Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) singles during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images It is that time of the year for all things grapefruit and cactus to distract from winter’s deep freeze while allowing a window into summer.
Spring has sprung for all 30 MLB teams, with 29 of those left to wonder how they can sling their way past the goliath under construction in Los Angeles.
Those World Series champion Dodgers are set to begin the season first when they take on the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo in mid-March. Do the mightiest of all really need a head start?
Here are three of the biggest stories to watch as the 2025 season works its way to Opening Day:
Will the rich get richer in L.A.?
The criticism of the Dodgers’ front office for trying to make their roster better than yours has fast-forwarded all the way to the annihilation of the game itself. Criticizing one team for doing what your team won’t, or can’t, surely is one way to go.
The Dodgers do seem intent on becoming the first repeat champion in 25 years. They have two decades of evidence on what doesn’t work, so they went out and made the game’s best roster even better.
A pair of Hernandezs were re-signed: Kiké and Teoscar. A Cy Young winner from two different countries was added: Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Infielder Hyesong Kim of South Korea already has impressed. The bullpen should be better with Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while veteran Michael Conforto will try to deliver his eighth season of double-digit home runs.
Yet none of it holds the intrigue of Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound after a second elbow surgery since arriving from Japan into the United States in 2018. After one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, Ohtani will add what he can from the mound. It will make astoundingly great theater.
Will the Dodgers win 120 games? Will they crumble under the weight of expectation? No matter the case, everybody will be watching.
What is the empire state of mind?
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager David Stearns hands a cap to New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) during Soto’s introductory press conference at Citi Field. Also pictured New York Mets owner Steve Cohen (left) and agent Scott Boras (right). Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images After a season when MLB was this close to another Subway World Series, expectations abound in a pair of New York boroughs for 2025.
After they helped the Dodgers’ cause in the deciding game of the World Series, the Yankees hope to give themselves another chance with additions like lefty Max Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams arrived in trades.
Can all of it cover for the departure of the dynamic Juan Soto? An even more well-rounded roster suggests it will, although depth might be the biggest indicator of how far the Yankees go.
Soto’s new home is with the Mets, and he has promised to be the same guy as always. A small step back in production still would make him one of the top players in the game. The road to Pete Alonso’s return was slow and awkward. The veteran slugger insists he is “happy” now. He said it over and over. Was he convincing us, or himself?
Are summer rentals good for the game?
source: Getty Images Baseball’s rentals used to be players arriving at the deadline with a few months to produce in the stretch drive before their contracts expired. Right-hander Jack Flaherty was a quintessential example, pitching in 15 games, counting playoffs, for the Dodgers, then going back to where he came from in Detroit this offseason.
In 2025, rentals now refer to entire teams taking up residence in temporary locales. The Oakland/Northern California/Sacramento A’s are going Airbnb style with a move to the California capital to play in a minor league park for a few seasons. The Tampa Bay Rays are being true to their name by moving into a spring training park for regular season games in … Tampa.
Two of baseball’s smaller draws now will be a tough ticket, although the ultimate goal is for both to be in brand new stadiums at some point down the road. So is it a good time for baseball to have reduced attendance for two teams?
Last season, 71.3 million fans saw games in person. That’s 17th all-time in MLB history and well below the record 79.5 million in 2007. World Series TV ratings were slightly up in 2024 with an average of 15 million viewers per game, but nowhere near the late 1970s and early 80s, when those numbers were in the area of 40 million.
Yet payroll is higher than it has ever been, and so is revenue sharing, with summer’s ultimate sporting draw healthy as ever, even if fewer tickets are available.
