Can the Houston Astros repeat? Here are 5 storylines for the 2018 MLB season
A new Major League Baseball season arrives Wednesday — Thursday for the Texas Rangers — after an unprecedented off-season that might become the norm until the players get another chance at the collective bargaining agreement.
Most top free agents went unsigned for months and even into the final week of spring training (hello, Alex Cobb and Greg Holland). Some teams unloaded their best players (hello, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates, among others) or didn't buy on the luxury side of free agency (hello, Rangers and others).
A few teams didn't need to do much but did so anyway (hello, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, among others).
It's almost go time to see how it all shakes out after 162 games and then October. Here's a glance at some prevailing storylines entering the 2018 season.
1. Can the Astros repeat?
This one hits close to home for Rangers fans, but it's a national story.
The Astros are the reigning world champions, and they improved themselves over the winter. It's difficult to find a more complete rotation, headed by Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel and now including Pirates castoff Gerrit Cole.
The lineup? It's back mostly in tact, including reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve.
The unforeseen could always gobble up the Astros. Injuries and underperformance can wreck any team. But it would take a lot to conspire against the Astros in the American League West.
The playoffs could get tricky, or not. The Astros are built for 162 and the short series of October.
2. How will Shohei Ohtani fare in his rookie season?
Another one that hits close to Rangers fans, and stings, though not as much as seeing the rival Astros sit atop baseball. Nevertheless, Ohtani was the Rangers' No. 1 off-season target, and the two-way star signed with the Los Angeles Angels amid more hype than when Yu Darvish crossed the Pacific.
Ohtani will be in the Angels' rotation and in their lineup three games a week. At least that's the plan. Ohtani had a terrible spring on the mound and at the plate. Some have said that he could use time in the minor leagues to make all the necessary adjustments to playing in MLB.
It could be a bumpy ride early on for Ohtani.
3. How many homers will the Bronx Bombers have?
The Yankees were the biggest benefactor from the Marlins' latest fire sale, adding reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to one of the most homer-friendly ballparks in baseball.
The Yankees already had one of the game's top power hitters in Aaron Judge. Together, they hit 111 homers in 2017. If the baseballs are as conducive to homers as they were last season, Stanton and Judge could put on the best pinstriped home-run chase since Maris and Mantle.
Oh, yeah, the Yankees can pitch, too, and could be the No. 1 thorn in the Astros' side come October.
4. The tanking problem.
It is abundantly clear that at least 25 percent of the 30 teams were built to lose this season, and that pool might be closer to 40 percent. This is a significant issue for the players and the game.
As Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said, the concept of rebuilding isn't anything new. The past three World Series winners — the Astros, Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals — were tankers, and MLB is a copycat sport.
But rebuilds take time in baseball, and never have so many teams tried it. Meanwhile, pennant races are affected, free agency is affected, and attendance and TV ratings be affected. Messy stuff.
5. Pace of play.
It's an issue because MLB and the players made it a big issue during the off-season. MLB wants quicker games, with the threat of a pitch-clock looming next season, and the players want their game left mostly alone.
The evolution of the game has had an effect. Yes, homers are up, but so are strikeouts. Players don't put the ball in play as much, so there are fewer chances for quick outs. Replay is helping the integrity of the game, while also making it longer.
There are new measures in place for this season, such as limiting mound visits and shortening the time between innings. If the pace of play drops as a result, wonderful, but how much of a drop is realistic?
This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Can the Houston Astros repeat? Here are 5 storylines for the 2018 MLB season."