Welcome to part five of my MLB Opening Day Roster Predictions! Below you’ll find parts 1-4 of this article, where I go over each National League team and the American League East.

Parts 1-4:

NL West

NL East

NL Central

Al East

Obviously, during winter meetings this year, there have been a flurry of free agent signings that happened earlier than usual, so this article is a little late. However, we have seen me hit some correct predictions so far, such as Trea Turner to the Phillies, Mitch Haniger to the Giants, and in part six you’ll see I correctly had Jacob deGrom landing in Texas with the Rangers. I have also hit the contracts pretty spot on, such as you’ll read here, I had Jose Quintana signing a two-year, $26 million deal with the White Sox, which is the exact contract he signed with the Mets. Obviously predicting where free agents ultimately sign is a crapshoot, but I hope this has given you dynasty baseball players (or early 2023 draft ones) insight, and SportsEthos continues to help you dominate your fantasy leagues.

 

Cleveland Guardians

The Lineup:

1. Steven Kwan (LF)
2. Amed Rosario (SS)
3. Jose Ramirez (3B)
4. Trey Mancini (DH)
5. Andres Gimenez (2B)
6. Josh Naylor (1B)
7. Oscar Gonzalez (RF)
8. Bo Naylor (C)
9. Myles Straw (CF)

 

Bench Bats:

Bryan Lavastida

Gabriel Arias

Will Brennan

Owen Miller

 

The Rotation:

1. Shane Bieber (R)
2. Tristan McKenzie (R)
3. Cal Quantrill (R)
4. Aaron Civale (R)
5. Zach Plesac (R)

 

The Bullpen:

CLOSER: Emmanuel Clase (R)

James Karinchak (R)

Trevor Stephan (R)

Sam Hentges (L)

Enyel de los Santos (R)

Konnor Pilkington (L)

Cody Morris (R)

Eli Morgan (R)

Nick Sandlin (R)

 

Summary:

This article was initially written after Josh Bell signed with the Guardians for two years and $33 million. Honestly, I’m pretty surprised the Guardians spent that kind of money. I had them going with a cheaper alternative at the same position, Trey Mancini, on a two-year, $22 million deal. Both players would hit fourth in Cleveland’s lineup and both primarily DH and play some first base. Other than that though, I anticipate it being a quiet offseason for the Guardians, as it usually is. I think if they can find a taker on Zac Plesac, they would. That way they can bump Cody Morris to a full-time rotation spot. But otherwise, Cleveland isn’t traditionally a big spender, and this offseason shouldn’t be too different despite them being competitive.

 

Minnesota Twins

The Lineup:

1. Luis Arraez (1B)
2. Byron Buxton (CF)
3. Jorge Polanco (2B)
4. Max Kepler (RF)
5. Jose Miranda (DH)
6. Alex Kiriloff (LF)
7. Royce Lewis (SS)
8. Gio Urshela (3B)
9. Mike Zunino (C)

 

Bench Bats:

Nick Gordon

Trevor Larnach

Elvis Andrus

Ryan Jeffers

 

The Rotation:

1. Joe Ryan (R)
2. Tayle Mahle (R)
3. Chris Bassitt (R)
4. Sonny Gray (R)
5. Kenta Maeda (R)

 

The Bullpen:

CLOSER: Jorge Lopez (R)

Jhoan Duran (R)

Emilio Pagan (R)

Griffin Jax (R)

Trevor Megill (R)

Bailey Ober (R)

Josh Winder (R)

Mike Minor (L)

 

Summary:

That’s a whole lot of righties on that pitching staff. Yes, I already know the Twins traded away Gio Urshela, but this exercise was done prior to that trade. Either way, the Twins future at shortstop is still Royce Lewis, who excelled in his brief stint in the majors before tearing his ACL. For that reason, I find it weird that the Twins are so adamant on bringing Carlos Correa back. I suppose all the guys around Correa have enough versatility to play all around the diamond, especially if the Twins trade Luis Arraez for a frontline starter, which was reported as a possibility. Either way, Lewis is ready for the big leagues once his rehab from the torn ACL is over. Because of that injury, I had the Twins signing Elvis Andrus, who had a resurgent second half of the season as Tim Anderson’s temporary replacement for the White Sox. He would be a great stop-gap for this Minnesota team and I had him signing a one-year, $5 million deal. The Twins also need a catcher to complement Ryan Jeffers. Therefore, I brought in Mike Zunino. Zunino brings a lot of what Gary Sanchez brought last year, a low OBP, major power for the catcher position, and a ton of strikeouts. I had Zunino taking a $4 million deal.

