Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Yankees open the 2025 season against the Milwaukee Brewers at home for a three-game series starting on Thursday...

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Preview

Opening Day

Opening Day is always a fun time. The Yankee Stadium faithful will enjoy a day game while seeing their new Yankees for the first time. Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and others will get a taste of what it will be like to don the pinstripes and play at Yankee Stadium. Hopefully, they give the crowd plenty to cheer about this weekend.

Old friends in new places

One of the biggest moves the Yankees made this offseason was trading LHP Nestor Cortes for reliever Devin Williams. Cortes was a big part of the Yankees rotation the last few seasons and he's scheduled to start the second game of the series on Saturday. The Bronx crowd should give Cortes a nice ovation for his time in pinstripes, but once the first pitch is thrown all courtesies will be gone.

The same goes for the Brewers, who helped develop Williams. The All-Star reliever will likely be used during this series, and how he performs should show that allowing that Pete Alonso homer in the Wild Card round is behind him.

New friends in new places

The offense will look a lot different without Juan Soto manning left field. The Yankees pivoted by trading for Bellinger and signing Goldschmidt and other players to prevent more runs from being scored on them. But how about their offense?

The offense will be less potent but they can show they can still get the job done with a big offensive performance. Bellinger gets acquainted with the short porch in right, while Austin Wells and Ben Rice get re-acquainted. Goldschmidt spraying base hits all over the field would give the fans a reason to forget all about Soto.

Carlos Rodon setting the tone

The Opening Day start was probably saved for Gerrit Cole, but elbow surgery will sideline the ace this season. Enter Carlos Rodon.

The southpaw has had an up-and-down tenure with the Yanks so far, and while he's technically the team's third-best arm, he will take the mound on Thursday thanks to the rotation's schedule. But this could be a great spot for Rodon, who is familiar with the stadium and has pitched on Opening Day before.

This could also be the time to set the tone for the rotation this weekend. Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt are all unavailable due to injury, but Rodon could start the 2025 season on the right foot for newcomer Max Fried and the other arms.

Enter Jasson Dominguez

This isn't Dominguez's first game at Yankee Stadium, but this time feels different. It's Dominguez's time and the Yankees are happy to give their prospect the runway to navigate his way to becoming an everyday major league player.

We shouldn't expect too much, but looking comfortable at the plate and -- more importantly -- competent in left field will give the fans and team hope that they have hit on this youngster.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Austin Wells

The second-year catcher was scalding this spring (five home runs) and will likely hit leadoff. I can see that hot spring spilling over into the regular season especially now that Wells is comfortable playing defense and managing a pitching staff that he can now focus on the offensive end, where his potential is higher.

Which Yankees pitcher will have the best start?

Max Fried

While he hasn't been confirmed for a start this weekend, if Fried does go he'll show why New York paid the largest contract to a left-hander in MLB history.

In five career starts against the Brewers, Fried has a 2.67 ERA.

Which Brewers player will be a thorn in Yankees' side?

Christian Yelich

The former NL MVP doesn't have much experience at Yankee Stadium (three games) but has always been a potent offensive threat -- and was raking this spring (.353/.389/1.124), launching three home runs. That production and that can carry over into March/April, when the 33-year-old is historically good.

Armed with new approach, Webb ready to lead Giants again in 2025 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CINCINNATI — The pitch started on the inside half of the plate and zeroed in on Shohei Ohtani’s back knee. As he took it for a ball, Ohtani straightened up as if the pitch was going to hit him, and then he stepped out of the box to recalibrate for a few seconds. Patrick Bailey tipped his glove at Logan Webb, who took a glance up at the scoreboard.

The score bug registered it as a four-seamer, and why wouldn’t it. Webb loves his straight fastball even if his pitching coaches tell him not to throw it, and he smiles when mentioning it in postgame interviews. But the numbers were off, not just with that pitch, but with others in that game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The velocity was lower and the spin rates were higher, and Statcast later caught on. Webb had added a cutter to his repertoire, and this spring there was no keeping it a secret. 

What started out as an experiment to try and give a different look to Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy has turned into an intriguing part of Webb’s pitch mix. The sinker and changeup always will be his bread and butter, but this spring he showed more variety. A few weeks ago, in one of his few Cactus League starts with available Statcast data, Webb threw 13 cutters, including several to right-handed hitters. Later in camp, after a changeup-heavy start, he joked that he had to focus on not falling in love with the cutter.

“I feel good throwing it,” he said. “I think it’s getting to the point where I can be confident in it and kind of know I can throw it to any guy. That’s the big thing, knowing you can throw it to any hitter at any time. I think it’s been good so far … now it’s just part of the scouting (report), right? It’s every hitter, it’s righties and lefties. If you offer the chance to throw it, I’ll throw it. I’m excited to keep throwing it and keep messing around with it.”

The pitch moves in on lefties and away from righties, giving a much different look from his sinker and changeup, and the hope is that it keeps left-handers from diving out over the plate. Far too often last season, it seemed hitters could narrow their focus against Webb, but it wasn’t just because his two main pitches move the same way. They also got far too close in the MPH column at times. 

Webb’s changeup can get up to the 89-90 range, while his sinker can be 91-92. This spring, there was an emphasis on widening the gap. Webb was pleased to regularly see one of the game’s best off-speed pitches registering at 85 mph. 

