The 2025 MLB season is upon us, and there’s no shortage of storylines. The high-spending and uber-talented Los Angeles Dodgers will be a focal point for the sport this year, for better or worse. Superstar Juan Soto will patrol right field for the Mets after New York owner Steve Cohen lured him away from the crosstown rival Yankees with a record-breaking contract. While the National League features multiple elite teams, the American League feels more wide open than ever.
With MLB Opening Day on Thursday, NBC Sports is here to break it all down.
Can the Dodgers possibly be beat?
D.J. Short: The randomness of baseball is a feature, not a bug. So yes, the Dodgers can be beat. Weird things happen all the time, especially when you get to the small sample size of the playoffs. There’s also the matter of the Dodgers’ rotation in general. There’s depth, sure, but most of their arms carry some questions. The Dodgers should absolutely be heavy favorites, and given their investments and all the fanfare, anything short of a repeat should be considered a disappointment.
Eric Samulski: Of course they can be beat. Anybody can. I know their pitching staff is a CVS receipt-long list of talented names, but what did Kevin Costner say in “Bull Durham”? “Relax. Strikeouts are boring.” The Dodgers are the odds-on favorite, but they also have an older lineup that is already banged up. A full season of health is hard for any team, but it feels like more of an uphill climb for the Dodgers.
Who will be this season’s breakout star?
Samulski: When it comes to baseball, breakouts tend to be fueled by home runs or strikeouts. When Junior Caminero hits more than 30 home runs in the Tampa Bay Rays’ new minor-league ballpark in the hot, Florida humidity, people are going to take notice. Maybe not Rays fans, who don’t seem to go to games, but the larger baseball world is going to turn on Caminero’s at-bats as appointment viewing.
Short: We saw Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels emerge as the breakout star in the NFL this past season, and we’ll stay in the nation’s capital here with outfielder Dylan Crews. The 23-year-old didn’t have great results after being called up late last season, but he showed a strong approach to go along with game-changing speed. It’s a dynamic skill set that will surely lead to viral moments for his baserunning and defensive exploits. Like Daniels, Crews was also drafted No. 2 overall out of LSU. He’s capable of keeping this comparison going and winning the MLB Rookie of the Year Award while getting Washington back to respectability.
Who comes out on top in the AL East?
Short: I had a different answer before the injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gíl, but the Red Sox look like the strongest team going into the season. They’ve beefed up the pitching staff with Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, and the offense has a different feel with Alex Bregman and rookie Kristian Campbell in the mix. In addition to the pitching questions, the Yankees’ lineup isn’t nearly as deep. And while the Orioles don’t have enough room for all of their young position players, their starting rotation is decidedly mediocre.
Samulski: The Red Sox feel like the team to beat right now. Crochet is the best pitcher in the division. If Devers is healthy, that lineup is as deep as any of the other lineups, and that’s not even accounting for any potential breakouts by top prospects Campbell, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Ceddanne Rafaela. The Red Sox have been biding their time and waiting for “the kids” to be ready. They’re ready now.
The surprise team this season will be …
Samulski: The A’s are going to push for a wild card spot, and it’s a shame that the great fans in Oakland won’t be there to cheer them on. The lineup has some talented bats, like Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday and Jacob Wilson. Adding Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs isn’t exciting, but it gives them their best rotation in a while. They’ll be in the hunt a lot longer than people expect.
Short: Aside from the Covid-shortened 2020 season, the Cincinnati Reds haven’t been to the postseason since way back in 2013. That changes this year with Terry Francona returning to the dugout. It’s a convenient narrative given his winning pedigree, but the Reds have high-end talent and a number of young players who haven’t reached their full potential yet. The gap between the Cubs and the Reds is smaller than it appears.
