No one could have predicted a Texas Rangers versus Arizona Diamondbacks World Series matchup at the start of the 2023 regular season. The Rangers won their first championship title in their 63-year existence. In the offseason, one of the first shockwaves was the Cubs’ bold move to fire David Ross and hire Craig Counsel from their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers. It appears that one big market team flexed its muscles and won the offseason by spending over a billion dollars. Another storyline was the protractive negotiations of top-tier players who signed with a team in spring training, and even some remain free agents. The season technically began with a two-game series in South Korea between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in mid-March. However, America’s pastime truly begins on Thursday stateside when the freshly cut spring grass welcomes the best players on the diamond. In this article, we will discuss the five biggest storylines entering the new season.
1. The Dodgers Pressure- the Dodgers won 100 games last season and their 10th NL West title in 11 years, and ownership was unsatisfied with getting swept in the Division Series by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The franchise reshaped its roster by signing the biggest free agent on the market to a 10-year 700 million. Ohtani took the unusual move of deferring his earnings into the future which allowed the Dodgers to splurge. The team shocked the baseball world by acquiring Japanese Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, 325 million dollar contract. It is the richest contract for a pitcher in baseball history without the player having any MLB experience. The team expanded their horizon by trading for Tyler Glasnow and extending his deal with a five-year, $135 million contract. Also, they managed to sign Teoscar Hernandez and Kiké Hernández to one-year deals as valuable cogs in the wheel. It feels like the Dodgers tried to move from a super team to a super juggernaut. However, the offseason ended with the scandal surrounding Ohtani’s alleged involvement in paying off his agent’s gambling debt. Then, Yamamoto got rocked in his first outing in South Korea by throwing just 43 pitches, allowing five runs, four hits, one walk, and one hit-by-pitch. Yamamoto made history as the first Dodgers starter since 1901 to allow five runs in his Major League debut in an outing that lasted one or fewer innings. What will happen with the Ohtani scandal, or will Yamamoto make the adjustment and find form? Stay tuned. However, the Dodgers are under the most pressure of any team to win the World Series.
2. Braves are lurking to win another ring- In 2021, the Braves ended a drought by winning their first World Series ring since 1995 by beating the Houston Astros. In 2024, they are favorites to win the NL East and a deep playoff run to the World Series. The team reinforced their pitching by signing reliever Reynaldo Lopez and trading for starter Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox. Sale struggled to remain healthy with the Red Sox, but the Braves will hope that the southpaw’s injury woes will not rear this season and his dominance on the mound returns. The team already has an ace in Spencer Strider, who enjoyed a 20-5 record in 2023 and one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award. The lineup is stacked with the talented Ronald Acuna Jr, who batted .337, 41 home runs, and 106 RBIs. He is one of the most exciting players in the game because he has the power and the speed with 73 stolen bases last season. Acuna Jr is the favorite to win back-to-back NL MVP since Albert Pujols in 2009. The trio of Strider, Max Fried, and Sale with a stacked lineup makes the Braves a potent threat to the Dodgers.
3. The battle in Texas will take centerstage- the Texas Rangers shocked the baseball world last season, but it will be a bigger shock if they are to repeat as champions. It will be a tough ask because the last team to achieve the feat were the New York Yankees between 1998-2000. There is an argument that the offense will be even more explosive than last season with rookies Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford joining Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Adolis Garcia. The problem for the current champions is the rotation which is riddled with injuries and will be missing Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Tyler Mahle. The big question is whether the starters can hold the fort until the reinforcement comes or will they be too far behind. Only time will tell if the Rangers’ dreams can become a reality. The Rangers will face a strong challenge to their throne from their in-state rivals, the Houston Astros. The Astros got better by getting Josh Hader as their closer. It means that teams will have struggle to come from behind against them with Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu at the back end of their bullpen. The lineup is formidable as ever, with Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez as anchors. However, the slight concern would be with injuries to Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy. The Astros still have the slight edge over the Rangers, but as they proved last season, the men in blue know what it takes to deliver on the big stage.
4. Orioles are now the Beast in the East-it feels like we entered every MLB season for the past two decades thinking of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays as the team primed to win the AL East. However, the Baltimore Orioles won the AL East last season, and it was no fluke because the division was the toughest in baseball. Four of the top five teams had winning records, and the Red Sox in last place finished only six games under .500. The Orioles are a young team on the rise, and they bolstered their pitching by adding Corbin Burnes, a former Cy Young Award winner. It will be interesting to see how long the team waits before calling up their number 1 prospect, Jackson Holliday. There will be concerns over the UCL sprain to Kyle Bradish will have enough talent to move to get another top-tier starter. The player to watch for in the Birds lineup is Gunnar Henderson, who hit .255, 28 home runs,143 hits, and 82 RBIs last season. At age 22, he will likely take another step, and he could hit .280, 36 home runs, and 110 RBIs to be a surprise MVP candidate.
World Series Prediction: Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles in 7 games. Play Ball!