Let's start this off by noting that I'm leaning into the extreme with this exercise. The task is to come up with bold predictions for the 2025 MLB season, so I'm going to try and go bold.
It's an interesting thought process. I can't travel too far into the Twilight Zone, instead, I've got to root my forecasts in reality. They have to be educated guesses.
So, that's what I'll strive for. Continue reading for some wild predictions for the upcoming baseball campaign.
This will be Shohei Ohtani's final season as a pitcher
Ohtani will return to the mound this year but just how effective will he be? It'll be the first time he pitches in a major-league game since Aug. 23, 2023, after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery.
As we've seen with many pitchers, recovering from major elbow surgery is not easy and it essentially took Ohtani over two years to become a full-time starter again after undergoing his first Tommy John in late 2018.
However, things were different then.
Ohtani will turn 31 this summer and the two-way superstar is coming off his best season as a hitter and an all-time great campaign in MLB history.
The Dodgers have plenty of pitching depth and that will only be bolstered if they sign Japanese star Roki Sasaki. Should Ohtani struggle as a hurler this season, the team will be forced to consider if it's still worth it for the best offensive player in the sport to continue devoting his time and energy into pitching.
The Boston Red Sox will win the American League East
Teams in the division grew stronger during the off-season but the Red Sox, led by their standout rotation, will finish in first place.
The additions of Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler will prove to be among the shrewdest moves of the winter. Crochet will cement himself as an elite starter while Buehler reestablishes himself and earns down-ballot Cy Young votes as well as a fat contract next off-season.
Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford will nicely round out the starting five while Boston's core of young position players take a step forward in 2025.
Francisco Lindor, not Juan Soto, will be the Mets' best player and is crowned National League MVP
After signing a record-breaking contract, Soto will be expected to instantly prove his worth with his new club. I'm not saying he won't do that, I just think Lindor will be better.
The star shortstop produced a career-high 7.8 fWAR and finished second in NL MVP voting last season, carrying the Mets on his shoulders at times down the stretch and in the playoffs.
He'll be even better in 2025. Just consider what Aaron Judge did last season in his lone year riding shotgun with Soto.
Brent Rooker will lead the AL in home runs
Did you even know that the Athletics' designated hitter blasted 39 home runs last season? The 30-year-old Rooker is a late bloomer who flies well under the radar because of where he plays.
Rooker only figured himself out at the plate recently, but he's doing something right. The six-foot-three, 225-pound slugger whacked 69 homers and produced an .876 OPS and 147 OPS-plus over the past two seasons.
The A's will play 2025 in Sacramento's Sutter Health Park, which is essentially a minor-league stadium. The outfield dimensions don't appear to be too different from the Oakland Coliseum, though the foul territory will be much smaller and there’ll be less of a marine layer for players to contend with during evenings.
I predict Rooker will benefit from that and beat Judge for the home run crown.
Carlos Correa will be traded to ...
... the New York Yankees.
The star shortstop will be fully healthy during the first half of the campaign and that will lead the way to the Minnesota Twins dealing him to the Yankees, who'll need infield help.
The distaste Yankees fans have for Correa stemming from his time on the sign-stealing Houston Astros will be heard when the three-time all-star arrives in the Bronx. However, the boos will quickly disappear as Correa injects a dose of star power into the Yankees lineup.
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