Miguel Rojas gladly gave up his No. 11 to Roki Sasaki and went again to No. 72, his jersey as a Los Angeles Dodgers rookie in 2014.
“I am not asking for something,” the 35-year-old infielder mentioned. “I’ve every little thing that I need in life. All I ask [from] him is [to try] to get us one other championship.”
He is in the best spot. Spring coaching exercises begin Sunday with the Dodgers attempting to turn out to be the primary repeat champion for the reason that New York Yankees gained three in a row from 1998 to 2000.
Coming off their second title in 5 seasons, the Dodgers added Sasaki, the prized 23-year-old right-hander from Japan, and left-hander Blake Snell to a pitching employees anticipating two-way star Shohei Ohtani to return to the mound in April or Might after recovering from elbow surgical procedure.
“Kudos to them,” mentioned Toronto pitcher Max Scherzer, who pitched for the Dodgers briefly in 2021. “They’re doing every little thing proper. They’ve a well-oiled machine.”
Los Angeles opens the season in Tokyo towards the Chicago Cubs with a two-game collection beginning March 18. The Cubs are the primary workforce to begin apply, on Sunday in Mesa, Arizona, and all golf equipment will likely be on the sphere by Thursday.
Chicago supervisor Craig Counsell is also switching numbers, to 11, yielding No. 30 to Kyle Tucker, the All-Star outfielder acquired from Houston. Counsell selected 11 in honor of Jim Leyland, one among his early large league skippers. When Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the 1997 World Collection title, he reminded gamers they wanted 11 postseason wins for the title, matching the quantity on his again.
“I am hoping to make use of that speech slightly bit later within the month of September,” Counsell mentioned.
Chicago’s different workforce, the White Sox, is coming off a 121-loss season, probably the most within the main leagues post-1900,
“I hope our followers sooner or later perceive that that is going to repay long-term and us being very dedicated and disciplined goes to serve us effectively sooner or later,” common supervisor Chris Getz mentioned.
Hooray for Hollywood
Los Angeles dedicated $452 million to eight gamers throughout the offseason. The Dodgers saved utilityman Tommy Edman with a $74 million, five-year contract, outfielder Teoscar Hernández with a $66 million, three-year deal and right-hander Blake Treinen for $22 million over two years.
Along with Sasaki ($6.5 million signing bonus) and Snell ($182 million for 5 years), the Dodgers added reliever Tanner Scott ($72 million for 4 years), outfielder Michael Conforto ($17 million for one season) and second baseman Hyeseong Kim ($12.5 million for 3 years).
[Related: 2025 MLB free-agent signing tracker, trades: Pete Alonso returning to the Mets]
Tyler Glasnow is projected for the rotation after ending final season on the injured record. Three-time Cy Younger Award winner Clayton Kershaw is anticipated to re-sign and return after he recovers from knee and toe operations.
“The Dodgers are a extremely well-run, profitable group,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned. “The whole lot that they do and have completed is according to our guidelines. They’re attempting to offer their followers the very best product. These are all positives. I acknowledge, nevertheless, and my emails definitely replicate that there are followers in different markets who’re involved about their workforce’s capability to compete. And we all the time must be involved when our followers are involved about one thing. However pinning it on the Dodgers, I am not in that camp.”
Mets additionally paying high greenback
In the hunt for the workforce’s first World Collection title since 1986, New York Mets proprietor Steve Cohen gave a document $765 million, 15-year contract to outfielder Juan Soto, luring him from the rival Yankees, a part of a $925 million splurge on eight free brokers.
“If you would like one thing that is superb, it will be uncomfortable. It is by no means going to be snug,” Cohen mentioned. “And so I all the time stretch slightly bit as a result of I do know that is what it takes to get it completed.”
Following an NL Championship Collection loss to the Dodgers, the Mets additionally added right-handers Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning together with left-hander A.J. Minter, and re-signed first baseman Peter Alonso, left-hander Sean Manaea, right-hander Ryne Stanek and outfielder Jesse Winker. They acquired outfielder Jose Siri in a commerce with Tampa Bay.
Trying to find ruby slippers
Tampa Bay and the Athletics will likely be making ready for vagabond seasons in minor league ballparks. After 57 years in Oakland, the A’s will play at Sutter Well being Park in West Sacramento for at the very least three seasons earlier than transferring to a deliberate ballpark in Las Vegas. The Rays will play at Steinbrenner Discipline in Tampa, the spring coaching dwelling of the Yankees, for 2025 due to injury at Tropicana Discipline in St. Petersburg attributable to Hurricane Milton.
A pair of guidelines adjustments
MLB elevated the penalty for a violation of the shift rule requiring two infielders to be on the infield grime on all sides of second base when a pitch is thrown. A batter will now attain on an error, with a supervisor having the choice of taking the results of the play. Throughout the 2023 and ’24 seasons, the penalty was a ball being added to the rely or the supervisor taking the results of the play. There have been simply 4 violations of the shift rule in 2023 and two final 12 months.
If a baserunner runs by way of second or third base on a possible pressure play and does not attempt to maintain the bottom or advance, he will likely be referred to as out for abandonment. If a lead runner crosses the plate, a video evaluate would decide whether or not he touched the plate earlier than the trailing runner’s second foot touched the bottom on the opposite aspect of the bottom. The intent is to discourage baserunners from going by way of second and third with no try to carry the bottom so as to enable a lead runner to attain.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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