The MLB season is finally under way following the conclusion of the Tokyo Series, as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept a two-game set with the Chicago Cubs. Now, the rest of the league will begin the season in a traditional Opening Day on March 27.
Before then, there are a lot of things to still unpack. There are teams with massive holes to fill on their roster, including the defending American League Pennant winning New York Yankees, who need to add a starting pitcher (and, depending on who you ask, a third baseman). The Atlanta Braves recently scooped up outfielder Alex Verdugo in free agency, further insurance for Ronald Acuña Jr.. But these is far from the only storylines going around the league.
Let's take a deeper dive into a few of the biggest storylines and rumors in baseball with one week to go before Opening Day.
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MLB Rumors: Chris Sale trade continues to age like fine wine for the Braves
The Atlanta Braves have one of the top general managers in the entire league. Alex Anthopoulos has become notorious for swinging incredible one-sided trades that push the Braves to a different level. This was evident in 2021 following an injury to star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., when Atlanta rebuilt its outfield on the fly en route to the 2021 World Series.
But even that pales in comparison to the move that brought Chris Sale to Atlanta. The Braves sent young infielder Vaughn Grissom to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for the lefty. Grissom was seen as a solid prospect, and the Braves were able to bring in the star lefty in exchange for just one player. At the time, this seemed like a huge deal for the Braves, who needed to add pitching, and the trade has continued to age like fine wine.
The Red Sox will option IF Vaughn Grissom to Triple-A, per sources.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) March 19, 2025
Sale dominated in 2024, winning National League Cy Young honors and stepping up in a big way after Spencer Strider went down with an injury. Grissom slogged through a dismal first season in Boston, and his second has gotten off to a great start either, as the Red Sox demoted him to the Minors this week despite having a hole at second base, Rather than landing a top prospect for the lefty, the Red Sox are left with a player who can't even crack the big leagues. It's another huge win for Anthopoulos.
Rangers show another red flag with starting pitcher Jack Leiter
The Texas Rangers have a lot invested in the top prospect duo of pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. Both stars dominated while at Vanderbilt, and after a different path to the big leagues have found themselves reunited again as members of the Rangers.
Rocker is a lock to be near the top of the Rangers' rotation in 2025, but Leiter isn't. In fact, Leiter has struggled a lot more than many expected him to, so much so that the Rangers recently signed Patrick Corbin to a deal as a potential rotatoin replacement for the top prospect. Corbin has posted the worst qualified ERA in the league over the last four or five years, and yet Texas has seemingly brought him in with designs on handing him a rotation spot that could otherwise go to Leiter.
This spring, the young righty hasn't struggled in terms of earned runs or home runs or hits allowed. In fact, over 14.2 innings, he holds an ERA close to 3.00. But his walk rate has been so high that it's impossible to ignore. If he continues to walk batters at a rate near six nine per nine innings, the Rangers will have no choice but to send him back to Triple-A. Still, his ERA is a good sign to hold out hope.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting backed against a wall with finances
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been stuck as a struggling team for the last decade or so. And a lot of the blame can be place on their ownerm Bob Nutting.
To put it simply, Nutting doesn't spend enough money to put a solid roster on the field. The Pirates have a few quality players, but they're spending money at such an alarmingly low rate that Pirates fans are left with no reason to be optimistic.
Recently, a deeper dive into the finances revealed that the Pirates aren't just spending less total money than most of the league, but they're spending less of a percentage of their revenue than even large-market teams.
If the Mets and Dodgers were dominating because they had more money to spend, that would be one thing. But the smaller market teams are spending less of a percentage of their money, which does nothing but further the gap.
It seems like it's about time for Nutting to sell the team. The Pirates will never have a chance to compete with the big market teams while he's the owner.