The Guardians cut their payroll to the bone and were supposed to not be very good, and instead won the division by 11 games.
The White Sox were supposed to be really good last year, but weren’t. Their big offseason move was to sign a pitcher who’s under investigation for domestic violence.
The Twins signed a big free agent before 2021 and hoped to contend, but didn’t. Then they brought back that guy after he opted out and two other teams passed.
The Tigers were some folks’ underrated pick to sneak into the playoffs in 2022.