“I think I’ve thrown a couple of 83s,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever really done that.”

It’ll be a different look, and Webb is hopeful that makes a difference. He was sixth in Cy Young voting in 2024 and led the National League in innings for a second straight year, but he said he wasn’t very happy with his season overall. His FIP dropped year over year, but his ERA and WHIP were higher in 2024 than in 2023, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was just about cut in half. 

The most notable dip was with his changeup, with hitters posting a .275 average and .411 slugging percentage against the pitch after going .225 and .309 in 2023. Webb responded by cutting his usage, but that’s not ideal. A lot of last season wasn’t quite what he wanted. 

“I think a lot of it had to do with the team didn’t win, and I was frustrated about that,” he said. “But myself, I look back at some games that I let get away and we could have won and it could be the margin of error. Maybe if we won those games we would have had a better chance of getting back into the playoffs. It’s knowing that if it’s a tie game or if you’re winning, you keep it that way. I think the best guys do that, and I think I can do better at that.”

The most visible changes this spring came when Webb was on the mound, but the time behind the scenes was just as important. Now in year seven, he wants to be better at preparing for starts. It wasn’t an issue before, but the hope is that some additional tweaks lead to more consistency.

Asked how he can get better off the field, Webb smiled. He pointed to the end of his row of lockers, where Justin Verlander’s jersey was hanging. 

“That guy,” he said. 

It’s a high bar, but one Webb is hopeful he can reach. He has become known as one of the game’s best workhorses, but there’s more in the tank for the 28-year-old. 

“I definitely think there are some goals. I would like to win the Cy Young, and 200 strikeouts is a thing that I haven’t done yet. That would be cool,” he said. “I think it’s just about going out there and competing and knowing that I had to get better in my scouting, I had to get better before the game and in between my starts. That’s what’s fun about playing. The more you play, the more you learn. That’s been the biggest thing for me.”

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Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Astros open the regular season with a three-game series in Houston beginning on Thursday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY.

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Preview

How will Clay Holmes' stuff translate?

It's really hard to take what you see in spring training at face value. At the same time, it's impossible to ignore how dominant Holmes looked this spring as he transitioned from reliever to starter.

In 19.0 innings pitched, Holmes posted a 0.93 ERA. And he often made hitters look foolish, including in his final spring start this past Friday when he fanned eight batters over 5.1 shoutout frames.

But the ultimate test for Holmes will come when he takes the ball for the Mets on Opening Day against an Astros lineup that is a bit weaker than it was in 2024 but still strong.

Needing an expanded arsenal to be able to go through opposing lineups twice or three times per game, Holmes added a "kick changeup" that he deployed with lots of success during Grapefruit League play.

The changeup and a four-seamer Holmes is looking to refine will add two more pitches to a repertoire that included his daunting sinking fastball, a sweeper, and a slider last season.

With Sean Manaea out until the end of April and Frankie Montas likely out until June, Holmes excelling in his new role would go a long way for the Mets in the early going.

First real look at the Mets' offense with Juan Soto

We got a bit of a sneak peek at the Mets' lineup during the latter part of spring training, but that was with players basically going through the motions as they worked out the kinks ahead of the regular season.

Now, it starts for real.

And right in the middle of things will be Soto, who will be sandwiched between Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in a batting order that will feature Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo right behind the top three.

While Francisco Alvarez will likely be out until the end of April or a bit longer, New York should have plenty of punch to get by until he returns, with Jesse Winker and Starling Marte expected to split designated hitter duties and Jose Siri offering some serious pop in center field.

A wild card in the offense early on could be Brett Baty, who is coming off a torrid spring at the plate and is in line to get the bulk of the action at second base while Jeff McNeil is out.

How will Edwin Diaz fare?

There has been lots of consternation lately about Diaz, specifically when it comes to his velocity. And I'm not sure why.

For most of spring training, Diaz sat around 95-96 mph with his fastball and touched 97 mph. That led to a number of people worrying about his velo, even though Diaz's average fastball last season was 97.5 mph -- which put him in the 94th percentile in baseball.

Diaz not dialing it all the way up this spring really shouldn't be surprising since he has nothing to prove. That wasn't the case last spring, when he was returning after missing the entire 2023 season due to a knee injury and had to prove to himself that he was still ... himself.

It should also be pointed out that Diaz has seemingly intentionally added and subtracted fastball velocity throughout his career (it averaged 97.3 mph in 2018, 99.1 mph in 2022, and 97.5 mph in 2024).

Additionally, Diaz was at his high-octane best during the 2024 MLB postseason, including rearing back for 101 mph to strike out Kyle Schwarber while clinching the NLDS at Citi Field.

The new-look Astros

The Astros went through some big changes during the offseason.

First, they traded superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs after determining that they wouldn't be able to sign Tucker when he hits free agency after this season.

Then, after attempting to re-sign him, they lost cornerstone third baseman Alex Bregman to the Red Sox in free agency.

While retooling its offense this winter, Houston signed first baseman Christian Walker and added infielder Isaac Paredes (who was acquired in the Tucker trade).

The Astros are also moving second baseman Jose Altuve to left field -- a wild late-career change for the future Hall-of-Famer.

