As with anything in life, it is all about perception. One could say baseball is not growing, citing the ratings from this past year’s World Series. According to Forbes, Game 1 of the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks saw a viewership of 9.17 million, the lowest rated Game 1 in history. Games 2 and 3 of the same World Series were viewed by fewer people than Game 7 of the 2023 National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Diamondbacks, which drew in a viewership of 8.9 million. Flashback to the 1980 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the Phillies, you would find an average rating of 42.3 million. Even more recently, a 25.4 million average viewership between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, one of the most watched World Series of the past two decades.
One could then say baseball saw a lot of growth in 2023, whether it be through the various rule changes to either the pitch clock, defensive shifting or literal growth in the sense of increasing the size of the bases. Baseball saw its first 41 home run, 71 stolen-base season, when Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña accomplished such a feat.
No matter what way you look at how the 2023 season went for baseball, there is always another season right around the corner.
NL West
The Dodgers had the best offseason of any team, spending over $1.2 billion. The Dodgers added superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, deferring $68 million a year until the contract expires. In addition, the Dodgers landed the extremely sought after Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers traded for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot from Tampa; avoided arbitration with Walker Buehler, Will Smith, Gavin Lux and Brusdar Graterol; and signed free agent Teoscar Hernández on a one-year deal. They brought back future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw for one year, all while still having Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on the roster. The Dodgers have some remaining exciting youth as well, with players such as Gavin Stone fighting for a spot in the rotation this spring. What a great offseason if you’re Andrew Freidman. You can just about lock the Dodgers in to win the NL West.
It would be foolish to assume a team that just went to the World Series wouldn’t be in the conversation to make the playoffs. This offseason, the Diamondbacks signed free agent left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez to their rotation, who previously pitched for the Detroit Tigers. Adding Rodríguez will be a positive in a rotation already consisting of top-end arms in Zac Gallen and Merryl Kelly. As for the other teams, the San Francisco Giants made their first splash early on by adding 25-year-old outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, who had an intriguing slash line of .340/.407/.491 during his career in the KBO League. Besides other additions in Jorge Soler, Robbie Ray and Matt Chapman, not bringing back Brandon Crawford doesn’t sit well in terms of being as exciting as other teams in their respective division. One of those teams is the San Diego Padres, who will look to get back that same 2022 excitement again. The Padres are a team to certainly watch out for. While they did lose the reigning NL Cy Young Award, a Silver Slugger with a .410 OBP who played in every game and a closer with a 1.28 ERA, it’s not as bad as you might think. The Padres still have immense talent from Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., all on nine-figure contracts, along with a solid rotational 1-2-3 in Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Michael King. If the Padres can stay healthy, they can compete in the class of the Diamondbacks and Giants within their division for a Wild Card spot.
AL East
The toughest division in 2023 looks to be even tougher in 2024, and the AL East has a lot at stake. The New York Yankees, who are clearly the most improved team in the division, added superstar Juan Soto along with outfielder Trent Grisham in a deal with the Padres in exchange for Yankees players in Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Kyle Higashioka. Pairing a 25-year-old Juan Soto just beginning to enter into his prime with the best hitter in baseball when healthy in Aaron Judge, puts the sky as the limit for this Yankees team. The Yankees also acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox for pitchers Richard Fitts, Nicholas Judice and Fordham Baseball’s own alumnus Greg Weissert. They also have the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, who is widely regarded as the best starting pitcher in baseball. The Yankees are going to need a big season from LHP Carlos Rodón, as well as their bullpen repeating last year’s success; and the rest should take care of itself. The Yankees lost 80 games last year and will certainly do everything in their power to avoid that happening again. Surprisingly, even with all the firepower from the Bronx bombers, they aren’t even the favorites to win their own division. That would be the Baltimore Orioles, who added ace Corbin Burnes and top prospect Jackson Holliday to a team that just won 101 games the year before. The Orioles are the team to beat moving forward competing with the Yankees for the division. In terms of other teams in the AL East, it’s hard to ignore any remaining teams in terms of a playoff push. The Tampa Bay Rays were quiet winners of 99 games last year, always generally starting off well, beginning last year 27-6. The Rays lost Glasnow to the Dodgers and got back pitcher Ryan Pepoit. Pepoit was vying for a spot in the Dodgers rotation this time last year, but suffered a left oblique strain two days before Opening Day, and would return sparsely in the final weeks of the year. The Toronto Blue Jays have superstars in Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, but continue to falter every year when it comes time for the playoffs. Can a Kevin Gausman-led Blue Jays rotation with José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and Alek Manoah be enough? Expect the Blue Jays and the Rays to be in the conversation for one of the American League Wild Card spots. Lastly, the Red Sox, who do deserve their mention, because you truly never know. Off-season additions from Lucas Giolito, Tyler O’Neill and Vaughn Grissom will all be under the microscope as a Brayan Bello-led rotation will look to be bolstered by lively arms on the back-end such as Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houch, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock and veteran Kenley Jansen. They’ll also see how a 24 year-old Triston Casas improves, and hopefully get a great season from Rafael Devers.
