Just like with all other professional sports leagues in the US, Major League Baseball is gearing up to come back after a year that saw their regular activity be downsized as much as possible because of the COVID-19 pandemic that struck hard upon the world in 2020. MLB did manage to still pull off their season with the Los Angeles Dodgers finally capturing their so long-awaited World Series Championship after waiting for a staggering 32 years. As the MLB prepares to come back to action in the summer and online betting websites are already starting to stack up the best odds for the upcoming season let’s see what could be in store for baseball fans.
How Will Baseball and COVID Co Exist?
With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training is the first true signal of the MLB season beginning and after the struggles the league had to go through to be able to finish off last season, the MLB is clearly looking at the upcoming 2021 season with as much precaution as possible. The idea of striking out in any way is not one that’s in the plans for players, trainers, and team and league executives.
As reported by ESPN, discussions between government representatives as well as MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association) reps have gone down in order to clear up the air about reports of government officials plotting with MLB to delay the upcoming season. A first proposal given by the MLB to delay the start of spring training all the way to the end of March and the beginning of the season to the end of April with a 154-game season playing into October and having the postseason carry on into November was rejected by the Players Association. As of right now, players are expected to report to spring training in their original set date as they await what will be the final agreement regarding all health and safety protocols to happen in the season.
Big Names Have Moved Around From Season to Season
While expectations of how the season will be played are still up in the air that hasn’t stopped the teams from pulling out their checkbooks and dishing out some seriously good money to stack up against their rosters in preparations for the upcoming season. First and foremost, the Dodgers finally remembering what the sweet taste of World Series glory tastes like are not looking at giving up their spot on the top of the mountain. In order to do that they hit the free-agent market and made the biggest splash yet by signing the 2020 NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer to a three-year 102-million-dollar contract automatically making him the highest-paid player in each of the two upcoming seasons. Bauer’s salary for 2021 will reportedly be higher than the projected 26-man payroll of teams such as the Orioles, Pirates, and Indians.
The other big move in preparations for the new season was done by the Toronto Blue Jays who signed former Astros center fielder George Springer to a whopping six-year 150-million-dollar deal bringing the former Houston star to command Toronto’s center field. Other big moves have been Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto staying put in the city of brotherly love after agreeing to a 5-year 115.5-million-dollar contract and the New York Yankeed forking over 90 million dollars to keep their star second baseman DJ LeMahieu for the next six years.
So Who Should Fans Be Looking For To Win Big
While the Dodgers will enter the league as the team to beat in the National League and with enough credit to back up the claims fans should be looking at the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves as two of the biggest threats in the upcoming season, especially taking into account the staggering amount of young talented players in their squads. Guys like Fernando Tatis Jr. in San Diego and Ronald Acuña Jr. in Atlanta are sure to cause even bigger splashes this season, you can count on that.
In the American League, all eyes will be on the New York Yankees to see if they’ll finally climb back to the top of the AL hill, especially if they can make it to the season with a healthy rotation with Gerrit Cole at the helm and guys like Stanton, Judge, and company ready to bring down “the house that Ruth built”, aka Yankee Stadium. Other than that if Tampa Bay is able to bring back the base of the team that took them to the World Series last season they could easily give the Yankees an entertaining run for the AL East crown. Out in the west who knows, this could finally be the year that Mike Trout gets a well-deserved shot at postseason glory with the Los Angeles Angels.
