The 2025 Major League Baseball season is set to kick off on Tuesday with the illustrious Tokyo Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. The best international players will be on display on the international stage as the Tokyo Dome plays host to these two legendary clubs.
Shohei Ohtani, Shota Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and many other stars will be on display for the entire world to see. But, there is still quite a lot of news around the league. While these two teams are playing regular season games, the other 28 teams are still ramping up for the March 27th edition of opening day.
Some teams are struggling with injuries while others are returning stars to the field. Some teams are rolling along while others are sputtering to a stop. This offseason has been full of excitement, but it's about time we turn the page from offseason to regular season.
Let's take a deeper dive in the MLB rumors around the league.
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Ronald Acuña Jr. interest in 2026 WBC could be disastrous for Braves
The Atlanta Braves faced serious injuries that completely derailed their 2024 season before it could even get started. Early in the year, the Braves lost Spencer Strider to a torn UCL and eventual surgery to repair it. A little while later, Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL that needed surgery to repair. Both superstars would miss the entire season and a chunk of 2025 as well.
Strider returned to the mound today and looked as dominant as ever. He struck out six hitters in 2.2 innings of work in his first spring training appearance. But Acuña finds himself in the news for a different reason.
Acuña recently expressed his interest to play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. As exciting as this is for baseball fans, the Braves have to be a bit concerned with the idea. Acuña is returning from a serious knee injury, his second of the kind, and he hasn't even stepped foot on the field yet.
A lot of baseball players have spoken out about the joy and pride that comes with representing your country in the WBC. There's no doubt that Acuña is looking to be a part of this event because of the pride he has in his home nation. But I'm sure Braves fans would like to see him return to the field before discussing events like this.
Yu Darvish set back makes Padres' Roki Sasaki whiff hurt worse
The San Diego Padres tried to acquire starting pitcher Roki Sasaki this offseason, but they ultimately came up just short of bringing him in. To make matters worse, the Padres watched as Sasaki signed his international free agent deal with the Dodgers.
If this whiff couldn't have gotten any worse, Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish suffered a small set back in his return to the mound. Darvish is returning from an injury plagued 2024 season. The Padres cited general fatigue as the setback for the righty this time around, which shouldn't be a huge deal. But it puts the Sasaki whiff back in the spotlight.
If San Diego could have landed Sasaki, it would be in a much better position right now. He would have taken the pressure off Darvish and a lot of other players in San Diego. Instead, the Padres will match up against Sasaki as rivals for the next few years, if not longer. That hurts.
Gleyber Torres' potential refusal to play third base could hurt Tigers
Last season, Gleyber Torres created some unnecessary drama in the Bronx after he outwardly refused to move over to third base following the New York Yankees' acquisition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Yankees were ultimately fine after Chisholm seamlessly slotted in at third base so Torres could stick at second.
But Torres is with the Detroit Tigers now. And Detroit has a huge hole at third base following multiple injuries. One Tigers podcaster suggesting slotting Trey Sweeney at shortstop, Colt Keith at second, and Torres at third base. But would the veteran infielder be willing to do this on his new team?
The likely answer here is no. And that's something the Tigers are going to have to live with. This refusal wouldn't be new behavior or a new development for Torres. He's always been insistent that he's a second baseman and nothing else.
But, to preface, there's no report that the veteran has declined to play third base for the Tigers. This is all hypothetical on what could work best for Detroit amid all these injuries. It would be very shocking to see the veteran infielder willing to move positions with his new team.