Chicago White Sox: Ranking nine 2020 opponents

6th: Cleveland Indians

For half a decade, the Cleveland Indians were the team to beat in the American League Central. They even made it to the World Series and lost to the other Chicago team in seven games. They are not starting to take a step back as an organization and there could be some major change to this team over the course of the 2020 season. They could be looking to shed some salary, according to multiple sources across the MLB.

In 2019, they made things interesting at the top of the AL Central for a while but eventually fell way off. They ended up having a better record than the White Sox by 20.5 games but it didn’t really feel like it. They started to shed some salary even last season and there have been rumors about them trading their best player, Francisco Lindor, for a while now.

It seems like the Indians are going to try and be competitive here in 2020 but this might be their last kick at the can. If they struggle early on, there might be some serious change there. No matter what, the White Sox need to fear them as they are the proven ballclub right now and the White Sox are not. This could be the last year that the Indians have a respectable record or it could be the first year that they start to retool. Right now, every team in the NL Central appears more threatening besides the Pirates.