time soon. 

Chicago White Sox
40-69; 15 1/2 games behind the Guardians

In: RHP Gage Ziehl, INF Curtis Mead, RHP Duncan Davitt and RHP Benjamin Peoples
Out: OF Austin Slater and RHP Adrian Houser

The biggest story about the White Sox is the trade they didn’t make, as they elected to hold on to outfielder Luis Robert Jr. despite him ranking as one of the top bats available. 

That said, Robert is hitting just .213 this year, so the White Sox are likely hoping that he catches fire as the year goes on so they can pick up his $20 million player option and trade him sometime in the next 12 months. 

As for the trades the White Sox did make, they dealt Slater to the Yankees yesterday before acquiring three players from the Rays in exchange for Houser. 

Davitt and Peoples are both still in the minors, while Mead has appeared in 111 games for the Rays across the past 2 1/2 seasons. 

The White Sox are still in the depths of a deep rebuild, so getting three players for 11 starts from Houser is a big win.