AL Central 2026 Division Preview

Published March 25, 2026

AL Central

Detroit

Minnesota

Cleveland

Kansas City

Chi White Sox

Spring training is always an interesting time for evaluating pitching, and especially relief pitching. Roles are blurry: some relievers get a shot at a starter role, the opposite is sometimes true with struggling starters moving to relief roles, and non-roster invitees are in the mix as well. Combine that with limited outings, low stress situations, and an overall small sample size and you can end up with some wild results on paper.

Despite all that, we're here to give you a quick breakdown of each division with regard to what their bullpens will likely look like and how they stack up.

Detroit Tigers

Of the five AL Central bullpens, Detroit's is the most clearly defined. Kenley Jansen enters the season as the established closer, bringing his extensive postseason pedigree and career saves total to anchor the late innings. Around him, manager A.J. Hinch has assembled a relief corps built on matchup flexibility, headlined by the decision to carry three left-handers.

The final roster spots came down to a three-way competition between Brant Hurter, Enmanuel De Jesus, and Brenan Hanifee. De Jesus made the strongest case with a flawless spring, delivering nine innings pitched without allowing a run, and 10 strikeouts to boot. Hurter provided Hinch with the third left-handed option he wanted, and Hanifee, despite logging 54 games and 60 innings in 2025, became the odd man out.

Will Vest, Kyle Finnegan, and Tyler Holton hold down secure middle-to-late-inning roles, while Drew Anderson adds a swing dimension. Connor Seabold, coming off a rough spring, rounds out the group.

Behind them, the rotation of Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Justin Verlander, and Casey Mize should keep the bullpen workload manageable.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins' bullpen underwent a complete transformation after last season's trade deadline. Five relievers, including closer Jhoan Duran and setup man Griffin Jax, were dealt. Manager Derek Shelton has been transparent that defined roles won't exist out of the gate: the team will mix and match early on and let performance sort out the hierarchy.

Probably the most intriguing arm is Anthony Banda, picked up from the Dodgers during the spring. He was dominant in the second half of 2025 and earned solid praise in preseason evaluations. He's the most likely candidate to eventually settle into a closing role, though he says he prefers keeping things simple regardless of the inning. Taylor Rogers, who returned to Minnesota in free agency, brings the most late-inning experience in the group.

Cole Sands and Justin Topa saw increased late-inning usage after the deadline trades last year. Sands led the team in relief innings and holds with an impressively low walk rate. Eric Orze was particularly effective against left-handed hitters, while Kody Funderburk was the obvious bright spot during spring training, finishing with a 1.04 ERA across 8.2 innings pitched. Zak Kent and Cody Laweryson round out the group as depth options.

Cleveland Guardians

True to form, the Guardians stayed quiet during the offseason and made only targeted bullpen additions. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti framed it as a philosophical choice with several top prospects nearing the majors.

The best story from camp is Peyton Pallette, a 24-year-old Rule 5 pick plucked from the White Sox organization. He was untouchable in spring training: six scoreless innings, 11 strikeouts, a 1.00 WHIP.

Colin Holderman is the riskier addition. His career ERA sits around 4.00 across multiple levels, and his spring started ugly, eight runs in 2.2 innings over his first two outings.

Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin are the lefty options, and both pitched very well this spring. Sabrowski sported a 1.17 ERA across 7.2 innings of work, while Herrin had a 1.86 ERA across 9.2 innings pitched.

Matt Festa, Hunter Gaddis, Shawn Armstrong, and Connor Brogdon will likely be the remaining righties available for relief work.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals' bullpen picture is one of the murkier ones in the division. Carlos Estevez should be the closer to start the season, but he looked less than sharp at times during the spring.

Lefties Matt Strahm and Daniel Lynch should give some much needed depth, and were two of the better performers during spring training for KC.

Lucas Erceg was really the lone bright spot over the last month, holding onto a 1.50 ERA across 6 innings pitched.

The rest of the right handed relievers are expected to be Nick Mears, John Schreiber, and Alex Lange.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are deep into a rebuild, and the bullpen reflects that reality. The most established arm heading into the season is Sean Newcomb, who signed a one-year deal hoping to start but was told he'd be more valuable in relief, where he'll likely serve in a multi-inning / long reliever role.

The other lefties in the pen are expected to be Chris Murphy and Tyler Gilbert.

Seranthony Dominguez is likely to get a shot at the closer role here, and his spring training numbers were exceptional though limited.

Grant Taylor, Jordan Leasure, Jordan Hicks, Jedixson Paez, and Mike Vasil will serve as the additional right handed relief platoon.

— InsidethePen Staff