Houston still has elite closer Josh Hader and a very good top of the starting rotation that is led by Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, but their offense and defense are going to look radically different this season.

Beware of Yordan Alvarez

The Astros should still have a pretty potent lineup -- especially if promising infielder Jeremy Peña can harness his potential -- but Tucker and Bregman being gone should make it easier for opposing teams to pitch around all-world slugger Yordan Alvarez.

Alvarez has been a one-man wrecking crew over the last three seasons, slashing .303/.401/.587 with 103 home runs and 280 RBI over 396 games.

Last season saw Alvarez post an OPS+ of 172 in a career-high 552 at-bats.

The damage Alvarez can do is serious, and the Mets should do their best to not let him beat them.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Pete Alonso

The Crawford Boxes in left field should be an inviting target for Alonso, who hits most of his home runs that way.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Clay Holmes

Holmes' upside as a starter is real, and he'll start showing it on Opening Day.

Which Astros player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Isaac Paredes

Paredes has pop and makes a lot of contact -- a good mix for his new home ballpark.

Red Sox predictions roundup: Experts are optimistic on Boston's season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

For the first time in a while, there is genuine hype and optimism surrounding the Boston Red Sox entering a new season.

This team made several good offseason additions, highlighted by trading for starting pitcher Garrett Crochet and the free agent signing of third baseman Alex Bregman. A couple highly rated prospects — Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony — are also expected to make an impact this season.

The Red Sox should score a lot of runs. Boston’s offense was good last year (second-most runs scored in the AL) and it added Bregman. What will make or break the Red Sox is pitching. Will Crochet be a true ace? Will the bullpen hold up? The roster looks good on paper, but it’s a long season.

What are the expectations for the Red Sox ahead of Thursday’s Opening Day game against the Rangers in Texas?

Here’s a roundup of expert predictions for the 2025 season.

NBC Sports Boston: Red Sox make playoffs

In our 2025 predictions story, Justin Leger, Darren Hartwell and Nick Goss made their picks for how the Red Sox season would end.

• Leger: Red Sox win AL East, lose in ALCS
• Hartwell: Red Sox earn wild card spot, lose in ALWC
• Goss: Red Sox earn wild card spot, lose in ALDS

ESPN: Red Sox lose in World Series

A 28-person panel of ESPN’s MLB writers, analysts and editors voted on each division winner and individual award, and 13 of them picked the Red Sox to win the AL East division title. Furthermore, ESPN’s experts also picked the Red Sox to win the American League pennant and lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series.

Here is Buster Olney’s take on why the Red Sox are ESPN’s pick to win the AL:

“Boston had three major needs going into the last offseason: a couple of frontline pitchers and an established right-handed hitter. The Red Sox went on to land Garrett Crochet, the most coveted lefty in the trade market; signed Walker Buehler, who threw the last pitch of last year’s World Series; and signed Alex Bregman, a two-time All-Star with a career adjusted OPS+ of 132. Their rotation is better, their defense is better and their lineup should be more balanced.

“At the same time, they’re graduating three high-end prospects into the big leagues in Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony. This could be a dynamic team cast against a mediocre AL landscape, making the Red Sox stand out.”

MLB.com: Red Sox lose in World Series

A panel of 59 MLB.com voters picked each division, wild card team, pennant winner and a World Series champion. The Red Sox received the most votes for AL East champ and AL champ, but similar to ESPN, this group predicted Boston would lose to the Dodgers in the World Series.

Keith Law, The Athletic: Red Sox lose in World Series

Law predicts the Red Sox will win the AL East with a 91-71 record — four games ahead of the second-place Baltimore Orioles. He also projects the Red Sox to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, beat the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS and lose to the Atlanta Braves in the World Series.

CBS Sports: Red Sox win AL East

Four of the five CBS Sports staff members who gave predictions — Mike Axisa, Kate Feldman, Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder — picked the Red Sox to win the AL East.

FanGraphs: AL wild card

FanGraphs’ projections have the Red Sox finishing second in the AL East at 85-77 — one game behind the New York Yankees and good enough for the first wild card spot.

World Series champion Dodgers to visit White House next month originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

In World Series tradition, the Los Angeles Dodgers have accepted their invitation to visit President Donald Trump and White House next month on April 7.

In a social media post Tuesday the team wrote it “look[s] forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.”

Select players and personnel will visit Capitol Hill the following day on April 8.

Franchise shortstop Mookie Betts told reporters Tuesday he was undecided if he would visit the White House with the team and needed to talk it over with his family first.

Betts did not visit the White House in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox following their World Series victory during Trump’s first term. He did join the Dodgers on their 2021 White House visit while Joe Biden was president.

The visit will coincide with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

World Series champion Dodgers to visit White House next month originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

In World Series tradition, the Los Angeles Dodgers have accepted their invitation to visit President Donald Trump and White House next month on April 7.

In a social media post Tuesday the team wrote it “look[s] forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.”

Select players and personnel will visit Capitol Hill the following day on April 8.

Franchise shortstop Mookie Betts told reporters Tuesday he was undecided if he would visit the White House with the team and needed to talk it over with his family first.

Betts did not visit the White House in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox following their World Series victory during Trump’s first term. He did join the Dodgers on their 2021 White House visit while Joe Biden was president.

