If Major League Baseball warms to the idea of relegation, it may want to consider an entire division instead of just a single team.
Yes, it’s getting that bad in the American League Central.
None of its five teams has a winning record and, perhaps most alarmingly, three of them occupy the bottom five positions in USA TODAY Sports’ MLB power rankings − a tricky feat given that the historically terrible Oakland Athletics have signed a non-binding agreement for the No. 30 spots.
All hail the Minnesota Twins, who at 33-33 still lead the division − and should be embarrassed if they don’t run away with it. That’s because one of their expected roadblocks − the Chicago White Sox − continues flat-lining. They gave up five runs in the ninth inning Saturday and three more on Sunday to turn victories over the Miami Marlins into losses − and fell to 29-38.
But they actually move up in the rankings because the Detroit Tigers have lost nine consecutive games to fall to 26-37 − and 26th in our rankings. It will probably get worse − all five clubs play out-of-division series to begin the week. And Central teams are 88-140 when playing teams out of division.
A look at this week’s rankings:
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Gunnar Henderson rips a 462-foot shot to Eutaw Street, says he’s still waiting on his “grown man strength.”
10. Miami Marlins (+3)
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Rafael Devers hits 11th career homer at Yankee Stadium, passing Babe Ruth for most by a Red Sox player before age 27.
15. Minnesota Twins (-3)
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Trea Turner, back in the No. 3 hole, has boosted his batting average 16 points in six games.
18. New York Mets (-2)
25. Chicago White Sox (+2)
26. Detroit Tigers (-4)
30. Oakland Athletics (-)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB power rankings: AL Central is historically bad