Tigers land Fielder, leave rest in dust

The Detroit Tigers made one of the bigger moves this offseason in signing star first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine year deal. Fielder, a first round draft pick in 2002 by the Milwaukee Brewers, has hit at least 32 home runs in his past five seasons belting 50 home runs in 2007. Fielder was one of the free agent prizes this offseason and with the addition of Fielder, the Tigers made the ultimate decision to move last season's American League batting champion Miguel Cabrera from first base over to third base. The season ending injury sustained by catcher/DH Victor Martinez may have supported the acquisition of Prince Fielder to a now star studded roster. The current starting lineup for the Tigers consists of Delmon Young in left field, Austin Jackson in center field, Don Kelly/Brennan Boesch in right field, Miguel Cabrera at third base, Jhonny Peralta at shortstop, Ryan Raburn at second base, Prince Fielder at first base, Mike Avila at catcher and Clete Thomas at DH with Brandon Inge playing spot duty within the infield. The pitching staff for Motown begins with last season's MVP and AL Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander who posted a 24-5 record, an earned run average (ERA) of 2.40, a WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) of .92, and 250 strikeouts last season. Following Verlander on the staff is Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Jacob Turner/Andy Oliver.

The Chicago White Sox were almost nonexistent this offseason as they made little to no moves. With the loss of skipper Ozzie Guillen, and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle to the revamped Miami Marlins, the scenery will be vastly changed this season for the White Sox. The White Sox named Robin Ventura their manager in hope of a new beginning for the franchise following the Ozzie Guillen era in Chicago. Ventura, who made his MLB debut with the White Sox on Sept. 12, 1989, will be making his first appearance as an MLB skipper this season. The current starting lineup for the White Sox for 2012 starts with Alejandro De Aza in left field, Alex Rios in center field, Dayan Viciedo/Kosuke Fukudome in right field, Brent Morel at third base, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, Gordon Beckham at second base, Paul Konerko at first base, A.J. Pierzynski catching and Adam Dunn at DH. The starting rotation for the White Sox begins with John Danks followed by Gavin Floyd, Jake Peavy, Philip Humber and Chris Sale/Zach Stewart.

The Cleveland Indians, after finding out starting pitcher Fausto Carmona, aka Roberto Hernandez, has been using a false name/age while being part of Major League Baseball, found themselves busy this off season. Carmona (Hernandez) has been placed on the restricted list where he will not be allowed to play in an MLB game until his identity situation clears up. Moving forward from Carmona (Hernandez), the Indians traded relief pitcher Zach Putnam to the Colorado Rockies for starting Pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash considerations. Cleveland also signed a ton of utility infielders/outfielders and relief pitchers this offseason. First baseman journeyman Casey Kotchman was their big addition this offseason. Kotchman at first base rounds out a roster with Michael Brantley in left field, Grady Sizemore in center field, Shin-Soo Choo in right field, Lonnie Chisenhall/Jack Hannahan at third base, Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop, Jason Kipnis at second base, Carlos Santana catching and aging Travis Hafner at DH. The starting rotation for the Indians has potential to post good numbers with Ubaldo Jimenez leading the way, followed by Derek Lowe, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez/David Huff.

Coming off a dreadful and embarrassing 2011 campaign with a good enough for last place record of 63-99, the Minnesota Twins are in hope that their talented roster can turn it around this season. With the loss of outfielder Michael Cuddyer from free agency to the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins added outfielder Josh Willingham who hit 29 home runs and had 98 runs batted in (RBI) in 2011 for the Oakland Athletics. The Twins also signed starting pitcher Jason Marquis, and former flamethrower relief pitcher Joel Zumaya. The current starting roster for the Twins consists of Ben Revere in left field, Denard Span in center field, Josh Willingham in right field, Danny Valencia at third base, Jamey Carroll/Tsuyoshi Nishioka at shortstop, Luke Hughes/Alexi Casilla at second base, Justin Morneau at first base (barring injury), Joe Mauer catching (barring injury) and Rene Tosoni/Chris Parmelee at DH. The starting rotation for the Twins, which was extremely shaky last season, is fulfilled by Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing, Scott Baker and Jason Marquis/Anthony Swarzak.Hosts of the 2012 All Star game, the Kansas City Royals, were silent this offseason. Relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton and starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez were the Royals' prizes this 2012 offseason. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and relief pitcher Roman Colon, both signed to minor league deals, round out the additions for the Royals so far.

The Royals current lineup begins with Alex Gordon in left field, Lorenzo Cain in center field, Jeff Francoeur in right field, Mike Moustakas at third base, Alcides Escobar/Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop, Johnny Giavotella at second base, upcoming star Eric Hosmer at first base, Salvador Perez catching and Billy Butler as the designated hitter.

The starting rotation for Kansas City consists of offseason acquisition and former San Francisco Giant Jonathan Sanchez, Felipe Paulino, Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar and Aaron Crow/Danny Duffy.