The visit will coincide with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

Still one of MLB's best rosters, Phillies' World Series-or-bust season set to begin originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The end to incessant speculation and crystal-balling has nearly reached its end — Phillies Opening Day is about 24 hours away, 4:05 p.m. Thursday at Nationals Park.

It’s a now-or-never year for the Phillies, who have maintained the same core for four seasons and are unlikely to return the same cast of characters if it can’t make progress in 2025.

The offseason feels especially long when it follows a finish as disappointing as this group’s October 2024. One of the beautiful things about baseball is the opportunity to bounce back from a tough loss the next day, and the most difficult losses are unfortunately also the ones that send you home for six months.

But there was renewed optimism this spring in Clearwater. If you were to stack all 30 rosters against one another, the Phillies would be somewhere between second and fifth in any logical ranking and it’s hard to put them lower than third.

Having the roster to do it is one part. Staying healthy is another. Getting hot at the right time — as the Phillies did for stretches in October 2022 and 2023 and the Mets did last fall — is another.

We’ve seen the ceiling of this offense. We’ve seen the Phillies beat teams 10-0 in the playoffs, homer five times off of a starting pitcher. But the floor needs to be higher when hitters aren’t totally locked in, when the ball isn’t bouncing their way. Thus the annual emphasis of controlling the strike zone and utilizing the whole field.

On to some specifics:

The rotation

The Phillies’ rotation in D.C. will be Zack Wheeler on Thursday, Jesus Luzardo in Game 2 Saturday and Aaron Nola Sunday.

Cristopher Sanchez will start Monday’s home opener against the Rockies. Wheeler will start Wednesday, the fifth game of the season, on an extra day of rest. Taijuan Walker will start the next day to wrap up the Phils’ first home series.

And from there, the Phillies would likely go on turn until Ranger Suarez is ready, with Walker following Wheeler because of the early flip-flop.

The lineup

The Phillies face Nationals left-hander Mackenzie Gore on Opening Day. He has reverse platoon splits; lefties have hit .279 with an .816 OPS, righties have hit .253 with a .753 OPS.

As a result, there might be five lefties in the Phillies’ lineup against a left-handed starter: Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Max Kepler, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh.

The Phillies will play Kepler every day in left field. They’ve said they want to and will play Marsh more in center against lefties. But both will need to hold their own against same-handed pitching to show it’s not worth starting Edmundo Sosa or Johan Rojas over them more than occasionally.

As for the top of the order, the much-debated Schwarber vs. Trea Turner leadoff topic might conclude with the boring answer of “both.” Manager Rob Thomson has discussed potentially leading Turner off against a lefty, Schwarber against a righty.

The upside of moving Schwarber down a few spots is that two-thirds of his home runs as a Phillie have been solo shots, and the likelihood of him batting with men on base would be significantly higher a spot or two after Harper and Alec Bohm than a spot or two after the eight- and nine-hitters.

The downside of moving Schwarber down a few spots is that he led the NL in walks last season and had a .366 on-base percentage. Turner’s OBP as a Phillie has been .328. That needs to increase.

The injured list

Suarez will begin the year on the IL because of his back. The Phillies don’t think it’s a severe injury, but it’s another back issue for a pitcher who has dealt with several. He’ll need a few weeks to build back up once he’s throwing again, so Walker has a spot in the rotation for a little while.

Weston Wilson suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain the day before spring training games began and was expected to miss six weeks. This is about the four-week mark. Once Wilson is ready to ramp back up, the Phillies will let him find his timing at Triple A. He has a minor-league option remaining so he doesn’t need to be activated onto the big-league roster right when his rehab assignment is over if the Phils feel he does need more time. But his skill set is one they could sure use — right-handed bat with pop and speed who could realistically play six different positions.

Matt Strahm dealt with a left shoulder impingement early in camp and tore a fingernail packing his bags to leave Clearwater, but it sounds like he’ll be ready to go for Opening Day.

The division

The Braves will be better. Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected back from his ACL injury in May. Spencer Strider could be back in late April or May. Those two returns alone are equivalent to adding two $300 million players in free agency.

The 2024 Braves were ravaged by injuries and underperformance from players like Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Matt Olson. Chris Sale and Marcell Ozuna vastly exceeded expectations. Overall, the Braves should be a 92-to-95-win team. Same for the Phillies.

The Mets are loaded, too, but have more questions on their pitching staff. There’s talent and upside, but their season-opening rotation projects as Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and David Peterson. While they’ll get Sean Manaea (oblique strain) and Frankie Montas (lat strain) back at some point, it still doesn’t look like a Top-10 rotation. The bullpen is just OK behind Edwin Diaz, whose fastball averaged 95 mph this spring compared to 97 previously. Maybe things break right in New York, maybe they’re shopping aggressively for pitching in June and July. The offense, specifically the top of their order, is going to do damage.

The NL East race should be tight all year, unlike 2024 when the Phillies led by at least five games every day after May 19.

The schedule

The first two series are on the lighter side against the Nationals and Rockies. Colorado has the inside track to being the National League’s worst team again this year.

That’s offset by the next two series, at home vs. the Dodgers and in Atlanta. Two fun early-season tests.

The Phillies see every team in the division in April, then face only the Braves in May around Memorial Day. They end the season with 20 NL East games in their final 35.

