After months of negotiations between MLB owners and players, there will finally be some action on the diamond. On Wednesday, July 23, two primetime games took place to open the season with the Washington Nationals taking on the New York Yankees. The second game will be the San Francisco Giants versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. The following day will be the official beginning of the 2020 season for the remaining 26 teams starting the season.
The past offseason can be widely considered as one of the most bizarre in MLB history. On top of star-studded free agents heading to new teams, the ongoing global pandemic suspended the original start of the MLB season and sports all around the world.
The Houston Astros scandal shocked the baseball world and negotiations between team owners and the MLPA almost fell through, which delayed the start of the season even more.
With so much going on during the offseason, there are definitely some storylines to look forward to while heading into the season. The Major League Baseball Instagram account highlighted five storylines to keep track of this season. In this article, we will go through each one.
Can the Washington Nationals defend their World Series Title?
The 2019 Washington Nationals will be forever remembered as one of the greatest underdog teams in MLB history. Through 50 games, the Nationals were 19-31 and 10 games out of the NL East lead, which seemed to foreshadow a disappointing 2019 season for the Nationals.
But Washington pushed through and made sure to stay positive which came back to benefit the Nationals, as they finished the remaining 112 games with an astonishing 74-38 record.
The magical postseason run from the Nationals saw great production from Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon, Howie Kendrick, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and their bullpen, which stepped up after struggling in the beginning of the season.
The Nationals are still very dangerous, and we have all seen what can occur when the Nationals are on a hot streak. Washington is still equipped with tons of talent on their team and has one of the best starting rotations in the MLB.
Stephen Strasburg decided to stay with Washington for a seven-year, $245 million-dollar contract after winning the 2019 World Series MVP.
The Scherzer and Strasberg combination is one of the best pitching duos in baseball. However, is it possible for the Nationals to repeat as World Series Champions?
The loss of Anthony Rendon was detrimental, but there is still some fight in the Nationals. Soto is a future MVP winner. Kendrick is still offensively capable as he won the NLCS MVP. Trea Turner is still a very solid lead off bat. And the power bat of Eric Thames is now added to the Nationals lineup after acquiring him in the offseason.
Offensively, the Nationals still have a lot of potential and are looking for some production from their highly-scouted prospect Carter Kieboom. The bullpen can still be very productive if they perform the way they did last postseason and the addition of Will Harris, who signed in the offseason with Washington, will also help.
All in all, it would not be as surprising if the Nationals win the World Series once again.
Can Mookie Betts help the Dodgers win the World Series?
The Dodgers have lost two of the last three World Series after winning the National League Pennant in back-to-back years. Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, they have come up short in consecutive years losing to both the Astros and Red Sox.
One of the biggest acquisitions during the offseason is the trade of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers from the Red Sox. Betts and the Red Sox could not agree on a deal during contract discussions, which led to the move.
Betts is a former MVP winner, which he was awarded during the 2018 season when he put up incredible numbers. He had a .346 batting average with 32 homeruns and with an OPS of 1.078.
The Dodgers continue to add to their already stacked offense which also has 2019 MVP Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, Cory Seager and many more talented bats which compliment this offensive powerhouse.
The depth that the Dodgers have is just incredible: second-string or third-string players on the Dodgers could easily be starters for other teams.
The addition of Betts will make the Dodgers the most dangerous offense in the game. But can he get his new team over the hump to win their first championship in 31 years?
Will Mike Trout Finally Have a Deep Postseason Run?
It is possible for Mike Trout to go down as one of the greatest baseball players in history for everything that he has and will continue to achieve.
This will be Trout’s eighth full season. The eight-time all-star and three-time MVP has only one postseason appearance which was the 2014 ALDS. In 15 postseason at-bats, Trout only has one hit.
There is much optimism heading into the 2020 season for the Angels. This season will be the most complete offense that Trout has ever had around him which can help Trout and the Angels to the promise land.
The addition of slugger Anthony Rendon will add even more depth to the Angels lineup, which is already equipped with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, David Fletcher, Justin Upton and the greatest player in baseball, Mike Trout.
Of course, Rendon was a part of the magical Washington Nationals last season and he contributed tremendously during the postseason. The two-time silver slugger played for the Nationals for six seasons with 2019 being the best season of his career.
The pitching staff will be the biggest question mark for the Angels since their team ERA last season was 4.44. Every starter in the rotation last season had an ERA over 4.00, which is not good for a team in the postseason hunt.
Relief pitcher Hansel Robles is one bright spot for the Angels. He had a 2.48 ERA last season and if the pitching staff performs better, the Angels can be contenders.
And perhaps Trout could finally have some postseason success.
When Will the “Evil Empire” strike back?
The New York Yankees are one of the most successful sports franchises in the world. The Yankees are also the most valuable baseball franchise at $5 billion, according to Forbes. The only franchise more valuable is the Dallas Cowboys at $5.5 billion.
The Yankees are also the most successful baseball franchise with 27 World Series championships. However, the Yankees have zero World Series appearances during the 2010’s, which is the first time in franchise history that no pennants were won by the Yankees during a decade span.
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nkees have had their fair share of postseason appearances during the 2010’s, but always came short of winning the pennant. The core four known as Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera won four World Series Championships together and the 2010’s saw the final game for each player, respectively.
The 2010’s were huge for the Yankees because fans had to adapt to a lot of change throughout the decade. Luckily for fans, the Yankees have shown that they are still capable of reaching the World Series.
In 2017, only one game separated the Yankees from reaching the World Series and the Yankees reached the ALCS in 2019, losing to the Astros in six games.
Heading into the season, the Yankees are now more capable than ever. They now have their guy in Gerrit Cole, who will be under the bright lights of the Bronx for the next decade to come. Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million contract during the 2019 Winter Meetings in December.
The Yankees also have one of the best lineups in the game with Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu. This season is the pinnacle of the phrase “win or bust” which is tagged along to the Yankees every season, but this season will be huge for the Yankees to put the money where their mouth is and win the World Series.
The 2020 Houston Astros*
Heading into the 2020 season, the Houston Astros had the biggest target on their back, and not for being the team to beat. The Astros were involved in the biggest baseball scandal in recent memory after more information came out during the offseason.
The Astros used several cheating methods to give themselves the advantage during games, even during the playoffs. The most notorious method exposed was the banging of a trash can, which gave players a hint if an off-speed pitch was coming.
Astros players or coaches would head to the replay room and relay the pitches that the opposing team would select. If an off-speed pitch was coming, the trashcan would be banged. The Astros were now labeled by many as the most hated team in baseball.
Every team now came looking for some sort of retaliation, and if you were wearing an Astros jersey, you would be paying for it. However, amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the news of the Astros did not become the most important story in baseball since more important things were at stake.
Now that we will finally have baseball this summer, how will the Astros be treated? The removal of fans during this season takes away a large aspect for the post-scandal Astros. The tension that fans would have added during the season for the Astros would have been monumental and opening day would have been a sight to see.
Photo courtesy of Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
