With MLB teams entering the 2025 season’s second trimester, some glaring issues appear to be rising to the surface. It is time to take a look at the burning questions that the teams of the AL Central face as they inch closer to the July trade deadline.
For the Royals to thrive in 2025, they will need their three top stars to step it up. Bobby Witt Jr. (.290, 5 HR, 30 RBI) is off to a good start for the average player, but his batting average, on-base, and slugging are down 42, 40, and 108 points, respectively, from last year. Salvador Perez is hitting just .222 with four homers. Ace Cole Ragans is 2-3 with a 4.53 ERA and is currently rehabbing a groin strain. Add a 2024 version of Ragans to Kris Bubic (5-2, 1.45 ERA, 70 K), Seth Lugo (3-4, 3.02 ERA), Michael Wacha (3-4, 3.21 ERA), and rookie Noah Cameron (2-1, 1.05 ERA in 4 starts), and the KC rotation will be a beast.
After a 2024 season bad enough that he was sent back to the minors, has Spencer Torkelson made the adjustments needed to return to his 2023 form. He hit 31 home runs, drive in 94 runs, and took 67 walks. Is he making the adjustments? It appears so. He is on pace to exceed all those of numbers in 2025. Báez, too, has fought back to relevance after being a huge disappointment in his first three seasons in Detroit. Báez converted seamlessly from shortstop to center field when Parker Meadows went down with an arm injury. The Tigers wanted to give prospect Trey Sweeney a shot at short. Now Báez (.278, 6 HR, 29 RBI) is hitting again as well.
Last Saturday was Shane Bieber’s first scheduled rehab outing since Tommy John surgery. When Bieber is right, he is money for this team. Bieber was the 2020 Cy Young winner, winning the pitching Triple Crown during the COVID-shortened season with an 8-1 record, a 1.63 ERA, and 122 strikeouts. He has been Top Ten in the Cy Young voting two other times, won a Gold Glove, and been a two-time All-Star. Unfortunately, he has also missed significant time due to injury in four of the last five seasons. If Bieber can regain form, then it would be a huge shot in the arm to a Cleveland rotation that is also missing Ben Lively and John Means.
Minnesota’s offense ranks in the bottom third in MLB in batting average, runs scored, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. Top prospect Royce Lewis has only played in 19 games and is hitting .138. Carlos Correa has only produced four homers and 16 RBI in 47 games. Jose Miranda was sent to the minors after hitting .167 in 12 games. Perennially-injured centerfielder Byron Buxton is the only player with double-figure homers (10), but he is just returning from missing two weeks after a collision with Correa that gave both players concussions. (Correa missed a week.) They need to get a bat at the deadline.
After setting a record in futility last season, Chicago is only slightly better this year. Star slugger Luis Robert Jr. has been rumored to be on the trading block all season. He has struggled to stay healthy since his 38-homer, 20-steal 2023 campaign, and is only hitting .190 with five home runs this season. The White Sox are clearly in the beginning of a long, messy rebuild, and LRJ’s contract is up at the end of the season, though there are club options for 2026 and 2027. Do the Sox trade low on him now or exercise his option for next year and hope he pulls up his trade value before the 2026 trade deadline?
Every team but the lowly White Sox has a winning record right now, so the next eight weeks are critical. In a down year (so far) for the AL East, it is possible that three or even four Central division teams make the playoffs this year. None of these teams have big payrolls, so do not expect a lot of big-name moves at the trade deadline. These teams, for the most part, are going to have to just figure out their solutions within their own organizations and pick up small pieces at the deadline.
Stay tuned for the last article in my MLB first trimester One Burning Question series, profiling the AL West, coming soon. In the meantime, you can check out the other divisions below.
One Burning Question Each AL East Team Faces One-Third Into The 2025 MLB Season
One Burning Question For Every NL West Team At MLB’s One-Third Mark
1 Burning MLB Question For Every NL Central Team After First Third Of The Season
One Burning MLB Question For Every NL East Team As We Finish 1st Third Of The Season
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
