New faces and a new year, Spring Training is officially underway

            Baseball fans are rejoicing as Spring Training for Major League Baseball has officially begun and the 2024 season is just around the corner.

            Pitchers and catchers reported last Thursday, and full-squad practices begin on Feb 20 for MLB teams. Exhibition games will start towards the end of February and Opening Day is scheduled for March 28 this season. Baseball is right around the corner in 2024.

Outside of two or three top-tier free agents, most 2024 top-tier free agents have been signed and are soon to start their new journeys with their new teams. Some top-tier free agents that have not signed are two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, 2024 World Series starter and champion Jordan Montgomery, and 2019 NL MVP winner Cody Bellinger. There has been a lot of speculation about where these three very talented players might end up but there has been no significant news on the signings of these players yet.

            New faces will look for new beginnings with their new teams in 2024. The biggest is the 2023 AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani signed a massive 10-year $700,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January 2024. Although Ohtani will not pitch in 2024 due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery in 2023. Even without Ohtani taking the mound, he will provide a massive “pop” to the already very stacked Dodgers lineup. The Dodgers spent over $1 billion in free agency.

            Another noteworthy addition was Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. The Yankees traded to add another top-tier bat to a lineup that already consists of Aaron Judge, D.J LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and Gleyber Torres.

            With spring training underway, this is the exciting time to see where all of the new pieces that teams have signed or acquired in free agency will fit into the lineup/rotation. With opening day set for March 28, we are getting closer and closer to baseball returning to full swing.