NL East
Since we talked about the AL East, it makes sense to talk about the NL East, which may be the best division on the National League side. Similar to the Dodgers in the NL West, the Atlanta Braves are basically going to run away with it. The Braves hit 307 home runs last year, tying the most in a single season since the 2019 Minnesota Twins. The Braves have reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., reigning Silver Slugger Matt Olson, Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley, tactician’s Max Fried and Spencer Strider atop their rotation, with the interesting addition of Chris Sale in the middle of it. The Braves are not going anywhere, and they are expected to win the division. With the NL East, it always feels like there’s room to wiggle, even if the odds are completely stacked against you. For the Phillies, you feel like you can compete with the Braves in any given season, from going to the World Series in 2022 then falling short in Game 7 of this past NL Championship Series. The Phillies look to 2021 MVP Bryce Harper to keep the ship afloat, with a surrounding cast of Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos. WithZach Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the rotation, the Phillies should easily be in the Wild Card conversation. The other team to watch out for are the New York Mets, who sold off two big names last year in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer for prospects. The Mets now get to see how those prospects in Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford and Luisangel Acuña turn out. The Mets faced some tough news with their ace Kodai Senga beginning the season on the IL, but hopefully new additions in Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser carry them through. Edwin Díaz returns from injury as the closer for the Mets, an addition which likely will pay off the greatest. In terms of their offense, Francisco Lindor will look to improve on his 31 home run, 31 stolen-base season last year, while Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo look to produce daily. As for the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals, you can slot the Nationals in the bottom team of the NL East, but be wary of the Marlins. An 84 win team last year, the Marlins made the playoffs, but got swept in the Wild Card by the Phillies. They did not make a ton of moves to mitigate the loss of ace Sandy Alcanatara due to injury, but the presence of elite contact hitter Luis Arraez (.354 in 2023) always keeps the fins swimming around playoff contention.
NL Central
The Cardinals had one of the worst years they have had in a long time, going 71-91 and finishing fifth in the division. They added Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson to their rotation this past offseason, while having two future Cooperstown inductees in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldscmidt ready. This lineup certainly has its questions, but a Wild Card is not out of the deck for the Cards. The other team which likely in all else will go onto win the division is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs hired a new manager in Craig Counsell to help get Chicago get back to its winning ways. The Cubs added free agent Cody Bellinger to a three-year deal, sought-after Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, as well as other smaller additions like Héctor Neris to their bullpen. Led by Dansby Swanson around the infield, the Cubs team should have a legitimate shot at winning the division. Another team worth considering for a potential Wild Card spot are the Cincinnati Reds, who certainly have a good enough team to make the playoffs, but a lot will fall onto their pitching. Emerging superstar Elly de la Cruz will soak up the spotlight as the Reds look to rely on ace Hunter Greene to go deep into games. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers for this year are on the precipice, but it’s tough when Brewers top prospect Jackson Chourio and this year’s top overall prospect Pirates Paul Skenes will likely be some of the best players in each respected organization. The NL Central will be an interesting division certainly worth following throughout the year.
AL West
The AL West is another division worth following just because you really don’t know how it is going to play out. You have the reigning World Champions in the Texas Rangers looking to repeat. The Rangers will have Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom on the injured list to begin the year, as well as Corey Seager dealing with hernia issues. The Rangers added Tyler Mahle, who will join the Rangers after recovering from Tommy John surgery throughout the middle of this season. It will be crucial for the Rangers to start off hot if they want to defend their title. Also, look out for Rangers’ top prospect Wyatt Langford, who has been killing it in Spring Training so far. Another team running with the Rangers this year will be the Houston Astros, who are no strangers to making the playoffs. The Astros re-signed Jose Altuve to a five-year $125 million contract this offseason, and added CL Josh Hader on a five-year $95 million contract of his own. They also have Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and a 1-2-3 pitching punch in Justin Verlander, Rambler Valdez and Cristian Javier. This Astros team is scary, and one I would not want to face when playoffs come around. The Seattle Mariners will be a team that will be fun to watch. A team that surrounds itself with superstar Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners have fallen just short of real playoff success. After clinching their first postseason berth since 2001 back in 2022, the Mariners have tried to make a real run, and they aren’t that far away. The Mariners brought back Mitch Hanigar, picked up Mitch Garver and traded for Luke Raley. In a rotation led by ace Luis Castillo, Julio Rodriguez in the outfield and JP Crawford around the infield, the Mariners should be an extremely fun team to watch. As for the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics, they will likely finish at the bottom of the division. For the Angels, their future is brighter than the A’s, but their struggles still continue. While superstar Mike Trout is back and fully healthy, will that be enough to cover a team that just lost Shohei Ohtani? Newly hired manager Ron Washington seems to think that it’s possible, exercising extreme praise and confidence for his team shocking people this year. The AL West will have the reigning World Series champions with a major target on their back, along with many other teams trying to write their own throughout the year.
AL Central
Last but certainly not least is the AL Central. While each division likely has a clear winner or two, the AL Central has none. The AL Central will likely be the worst overall division in baseball (again), with last year’s division-leading Minnesota Twins miraculously winning 87 games, and the second place Detroit Tigers winning 78. If history repeats itself, you can look to the Twins to repeat as champions of the division again, but you can’t count out the Clevland Guardians. On paper, the Guardians are solid, with pitchers Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams hoping to provide a stable rotation. Coupled with José Ramírez doing what he does on offense, the Guardians could be a real team not on enough radars. In that similar aspect of radar-less attention, the Detroit Tigers are going to be another team worth watching. The developing bats of Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson will hinder most of their record this season, with a solid rotational 1-2-3 consisting of Kenta Maeda, Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty. The Royals could also be a team to potentially go on a run, but like many teams in this division, it may just be before their time. The Royals spent nearly $300 million to lock up franchise shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who is one of the most dynamic players in the game. If the Royals can limit runs, they can make some noise in the AL Central, but they did lose 106 games last year. Lastly, regarding the Chicago White Sox, it is very difficult to expect them to go far given the 101 games they lost last year.
