PHOENIX-. Money can buy many houses, like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamotoa pair of Japanese superstars who cost $1 billion to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now begins the process of ascertaining whether that acquires a championship.
The Major League Baseball preseason will open for 28 of 30 teams in the coming days, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camps in Arizona and Florida. The Dodgers and the San Diego Padres have already gotten to work, as they open the regular season on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea.
“There’s more attention on the Dodgers,” manager Dave Roberts said. “My expectation is that our players and the organization will take a step forward. The responsibility for so much attention is the greatest expectations. That’s good for all of us.”
The New York Yankees were the other protagonists of the market by acquiring Juan Soto in free agency and signing free agent Marcus Stroman. The Philadelphia Phillies did not sit still and retained Aaron Nola for 172 million and seven years. The San Francisco Giants have bet 113 million on South Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. The Chicago Cubs gave left-hander Shota Imanaga $54 million to leave Japan.
But there is no doubt that the Dodgers were the winter champions — although there is no guarantee that this will allow the Dodgers to hoist the championship trophy after the next World Series. Just ask the New York Mets, whose payroll skyrocketed to $374 million last year to break an MLB record.
All of this was enough for a meager 75-87 record and fourth place in the National League East, in addition to a torrent of jokes at his expense.
Beyond the Dodgers, there are other teams with realistic ambitions. There are the reigning champion Texas Rangers, who beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the last World Series.
Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Atlanta Braves want redemption after their premature playoff exit last year, which followed a 104-win regular season.
And the Houston Astros, present in the World Series in four of the last seven editions and with two titles, is another team with a formidable lineup that has José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Álvarez and Kyle Tucker.
Other things to watch in spring training:
Tampa Bay Rays starter Blake Snell
AP/Sue Ogrocki
FREE AGENTS
We are in mid-February and several big-name free agents are available for teams that need to strengthen.
Such is the case of Blake Snell (two-time Cy Young winner), third baseman Matt Chapman, left-hander Jordan Montgomery, outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger, outfielder Jorge Soler and slugger JD Martínez.
Snell can lead a rotation, while Montgomery shined in 2023 with the Cardinals and Rangers. Chapman enjoys a reputation as one of the best gloves at third base.
Bellinger is a former MVP coming off a season in which he recaptured his best form with the Cubs. Cuban Soler was the American League’s home run leader in 2019 and hit 36 home runs for the Marlins last year and went to his first All-Star Game. Martínez stood out with the Dodgers by accumulating 33 home runs.
CHAMPIONS
Texas goes into the preseason with Corey Seager, the World Series MVP, recovering from surgery on Jan. 30 for a hernia in his left side.
The Rangers are confident that the shortstop will be ready for the start of the regular season and do not seem alarmed by the possibility of any complications.
They won their first title in the first season under manager Bruce Bochy, who won his fourth. They had chained six consecutive campaigns with a negative balance before that.
Brucetexasseriemundial.jpg
AP/Brynn Anderson
THE FIRST FEMALE UMPIRE?
Jen Pawol is about to become the first woman to work as an umpire in the majors.
The 47-year-old New York native was appointed to work full-time exhibition games this year, poised to be the first female umpire in a regular-season game.
NEW RULES
MLB’s new rules shook up the sport in 2023, and with good results.
The changes included a pitch clock, larger bases and restrictions on the number of times a pitcher can leave the mound. Some players complained, but it’s hard to argue that the mods weren’t successful.
Baseball drew 70 million fans to stadiums for the first time since 2017. Game lengths were reduced to their lowest level since 1984, and the changes are widely believed to have made the game more enjoyable.
Last year’s preseason served as a testing laboratory for these changes. This year, everyone will be used to the same ones.
Source: AP