There are three West Coast trips — May 19-25 in Colorado and Sacramento, July 7-13 in San Francisco and San Diego leading into the All-Star break and September 15-21 in Arizona and Los Angeles.

The Phillies are, fortunately, middle of the pack in travel miles this year after going everywhere from Seattle to London in 2024.

The expectations

It’s World Series or bust, even with how much the Dodgers loaded up. Beating L.A. will be a monumental task for any team this season because the Dodgers don’t just have the superstars atop the lineup, they now also have a deep and high-ceiling rotation and three top-tier late-inning relievers in Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates.

But the Phillies are probably the most talented, deepest and well-balanced team after the Dodgers, in either league. Some clubs have better lineups, some have better overall pitching staffs, but the Dodgers and Phillies have the best combinations.

The Phils beat them five out of six games last year, which means nothing other than they know they have it in them. The timing of the two regular-season series — so early in April, then right before the regular season ends — should only add to the drama.

Melvin wants Giants to attack challenge of tough NL West in 2025 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The memories probably will come flooding back when Buster Posey steps foot in Great American Ball Park on Thursday. It was home to one of the great comebacks in postseason history, sparked by Hunter Pence’s rousing speech in the visiting clubhouse. Posey’s grand slam in Game 5 of the National League Division Series in 2012 capped the comeback, which led to a second title in three years. 

That comeback was a reminder that anything can happen in a short series. If you catch fire for a week, or even just for 27 innings, you can exceed expectations. Get everything clicking for a few weeks at exactly the right time and you might find yourself in a parade.

The problem this season for the Giants, now run by Posey, won’t be imagining what they can do in a short series. It’ll be getting to one in the first place.

Entering the season, just about everyone will pick them to finish fourth in their own division. That’s not a path to the postseason, which means they’ll have to vault one of three contenders ahead of them. Nobody is going to catch the reigning champs, who added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, and will get Shohei Ohtani back on the mound in a couple of months. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a popular dark horse pick in the NL, and they now have Corbin Burnes alongside Zac Gallen. The San Diego Padres had a messy offseason, but the top of their rotation is strong and the lineup features Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. 

The NL West might be the best division in baseball. And Bob Melvin wants his team to embrace that.

“You have to be inspired to play against teams like that,” he said on Wednesday’s “Giants Talk” podcast. “The Dodgers are probably as close to a super team as you have right now in baseball, but you know what, you get motivated to play against those guys, and then the rivalry comes into play, too. That even inspires you more to play good against those good teams, and if you beat them — which we expect to stand up against all these teams — especially with the younger guys, the confidence grows.

“Now all of a sudden you look forward to playing in those tight games, packed houses at our place, packed houses at Dodger Stadium. And you gain a lot of confidence from that. We’re not going to back down to anybody. We know our division is tough, but it’s kind of cool that we’re playing a lot of good teams in our division. We feel like we’re going to stack up well.”

Spring is a time to be that optimistic. It’s also a time to set the tone, and that’s what Posey attempted to do when he spoke to the full team at the start of camp. Four years ago, Posey returned from a year off and encouraged his teammates to make the division title their first goal. That surprised the coaching staff, but the Giants went out and won 107 games, one more than Los Angeles. This spring, Posey again reminded the players that the first priority is always to win your division.

“I don’t think the years after (2021) we had the same message. I don’t know why,” Logan Webb said. “I can’t explain why, but I think getting back to that, if you go back to that year, I think (the projections) probably were 80 wins. It’s kind of the same thing right now. There’s not a lot of people who think we can do it (but) winning is contagious. You win a couple and they start piling up and all of a sudden you win 107 games.

“I don’t necessarily think we should shoot for a number. It’s just go out there and play as hard as we can every single day. I think when you do that, good things happen, and you’re fighting and scrapping until the end to try to win the division. Once you do that, you give yourself a chance to try to win a World Series.”

This year’s projections again have the Giants in that 80-win range. FanGraphs currently has them going 81-81, with a 29 percent chance of making the playoffs and a 2.4 percent chance of winning the West. The Dodgers are overwhelming favorites, given an 86 percent chance of winning the division, by far the highest in baseball. They’re 2-0 already after starting the season in Japan, and nobody would be surprised if they go wire-to-wire en route to 110-plus wins.

FanGraphs has the Diamondbacks as a playoff team but the Padres just percentage points ahead of the Giants. PECOTA has the Giants well behind all three, with a win projection of just 77. Its calculations have all three teams ahead of the Giants projected to make the postseason.

“Our division is no joke,” Matt Chapman said. 

But, he added …

“There are four teams that could win any division, I think.”

Chapman is one of the biggest reasons why Webb, who has experienced the postseason just once in his career, is confident that winning ways are returning. He noted that when he looks back at 2021, he realizes how important it was for someone like Posey to lead the charge. In Chapman and Willy Adames, the Giants feel they have similar leaders. 

“I think getting back to that is really important,” Webb said.

The staff ace will take the ball Thursday, but it’ll be some time before the Giants get to test themselves against the three contenders in the West. They open with a trip to Cincinnati and Houston, and the first homestand brings the Seattle Mariners and another round with the Reds. 

