Moving on to the AL Central, it was thought that 2008 and beyond would be a battle between the Indians and Tigers, but there has been some considerable movement in the division with more to come. The Tigers jumped out ahead with their acquisition of Miguel Cabrera, and the White Sox have forced their way back into the picture, but what should Central teams do going forward?

Chicago White Sox - Their acquisitions of Orlando Cabrera, Carlos Quentin, and Nick Swisher have changed up their positional outlook this offseason. Without left field as a possible destination to the loser of the 3B battle between Joe Crede and Josh Fields, the White Sox need to find a taker for Crede. Of course, this requires him to prove that he's healthy and his swing is back. For the White Sox, they hope that he can do that in spring training. In addition, Juan Uribe is now their backup shortstop. Looking around the league, there are a few teams with worse starting shortstops, making him another piece of trade bait. In return, the White Sox could use some bullpen help. A free agent SP wouldn't be a bad idea either. Nothing against John Danks and Gavin Floyd, but would you trust both to hold their spot in the rotation when your competitors are the Tigers and Indians? Of course, your options are limited, but when you paint yourself into a corner like the White Sox have (not a strong pick to win the division and a weak farm system), what would you expect?

Cleveland Indians - Coming off their ALCS appearance, only Kenny Lofton isn't back with the team, but it's disappointing that they haven't brought in something more than Masahide Kobayashi. Three of their corners are manned by Casey Blake, Jason Michaels/David Dellucci, and Franklyn Gutierrez. Their up-the-middle players are strong offensively, but they could use some help from the spots that are your traditional offensive players. There were some rumors they were looking to acquire Jason Bay, but the only free agent that would be an improvement is Barry Bonds. I don't see that happening. Moving elsewhere, the Indians are trying to re-sign C.C. Sabathia, and well, they should be. Sabathia is the only member of their core that is a free agent before the end of the 2010 season. Talk about being set up well for the next few years - young team coming off an ALCS appearance with only one potentially major free agent loss before 2011.

Detroit Tigers - The Tigers shocked quite a few people with their aggressiveness at the winter meetings. They got two years of both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for less than the rumored deals for one year of Johan Santana. With the prior trade for Edgar Renteria, the Tigers are pretty much set for 2008. Brandon Inge is an interesting trade chip, and they could use another arm for the bullpen, but does anyone still consider Inge a major-league starter at 3B? I don't think so, which leaves signing players to extensions. The only guy I'd consider that with is Miguel Cabrera, but are you really sure whether he'll be a 3B or a 1B in two years? I think that question mark is enough to postpone extension talks to next offseason.

Kansas City Royals - You can start to see their 2010 team coming together here if you squint hard enough. Alberto Callaspo at 2B, Alex Gordon at 3B, Jose Guillen in LF, David DeJesus in CF, Mark Teahen in RF, Billy (edited) Butler at DH, Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar in the rotation, and Joakim Soria at closer. I don't agree fully with the methods they're using - Guillen for $12M per year, really? - but at least there's a long-term plan in place. That's better than some organizations. The only suggestion I have for this offseason is to trade Brian Bannister. His value won't get any higher, and in the end, he's nothing more than back of the rotation filler (4.2 K/9).

Minnesota Twins - With the loss of Torii Hunter and the improvements made by the Tigers, White Sox, and Indians (young team with another year of experience), the Twins need to make a Johan Santana deal and a Joe Nathan deal. Given the rumors, they agree on the Santana front and used to agree on the Nathan front. I haven't heard many Nathan rumors lately. If Mike Cuddyer is having a good year at the trade deadline, they could look into trading him as well. He's a free agent after the '09 season, and it's not like the Twins will jump back to the top of the division in 2009 with Santana and Nathan in the rear-view mirror.

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I think I'll be back here Saturday with the AL West. We'll see.