 

The big fish I had the Twins signing was Chris Bassitt, who would assuredly shore up their rotation. I had Bassitt signing a three-year, $54 million deal with Minnesota, but Bassitt ended up signing a three-year, $63 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the Twins are an obvious team that’s in the market for a difference-making starting pitcher. Finally, as stated earlier, every pitcher on this staff was a righty, so let’s give the Twins a middle/long reliever that’s a lefty with journeyman Mike Minor. I had Minor signing a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Twins.

 

Chicago White Sox

The Lineup:

1. Tim Anderson (SS)
2. Yoan Moncada (3B)
3. Luis Robert (RF)
4. Eloy Jimenez (DH)
5. Andrew Vaughn (1B)
6. Joey Gallo (LF)
7. Yasmani Grandal (C)
8. Adam Frazier (2B)
9. Adam Duvall (CF)

 

Bench Bats:

Leury Garcia

Gavin Sheets

Tyler Naquin

Robinson Chirinos

 

The Rotation:

1. Dylan Cease (R)
2. Lance Lynn (R)
3. Lucas Giolito (R)
4. Michael Kopech (R)
5. Jose Quintana (L)

 

The Bullpen:

CLOSER: Liam Hendriks (R)

Kendall Graveman (R)

Joe Kelly (R)

Jake Diekman (L)

Reynaldo Lopez (R)

Aaron Bummer (L)

Ian Kennedy (R)

Jose Ruiz (R)

 

Summary:

While I had the White Sox filling the void in their rotation with Jose Quintana, they instead went out and got Mike Clevinger. As I said at the beginning of this article, I hit Quintana’s contract spot on with a two-year, $26 million deal. Meanwhile, Clevinger got $12 million guaranteed from the White Sox, so I was in the right ballpark of what the White Sox were willing to spend to fill out their rotation. Rotation aside, this lineup needs some work. There has been a ton of speculation about Cuban phenom, Oscar Colas, cracking the opening day roster. If that’s the case, Luis Robert is likely bound for center field, unless the White Sox sign a center fielder. For these reasons, I gave them Adam Duvall on a two-year, $12 million deal. This White Sox lineup was also devoid of power, so I gave them former slugger, Joey Gallo. I gave Gallo a two-year, $18 million deal with a team option in year two. This allows the White Sox to take a one-year risk on Gallo and if he can’t rehabilitate his value, then they can cut him loose after the year.

 

Finally, to round out the lineup, I gave the White Sox utility man Adam Frazier to be their everyday second baseman. He signs a two-year, $14 million deal and gives the White Sox stability at a position they’ve struggled with for years. There’s also been speculation that Chicago has been fielding trade calls on closer Liam Hendriks. It’s possible that’s because they have a formidable potential closer in Kendall Graveman, but I added someone with closing experience with 37-year-old Ian Kennedy. Kennedy signs a one-year, $2.2 million deal to shore up one of baseball’s better bullpens. For the bench, I added centerfielder Tyler Naquin and backup catcher, Robinson Chirinos. Coming off a down year, the White Sox solidify their depth overall with these additions.

 

Kansas City Royals

The Lineup:

1. Jurickson Profar (LF)
2. Bobby Witt Jr. (3B)
3. MJ Melendez (C)
4. Vinnie Pasquantino (1B)
5. Salvador Perez (DH)
6. Adalberto Mondesi (SS)
7. Edward Olivares (RF)
8. Michael A. Taylor (CF)
9. Nicky Lopez (2B)

 

Bench Bats:

Nick Pratto

Michael Massey

Ryan O’Hearn

Hunter Dozier

 

The Rotation:

1. Brady Singer (R)
2. Sean Manaea (L)
3. Zack Greinke (R)
4. Daniel Lynch (L)
5. Brad Keller (R)

 