The Giants don’t face an NL West team until late April, and that’s just a two-game trip to Petco Park. In May, they’ll see the Colorado Rockies and Diamondbacks, but it’s not until June 13 that they get a first look at this version of the Dodgers. The best team in baseball doesn’t come to Oracle Park until July.

If the Giants truly can surprise the industry and hang on, they’ll get a chance to prove themselves against the NL West’s best when it matters most. In September, they have a two-week stretch when they play only the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. 

There’s a long, long way to go until the Giants get there, and the start of their season isn’t easy by any means, even if they are avoiding their division. The second road trip includes series against the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, and they also will see the Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers early on.

The NL West discussions will be put on the back burner, at least for a few weeks. Melvin hopes his group gets off to a good start and gets used to winning, which will allow them to take more confidence into all those divisional battles. After that, you never know. He pointed out that he was part of a Padres team that knocked off the Dodgers in October, and a year later the Diamondbacks did the same thing.

“Last year was probably the first year in quite some time that — with the Yankees and Dodgers — two big spenders were actually in the World Series,” Melvin said. “It doesn’t guarantee anything, and with as many teams that can get into the playoffs now, a lot of it is who is playing well towards the end of the season.”

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World Series champion Dodgers to visit White House next month originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

In World Series tradition, the Los Angeles Dodgers have accepted their invitation to visit President Donald Trump and White House next month on April 7.

In a social media post Tuesday the team wrote it “look[s] forward to visiting the White House and celebrating our title.”

Select players and personnel will visit Capitol Hill the following day on April 8.

Franchise shortstop Mookie Betts told reporters Tuesday he was undecided if he would visit the White House with the team and needed to talk it over with his family first.

Betts did not visit the White House in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox following their World Series victory during Trump’s first term. He did join the Dodgers on their 2021 White House visit while Joe Biden was president.

The visit will coincide with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.

The New York Rangers couldn’t salvage an opportunity to gain ground in the playoff picture as they lost 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. 

Through the first 20 minutes of play, the Kings dominated possession time and the Rangers only recorded two shots, but the score remained 0-0. 

J.T. Miller opened up the scoring in the second period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, they did not take advantage of that lead.

The Rangers committed three penalties in the second frame, resulting in two goals for Los Angeles. 

The Kings won the special teams battle and that’s what ultimately led to the Rangers’ downfall. 

Igor Shesterkin displayed yet another valiant effort, recording 30 saves on 32 shots, which is why his teammates feel like they let him down in a way. 

“He was spectacular, kept us in the game,” Vincent Trocheck said of Shesterkin. “It almost goes unappreciated since you almost expect every night out of him, but he’s obviously a world-class goalie and shows it night in and night out.”

The Rangers feel like they did enough to win the game. However, there’s a sense of frustration with the losses continuing to pile up, especially at this point of the year when every point is critical. 

“It gets tiring because I feel like over the last few weeks we’ve been playing some good hockey, but we are still losing,” Mika Zibanejad said. “Find a way to lose. It’s hard to look at the positives.”

The Rangers will be back in action on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks. 

Mookie Betts’ trademark smile is back. As he walked off the field on his way back to the Dodgers clubhouse, he was in good spirits after his pregame warmup, exclaiming, “I feel great. Awesome. Normal.”

For Betts, Tuesday marked a return to normalcy, with the star shortstop back in the lineup against the Angels. Betts was slated to get “three at-bats, play four or five innings of defense,” according to manager Dave Roberts.

Coming back from his stomach ailment, Betts played into the sixth inning of the Dodgers' 4-1 victory over the Angels. He finished 0-for-3 with a couple of groundouts and a foul out to first base.

Betts emphasized that his main focus is simply “to play baseball.” He added, “I still don’t know how long, how many days it’s been — just to play baseball and try to get back into a rhythm."

It's been nearly two weeks since Betts last took the field, and while he acknowledges there's not much time to get back into game shape, he's undoubtedly confident he'll be ready for the home opener against the Detroit Tigers.

"Yeah, I played in the game," Betts said with a chuckle. "Once I step foot on the dirt, I'm ready to go."

Betts has been battling a stomach illness since the Dodgers’ trip to Tokyo, where he was sent home early. He reassured everyone that his only physical issue was his stomach and the weight he lost, remaining strong as ever.

The medication prescribed by the team doctors has been effective in the days since he started taking it, and he has also identified what foods to avoid — though he kept those details private, saying, "I'll keep that in house."

Since then, he has worked to regain weight — a process Roberts said has progressed in recent days, as Betts has been able to hold down food and manage his dehydration from the weight loss.

“All signs point toward we’ve turned a corner, and we feel good about where he’s at for tonight,” Roberts said before the game.

There was consideration of shutting Betts down, according to Roberts, but the team is taking a day-to-day approach. After discussions with Betts, the training and coaching staff agreed that "the right thing for him to do is to take good at-bats rather than not play."

His return to the lineup just days before the home opener is a positive sign that he’s on the mend. The team will evaluate his condition Wednesday to determine if he’ll play against the Detroit Tigers.

“I know Mookie’s expectation is to be in there on opening day,” Roberts said.

Dustin May's final spring training start

It has been nearly two years since Dustin May started at the big league level. A battle with injuries — and a near-death experience — has cost him a substantial portion of his career.

