MLB Opening Day: 25 Things To Know For The 2025 Season

Image credit: From left to right: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)

Though 28 teams will have to wait a little while longer to get started on their 2025 campaigns, the new MLB season is officially underway with the reigning champion Dodgers facing off against the Cubs in Japan on Tuesday.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 25 key storylines to know heading into the new season.

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1. The Athletics and Rays will play their home games in minor league ballparks. 

The Rays lost access to Tropicana Field when Hurricane Milton blew the roof off, while the Athletics lost access to the Oakland Coliseum when their lease expired. Both teams will play all their home games in minor league ballparks this season—and likely beyond—with the Rays in Tampa and the A’s in Sacramento. 

2. The Orioles are adjusting their left field dimensions. Again.

Baltimore pushed back its left field wall at Camden Yards in 2022 to neutralize home runs—but they went too far. MLB Statcast indicates that the Orioles lost more homers than their opponents, 72 to 65. This year, the wall will be closer by as much as 20 feet in spots, which is great news for Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who lost 11 home runs to “Walltimore.”

3. Diamond Baseball Holdings owns 41 minor league teams. 

The private equity firm Diamond Baseball Holdings owns minor league franchises in every corner of the United States—as well as the lone Canadian team in Vancouver. DBH owns teams in 10 different leagues, every full-season one but the Florida State League. But that’s only because MLB organizations own their FSL affiliates. DBH bought 12 teams in 2024 and will assuredly be adding more this year. 

4. Roki Sasaki can earn the Dodgers a draft pick.

As if adding the No. 1 prospect in the world weren’t enough for the Dodgers, they can also gain a draft pick after the first round in 2026 if Sasaki wins NL Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old Japanese superstar is eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive program because he is classified as an international amateur.

5. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz are baseball’s latest holy trinity of shortstops. 

Seldom has MLB seen such a superstar shortstop constellation. In the late 1990s, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra formed a so-called Holy Trinity of young shortstops. Then in the mid 2010s, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and Corey Seager all rose to prominence at the same time. Today, Witt, Henderson and De La Cruz carry on the shortstop supernova tradition. 

6. Six pitchers rank among the top 10 prospects in baseball. No Top 100 Prospects class has ever had more.

Led by Roki Sasaki at No. 1 and Jackson Jobe at No. 3, a total of six pitchers rank among the top 10 most elite prospects in the game. Just three other Top 100 Prospects classes in 36 seasons have had that many pitchers crowded near the top of the list. For this year at least, the arms have it!

7. Roki Sasaki is the rare pitcher to rank as the top prospect in baseball. 

Rarely does a pitcher occupy the top spot on the Top 100 Prospects list. Injury is a constant occupational hazard, making position players far more likely to rank No. 1. But Sasaki is special. He is also the first pitcher to rank No. 1 since fellow Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka reached the Top 100 summit in 2007.

8. The Mets signed Juan Soto to a record contract. 

The Mets made a Winter Meetings splash by signing Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract. It is a record for an athlete in a North American team sport. If Soto wins an MVP, he will become the first in Mets franchise history, which dates back to 1962. Every other team but the 1998 expansion D-backs and Rays has at least one MVP. 

9. Two minor league teams are relocating.

Every time MLB updates its minor league facility standards, it prompts teams who cannot comply with the standards to relocate. The first wave hits in 2025. The Braves’ Double-A affiliate moves from Pearl, Miss., to Columbus, Ga., and will play as the Columbus Clingstones. The Rangers’ Down East affiliate moves from Kinston, N.C., to Spartanburg, S.C., and will play as the Hub City Spartanburgers.

10. The Carolina and South Atlantic leagues are realigning—slightly.

Not only does Down East switch to Spartanburg this season, but the Rangers affiliate also switches classifications from Low-A to High-A and joins the South Atlantic League. Replacing Down East in the Low-A Carolina League is Hickory, formerly the Rangers’ SAL affiliate.

11. Three other minor league teams changed their identities.

Let’s meet some more new kids on the block for 2025:

• Oklahoma City Baseball Club is now the Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A Dodgers)
• The Tennessee Smokies are now the Knoxville Smokies (Double-A Cubs)
• The Bowie Baysox are now the Chesapeake Baysox (Double-A Orioles)

The Smokies also move from Sevierville to Knoxville and will play in brand-new Covenant Health Park.

12. It’s the end of an era for ESPN baseball coverage.

Unless MLB and ESPN come to a new agreement, this season will be the final one that baseball will air on The Worldwide Leader in Sports. Both parties announced in February that they are opting out of the current $550 million a year contract. ESPN wanted to pay less per year for its broadcasting package that includes Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and Wild Card Series games. MLB said it was unhappy with ESPN’s ever-decreasing coverage of baseball. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he expects to find a new partner, either on the broadcast or streaming side.