The Bullpen:

CLOSER: Chad Green (R)

Scott Barlow (R)

Amir Garrett (L)

Josh Staumont (R)

Carlos Hernandez (R)

Dylan Coleman (R)

Kris Bubic (L)

Richard Lovelady (L)

 

Summary:

I don’t expect the Royals to be big spenders, but I did have them making a few value signings. First I had them signing Jurickson Profar to a two-year, $19 million deal to be their primary left fielder, but he can be their utilityman as well. There’s a possibility that prospect Drew Waters can make the opening day roster, so Profar isn’t a necessity. Edward Olivares also isn’t a lock to make the Opening Day roster either. For the rotation, I had Sean Manaea signing a four-year, $52 million deal with the team that drafted him. Manaea ended up in San Francisco, which was my second favorite landing spot for him, except he signed a two-year deal and can rehabilitate his value in a great development system. There’s also been a ton of speculation that Zack Greinke will re-sign with Kansas City. I had him re-signing with KC on a one-year, $12.5 million deal. Finally, I have Kansas City signing Chad Green to a two-year, $14 million deal with the reassurance that he’ll be their closer to start the year and potentially be in a committee with incumbent, Scott Barlow.

 

Detroit Tigers

The Lineup:

1. Austin Meadows (RF)
2. Javier Baez (SS)
3. Riley Greene (CF)
4. Jonathan Schoop (2B)
5. Wil Myers (LF)
6. Spencer Torkelson (1B)
7. Miguel Cabrera (DH)
8. Tucker Barnhart (C)
9. Willi Castro (3B)

 

Bench Bats:

Eric Haase

Akil Baddoo

Harold Castro

Kerry Carpenter

 

The Rotation:

1. Tarik Skubal (L)
2. Eduardo Rodriguez (L)
3. Jameson Taillon (R)
4. Matt Manning (R)
5. Spencer Turnbull (R)

 

The Bullpen:

CLOSER: Gregory Soto (L)

Jose Cisnero (R)

Joe Jimenez (R)

Beau Brieske (R)

Vince Velasquez (R)

Miguel Diaz (R)

Tyler Alexander (L)

Alex Lange (R)

 

Summary:

When putting this together, I recognize that Tarik Skubal may miss the entire 2023 season, but I included him on this roster projection. Detroit’s other top pitching prospect, Casey Mize, also underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2023 season, so he’s not on this roster projection. Back from Tommy John surgery, though, is Spencer Turnbull, and he’ll slot nicely into Detroit’s rotation. The one signing I had for Detroit was Jameson Taillon on a three-year, $42 million deal. In reality, Taillon signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Cubs, and I’ve been a few million short on the AAV of most of my starters in my projections. That says more about the starting pitcher market than it does about my evaluations of players, in my opinion. An innings-eater is what Detroit’s rotation needs, as Skubal, Manning, and Mize (when he’s back) provide upside while Eduardo Rodriguez was initially signed to be frontline starter for this pitching staff. Taillon would be that innings eater. Further, Detroit’s bullpen looks atrocious after parting with Joe Jimenez. Jimenez will be a setup man for Atlanta in some capacity.

 

What Detroit desperately needs is a good pitch framer at the catcher position for their young pitching core, and that’s why I opted to re-sign Tucker Barnhart for a two-year, $12 million deal. Finally, to give Detroit some pop in their lineup, I had them sign outfielder/first baseman Wil Myers, previously of the Padres. Myers can be their everyday left fielder or take reps at first base if Spencer Torkelson continues to struggle at the major league level. It also wouldn’t shock me if Detroit ends up trading Akil Badoo. Many teams can use a legitimate center fielder, and with Detroit’s development and promotion of Riley Greene, Badoo’s expendable. Finally, I signed Vince Velasquez (who has since signed with the Pirates) as a bullpen arm who can swing in the rotation and make some starts for Detroit, especially with Skubal set to miss time to start the year.

 

I know parts five and six of this article are coming out after the majority of real-life MLB signings, but I hope this article was able to give the reader’s insight on what kind of moves to expect from their favorite teams and how that impacts their fantasy baseball teams. Stay tuned for the last segment of this article, part six, later in the week!