The typically fiery pitcher kept his composure in his final spring training outing, tossing five innings while giving up just one run on one hit and striking out six Angels batters, effectively using his breaking ball. He even took a line drive to the backside from a Tim Anderson line-up drive in the fourth and finished the inning.

“It was really, really good to get back on a big league field, feel the energy, feel the stands and just get back into an actual big league game,” May said, acknowledging the feelings on being on a major league mound.

“There was a lot of emotions going through the head… But definitely looking forward to my next one, Dodger Stadium, that one's gonna hit home a little bit more,” May said, looking toward the regular season.

Now the Dodgers' fifth starter, May is tentatively set to pitch in the team's second home series of the season against the Atlanta Braves — a moment he has been anticipating for what felt like an eternity.

“There’s gonna be a lot going through my mind because of all the time I’ve had to think about it,” May said. “I was waiting for 13 months, and then the esophagus thing happened, and that changed my perspective on a lot of things in life.”

Read more:After near-death experience, Dustin May thrilled to be pitching: 'Like a new beginning'

Being added to the rotation is monumental for May, reflecting the hard work he's put in. “The last three, four years that I haven't really been able to play are kind of paying off in this moment,” he said.

His journey back to the mound in a Dodgers uniform has been a testament to his resilience, and Roberts has seen firsthand the determination that brought him to this point.

“The main thing I’ve seen from Dustin is that he’s managing his emotions better,” Roberts said before the game, praising May’s mental approach.

From a mechanical standpoint, Roberts has noticed May’s growth from a pitcher who once let things “sort of spiral” when he lost command to one who can now regroup and get the outs he needs.

May will take the mound in the final spring training game against the Angels, with Roberts saying he will pitch about five innings.

“We got to the finish line as far as spring training, and he'll gear up for the Braves," Roberts said after the game. "He's put a lot of work into this, and I’m really proud. He said he's ready to go."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers will visit the White House during their trip to Washington next month to face the Nationals, the team announced Tuesday, continuing a tradition for championship teams of the United States’ major sports leagues.

“It’s certainly a huge honor to get the invitation to the White House,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Allows us to celebrate our 2024 championship.”

The visit, scheduled for April 7, will mark the Dodgers’ second trip to the White House in the last five years. In 2021, the team’s 2020 World Series title was celebrated by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

This time, the Dodgers will be welcomed by President Trump — which, given past comments some team members have made, raised questions in the wake of Tuesday’s announcement about whether anyone might decline to take part in the event.

Roberts said he would participate, despite comments he made to The Times in 2019 indicating he might not go to the White House if Trump — who was notoriously critical of Roberts’ managing on Twitter during the 2018 World Series — was president.

“I respect the position,” Roberts said Tuesday, confirming his attendance for next month’s trip. “It’s the highest office in our country certainly, in the world. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Read more:Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would like a White House invitation to decline

Kiké Hernández also said he was planning to go, something he said in 2018 he was unsure he would have done had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Hernández, who was not with the Dodgers for their 2021 White House visit after signing with the Boston Red Sox the previous offseason, noted this year might be his last chance to experience a White House trip.

Mookie Betts, on the other hand, said he was undecided if he would make this year’s White House visit, and that he needed to talk it over with his family first.

After winning his first World Series title with the Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term, along with Boston manager Alex Cora and All-Star teammate pitcher David Price. Betts did take part in the Dodgers’ visit in 2021 with President Biden.

During Trump’s first term, several sports teams, including the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles, did not make White House visits amid a threat of boycotts from their players.

Leading up to Tuesday’s announcement, however, Roberts said there “wasn't a formal conversation that we had as a ballclub” about whether the Dodgers would make a White House visit this year.

The team’s statement noted it was “keeping with long-standing baseball tradition” by visiting the White House. Baseball teams have made White House visits as far back as the 19th century, and championship winners in all sports began receiving regular invitations during Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s.

Roberts was asked Tuesday about a recent baseball-related controversy involving the Trump administration. Last week, the Department of Defense removed — before later republishing — an article from its website detailing Jackie Robinson’s history of military service in what appeared to be part of the administration’s stance against diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.

Roberts said he was “happy that the page went back up” but didn’t offer any further opinions.

“I have my strong opinions on DEI and all that stuff,” he said, “but that's another scrum."

In addition to their White House visit on April 7, Dodgers team members also will visit Capitol Hill on April 8.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo drop a supersized 2025 season preview episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, as special guest Gary Cohen stops by the show!

The guys chat with SNY’s Mets play-by-play broadcaster about Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, the situation at second base, the state of the starting rotation, high expectations for the team, and what he’s looking forward to most in what will be the 20th year of Mets baseball on SNY!

Later, Connor and Joe take the temperature of the starting rotation, bullpen, lineup, and defense of the Mets heading into the regular season, drop their 2025 season predictions that always will be fun to review in the future, and answer Mailbag questions about prospects, Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña, future live shows, and the health of Brandon Nimmo.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Yankees played one last exhibition game ahead of the 2025 regular season, falling to the Miami Marlins, 4-2, at loanDepot park on Tuesday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways…

-The Yankees rolled out a lineup that will likely be very similar, if not identical, to what they’ll use on Opening Day against Milwaukee. Here’s a look:

Quick stop in Miami before heading north 👊#RepBXpic.twitter.com/fDYAnb8BU0

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 25, 2025

Aaron Boone has already announced that Austin Wells will hit leadoff to start the season, and if there is one potential change for Thursday, it could be Ben Rice or J.C. Escarra serving as the DH, with Aaron Judge in center.

