For the White Sox and Tigers, the last month or so of baseball's summer trading season was fairly busy and, potentially, fairly successful. Neither Minnesota nor Kansas City did much selling, while Cleveland stood pat. A complete team-by-team recap of how the AL Central landscape changed -- or remained the same -- leading up to Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline follows:
Chicago White Sox
Added: 3B Kevin Youkilis, RP Brett Myers, SP Francisco Liriano
Subtracted: INFOF Brent Lillibridge, INF Eduardo Escobar, SP Zach Stewart, SP Matt Heidenreich, SP Blair Walters, SP Pedro Hernandez
The verdict: Kenny Williams and the White Sox front office came away as one of baseball's biggest winners at the deadline, as the Sox were able to address three needs by giving up a pair of utility players and four pitchers who, while at various stages of their careers, were expendable. Most analysts don't see the White Sox farm system as having a ton of talent, but Williams added three good players without subtracting from whatever talent is in the minors. That's impressive.
Detroit Tigers
Added: 2B Omar Infante, SP Anibal Sanchez, No. 37 pick in 2013 draft
Subracted: SP Jacob Turner, C Rob Brantly, SP Brian Flynn, No. 73 pick in 2013 draft
The verdict: Detroit may regret trading the 21-year-old Turner, who entered the year as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. But Sanchez is an upgrade for their rotation in the short-term, and with the fast-improving Doug Fister the Tigers' top three starters (including Justin Verlander) look very solid. Infante is another upgrade, as Detroit got little offensive production out of their second baseman prior to the deal. He also adds a plus glove to an infield that features plenty of questionable defenders.
MLB
Cleveland Indians
Added: INFOF Brent Lillibridge, 1BOF Lars Anderson
Subtracted: RP Jose De La Torre, SP Steven Wright
Nothing much to see here. Lillibridge is hitting .170.213.182, while Anderson -- once a top prospect in the Red Sox system -- had a .774 OPS in his third go-around with Triple-A Pawtucket. Cleveland was rumored to be listening to offers on outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, but hung on to him as the deadline passed Tuesday afternoon. Entering Tuesday, the Indians were 50-52 and five games out of first place. Nobody really knows if they're contenders or not, and by standing pat, they kept with that theme.
Kansas City Royals
Added: SP Jeremy Guthrie, RP Donnie Joseph, SP J.C. Sulbaran
Subtracted: SP Jonathan Sanchez, RP Jonathan Broxton
The verdict: Joseph and Sulbaran are a decent enough return for the Royals, who needed a few more arms in their minor-league system. Joseph is the prize here, as the lefty has struck out 68 with 17 walks in 52 13 relief innings between Cincinnati's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. The Guthrie-for-Sanchez swap was a junk-for-junk deal. Kansas City also didn't deal away Jeff Francouer, meaning top prospect Wil Myers -- who just belted his 32nd homer of the season -- is still blocked in the majors.
Minnesota Twins
Added: INF Eduardo Escobar, SP Pedro Hernandez,
Subtracted: SP Francisco Liriano
The verdict: The Twins hung on to all their valuable pieces -- Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Justin Morneau, Glen Perkins -- except Liriano, the return for whom was fairly low. The Reds were reportedly interested in Span, and the Dodgers apparently made a late run at Perkins, but ultimately the Twins barely did anything. And while that may seem odd for a team in last place, Minnesota's played good baseball since mid-May -- not good enough to jump back into the playoff race, but maybe good enough to offer hope for 2013.