13. The White Sox will try to distance themselves from ignominy. 

The White Sox won 93 games and the AL Central in 2021. Three years later they accomplished something else entirely. Chicago rode a 14-50 second half to 121 losses, surpassing the expansion 1962 Mets for the all-time record for futility. Now, the White Sox will look to turn the page by becoming a garden-variety bad team that loses 100 games or so.

14. The White Sox will draft 10th overall this year.

Despite their record-setting futility in 2024, the White Sox were ineligible for a high pick in the 2025 draft. It has to do with Chicago receiving a lottery pick—defined as one of the top six overall—in 2024 and being a club that pays into revenue sharing.

15. The Rockies could lose 100 games and pick no earlier than 10th in 2026. 

The Rockies appear destined to finish with one of the lowest win totals this season, but because they made lottery picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, they cannot draft earlier than 10th overall in 2026.

16. Overall minor league talent is down.

The past few prospect classes brimmed with star talent, which is evident in the high-quality Rookie of the Year races in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The level of talent in the minor leagues appears to be lower this year, but the show goes on! Favorites to win the 2025 Minor League Player of the Year include Twins outfielder Walker Jenkins, Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge and Rangers shortstop Sebastian Walcott.

17. The Athletics, Braves and Red Sox have multiple promising rookies.

The 2025 rookie class looks less formidable than recent seasons, but three teams are determined to beat the odds. Atlanta, Boston and the relocated-to-Sacramento Athletics are each poised to benefit from multiple rookie-eligible players this season. Catcher Drake Baldwin and righthander AJ Smith-Shawver will contribute to the Braves. Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony are poised to be a dynamic duo for the Red Sox. The A’s could feature first-rounders Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz in their lineup at shortstop and first base. 

18. Ichiro, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Former Baseball America cover subjects Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia sailed into Cooperstown on the first ballot and will be enshrined in July. Billy Wagner made it on his 10th and final appearance. Further down the ballot, Carlos Beltran, the 1999 BA Rookie of the Year, cleared 70% of the vote. Andruw Jones, two-time BA Minor League Player of the Year, achieved two-thirds of the vote. Both will likely headline the Hall of Fame class of 2026—partially because the top newcomers are Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun.

19. The Dodgers have more Japanese star power than any MLB team ever.

With Roki Sasaki joining Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will have more Japanese talent on one roster than any team ever assembled this side of Nippon Professional Baseball. Some contenders to the throne include the current Cubs with Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki and also the early 2000s Mariners with Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki. Later, Ichiro teamed with Kenji Johjima in Seattle as well.

20. Ohtani goes for the MVP grand slam. 

Shohei Ohtani has done things in MLB that once seemed impossible. So it only makes sense that he has a chance to accomplish something that is (almost) impossible—winning a fourth MVP award. Not only would an MVP win this year be Ohtani’s third in a row, but it would place him in a group all his own as a four-time winner. Barry Bonds won seven MVP awards. No other player in history has more than three. 

21. Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper can join the three-timers club.

Aaron Judge won MVPs in two of the past three seasons. Another win this year would make him a three-time MVP. Bryce Harper also has two career MVP awards. The list of three-time MVPs is as distinguished as it sounds: Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Stan Musial and Jimmie Foxx.

22. Clayton Kershaw needs 32 strikeouts to reach 3,000.

Kershaw signed on for another year with the Dodgers in 2025. The 37-year-old won’t be ready for Opening Day after having offseason toe and knee surgeries, but he doesn’t have to be to reach 3,000 strikeouts and become the 20th pitcher ever to reach the milestone. At his 2024 strikeout rate, Kershaw would need to pitch about 40 innings this season to achieve 3,000. 

23. Teams are fast-tracking draft picks to MLB.

Six of the top 11 players drafted in 2023 reached MLB by the end of the 2024 season. The list includes No. 1 pick Paul Skenes, the Pirates ace who won NL Rookie of the Year. Look for this trend of teams fast-tracking college stars to MLB to continue. The most likely players to debut this season from the 2024 draft include Angels second baseman Christian Moore, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz and Astros third baseman Cam Smith. No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana of the Guardians and No. 5 pick Hagen Smith of the White Sox might not be far behind.

24. Kenley Jansen can move into third place all-time for saves.

Veteran reliever Kenley Jansen signed a one-year deal with the Angels to serve as closer. Even at age 37, he looks good for as many as 30 saves in Anaheim. If Jansen reaches 31 this season, he will tie Lee Smith with 478 saves to rank third all-time. This is notable because Smith ranked as the all-time saves leader for 13 seasons before Trevor Hoffman and then Mariano Rivera passed him. Jansen trails only Rivera with 20 postseason saves.  

25. The Twins are for sale.

The Pohlad family has owned the Twins since 1984, making them one of the longest-tenured ownership groups in MLB. That could change this year if they are successful in finding a buyer for the venerable franchise. The White Sox are rumored to be for sale, as are the Nationals. Arte Moreno toyed with selling the Angels until pulling the club off the market in early 2023.