-Cody Bellinger was hitting behind Judge in the order, as will likely be the case for most of the season, and Bellinger got the offense started with a solo home run to center field in the first inning.

Bellinger finished his spring with four home runs and a 1.214 OPS.

-Speaking of Judge, the slugger ended what was a spring to forget by going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Judge hit .121 this spring with a .510 OPS.

-Will Warren’s final start before the regular season didn’t exactly go as planned. The young righty, who will start the fourth game of the season against Arizona, allowed four earned runs on five hits over 3.2 innings, striking out six and walking two while giving up a pair of home runs.

Warren, now a key member of the rotation following injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt, finished his spring with a 5.09 ERA

-Left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough, recently signed by the Yanks, pitched a clean inning in his team debut.

Who was the game MVP?

Bellinger, who had two more hits to finish his spring with a .423 batting average.

Highlights

Cody Crush 💪#RepBXpic.twitter.com/VNNhIk3cs5

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 25, 2025

What's next

That's a wrap for spring training.

The Yankees open their regular season at home against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday at 3:05 p.m.

Carlos Rodon will face Freddy Peralta.

Giants notes: Ex-Athletics standout Trivino set for MLB return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — This offseason, as Lou Trivino went over his options with family members and his agents, the Giants always looked like a great fit. Trivino came up with the Athletics and spent parts of five seasons across the Bay, where he was in the same dugout as Bob Melvin, Matt Chapman, Ryan Christenson and Matt Williams. 

The Giants made a lot of sense as a spring training home, but Trivino didn’t quite realize what he was signing up for. 

The battle to make the pitching staff was a heated one, with Sean Hjelle, Tristan Beck and Kyle Harrison among those who ended up in Triple-A. The final spots in the bullpen came down to Trivino, Spencer Bivens, Randy Rodriguez and newcomer Joel Peguero, who throws an easy 101 mph and had just about a perfect spring. It appears Rodriguez will get a spot, with Peguero going to Triple-A. 

“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t realize how talented this bullpen was until I got here,” Trivino said Tuesday. “Then I got here and I was like, ‘Jeez, this is going to be a tough task.'”

It all worked out in Trivino’s favor, and on Tuesday he was added to the Giants’ 40-man roster and the big league bullpen. The 33-year-old will pitch in the big leagues for the first time since 2022. The next year, he suffered an elbow strain and ultimately had Tommy John surgery, which cost him the first four months of 2024, too. 

Trivino said he was not surprised to make the Opening Day roster. The goal was to get back to the big leagues, but it still was gratifying news given what he has been through the last two seasons. 

“When it does happen, it’s pretty special,” he said. 

Trivino returned to the mound last August as a New York Yankees minor leaguer but said he never felt right. It was a grind, but this spring he felt like his old self. As a rookie for Melvin in 2018, he posted a 2.92 ERA in 69 appearances. There were ups and downs after that, but he was AL Reliever of the Month in June of 2021 and the next year he had a 1.66 ERA after a midseason trade to the Yankees. 

Trivino sat at 97-98 mph in those early years in Oakland and topped out in triple-digits. He always has thrown five different pitches and at times has gone beyond that, but this spring he was at his best when narrowing his focus. He threw 95-mph sinkers, a hard cutter and a sweeper on Monday, pitching a scoreless inning in what ended up being his final appearance before officially going back on a roster.

Trivino always seemed like a strong bet in the race for bullpen spots, but Melvin said his past history didn’t sway the decision. The Athletics connections helped get him to San Francisco. The rest was done on the mound this spring. 

“Nothing was given to him,” Melvin said. “We had to send some guys down here recently that were part of this team last year. He had to earn it.”

The Other Side

To clear the 40-man roster spot for Trivino, the Giants DFA’d infielder David Villar, who played 109 games in the big leagues the last three seasons. Villar was once the frontrunner at third base, but he couldn’t hold that job and Chapman now has it locked down for years to come. Villar also plays first, but he was behind Wilmer Flores and Jerar Encarnacion all spring. 

At the start of camp, Melvin said he hoped Villar viewed it as a way to audition for other clubs if he didn’t crack the Opening Day roster. He is out of options, so the Giants couldn’t send him back to Triple-A. 

“I hope he gets a big league job and I hope a change of scenery is good for him,” Melvin said. “There’s still talent there, there’s a tremendous amount of power, he can play first and third.”

The Giants still are finalizing their bench, but they have prioritized players who can handle middle infield and outfield spots.

Trainer’s Room

Encarnacion was supposed to have surgery on his fractured finger on Monday, but a travel issue caused a delay. The Giants are hopeful he’ll get it repaired later this week in Los Angeles, and they’ll have a more accurate timetable for his return after the procedure. 

Jung Hoo Lee (back tightness) was in the lineup for a third straight game, clearing a path to start in Cincinnati on Thursday. Elsewhere on the back injury front, catcher Tom Murphy is seeking another opinion after having two epidural shots. He’s in a holding pattern and is a candidate to start the year on the 60-day IL. 

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