Detroit Tigers: American League Central Offseason Review

Cleveland

Notable Addition: Edwin Encarnacion and Boone Logan

Notable Losses: Mike Napoli, Jeff Manship and Rajai Davis

It’s safe to say that Cleveland is in win-now mode.

The club recently made it to the World Series. What’s more, they went all-in on midseason trades, picking up Andrew Miller, Brandon Guyer and Coco Crisp.

Cleveland continued to make bold moves in the offseason, adding Edwin Encarnacion via free agency.

While Encarnacion will help the lineup, Detroit’s American League Central rivals will have to replace Rajai Davis in the outfield and Jeff Manship in the bullpen.

Davis spent most of 2016 in a platoon with Tyler Naquin.

Naquin was extremely productive in 365 plate appearances, hitting .296 with an .886 OPS.

He also added 52 runs scored, 43 RBI, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and five stolen bases.

However, he saw just 40 at-bats against left-handed pitchers. Naquin also struck out 112 times.

Just how Cleveland will continue to protect Naquin against southpaws remains to be seen with Davis now in Oakland.

Elsewhere, the club will attempt to replenish there bullpen with the likes of Steve Delabar, Nick Goody, James Russell and Boone Logan

How Cleveland’s Moves Affect the Detroit Tigers

Replacing Napoli with Encarnacion will obviously benefit Terry Francona’s club. However, it may not move the needle too much in games against the Tigers.

Napoli is a .261 hitter with a .861 OPS, 41 RBI, 32 runs scored, 15 home runs and 10 doubles in 74 games versus Detroit.

Next: The Significance of a Potential Bounce-Back from Anibal Sanchez

Meanwhile, Encarnacion is a .266 hitter with an .837 OPS, 24 RBI, 23 runs scored, nine home runs and eight doubles in 42 games played against the Tigers.