Baseball is officially back, and it hasn’t taken very long for the world to get back in the mood for the wonderful game. The Los Angeles Dodgers did not take long to establish their dominance atop the league and show what they are capable of after a very strategic offseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres went head-to-head for the first Spring Training game of the 2024-2025 season, which opened up at Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday, February 22nd. Los Angeles was first to step up to the plate, and they put San Diego starting pitcher Joe Musgrove through the ringer right off the bat! The Dodgers were the favorites to win this game (and the season, more on that later on), and they definitely lived up to the expectations as they defeated the Padres by a whopping 14-1. 

Although the game brought much excitement to some, it also brought disappointment to a large number of fans. Most Dodgers fans expected their new signing, Shohei Ohtani, to make his debut in Dodger Blue. However, the summer $700 million signing was kept on the bench and didn’t get to touch grass. 

We interviewed junior, Jiwan Park, to see his opinion on the season. Park said, “The Dodgers were the winner of the off-season. Now that Ohtani is in the Dodgers I can’t predict who’s gonna win the NL mvp as A LOT of good players are going to compete for it and maybe Corey Seager can win [the] AL mvp this season. Go Rangers!” His opinions do align with the odds as Shohei Ohtani is most likely to win National League MVP with Corey Seager as the projected American League MVP winner. The other odds for the World Series winner are the Dodgers, Rangers, Braves, and the Phillies. 

Some of the most notable summer signings and transfers are as follows:

Shohei Ohtani ($700M Signing) Angels to Dodgers

Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325M Signing) Orix Buffaloes to Dodgers

Jordan Hicks ($44M Signing) Giants promoted Hicks to starter

Jose Altuve ($125M Re-Sign) Altuve extends contract with Astros

Bobby Witt Jr ($377.7M Re-Sign) Royals extends contract with Witt with a massive deal.

The Kansas City Royals had a more than notable offseason, including a huge re-sign in Bobby Witt Jr. They had a less-than-decent last season losing over 100 games.

22-year-old Wyatt Langford makes his Rangers home debut against the Red Sox and most of the fans are raving about him because of his natural ability to recognize pitches. 

Dylan Cease, who signed with the Padres, will be grateful that he has a Platinum Glove in Fernando Tatis Jr. behind him in right field. 

As the offseason games come to a conclusion and the regular season starts on Thursday, March 26th, we can safely say that this season will be a thrilling one to watch!

Citations:

“Spring Training: Cactus & Grapefruit Leagues.” MLB.Com, www.mlb.com/spring-training. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.