AL Central Notes: Maybin, Buxton, Royals, Tribe

Here’s some news from around the AL Central…

• The Tigers will activate Cameron Maybin from the disabled list tomorrow, with Anthony Gose going to Triple-A in a corresponding move.  Maybin suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand during Spring Training and is hitting .194/.313/.367 over 115 minor league plate appearances.  Detroit acquired Maybin from the Braves last November, and the outfielder will join Steven Moya and Andrew Romine in the outfield mix alongside regulars Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez.  A Maybin/Gose center field platoon seemed to be the initial plan over the winter, though Gose’s struggles earned him a demotion.
• Byron Buxton is hitting well at Triple-A, though as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, the Twins aren’t likely to call Buxton back up to the Show until he shows consistent production and solid development as a hitter.  The star prospect has just a .195/.239/.316 slash line over 187 PA in the bigs and often looked over-matched at the plate against Major League arms.  Buxton only played 13 Triple-A games before his initial promotion in 2015, so he may simply need more seasoning (despite how much he’s crushing pitching at lower level) before he returns to the Twins.
• The Royals may not have the prospect capital to make a splash at the trade deadline, Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes.  The acquisitions of Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist before last summer’s deadline helped win the Royals a championship but those deals also left the club thin on expendable minor league talent.  For better or worse, Mellinger opines, K.C. will have to rely on its current roster to step up if the Royals hope to make another postseason appearance.
• Stephen Strasburg’s big extension with the Nationals is just the latest case of a star pitcher receiving a huge salary, and Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes that the Indians have positioned themselves well by amassing one of the game’s better rotations at a relative bargain price.  With a number of promising young arms in the farm system, the Tribe seem likely to use starting pitching as a trade chip to address other roster issues.