By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Dodgers are all-in on winning a second straight championship while the New York Yankees search for World Series redemption and the Mets look to end a title drought when the MLB season begins in earnest on Thursday.
The Dodgers, who got their title defense off to a solid start with a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series earlier this month, beat the Yankees in a thrilling Fall Classic five months ago.
The Dodgers went on to win the offseason too, adding elite pitching to a lineup that already includes reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani, World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and three-time champion Mookie Betts.
The Dodgers are gunning to become the first team to capture back-to-back titles since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000 and the team’s front office spent the winter attacking the club’s only vulnerability – their starting rotation.
Enter two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who the Dodgers signed to a five-year, $182 million deal that included a hefty $52 million signing bonus in late November.
Snell will get the ball for the Dodgers in their home opener in LA on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers, who will send fellow Cy Young-winner Tarik Skubal to the mound.
The Dodgers’ two wins in Tokyo marked a triumphant homecoming for Ohtani and the team’s two other Japanese star pitchers – Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie Roki Sasaki.
The Dodgers have won the NL West in 11 of the past 12 seasons and are heavy favorites to do so again, especially with hitter-pitcher Ohtani at the plate and, when he is deemed healthy enough, back on the mound.
“Shohei puts his pants on like we all do, one leg at a time, but Shohei is a superhero,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Tokyo.
“In the biggest of games, in the biggest of moments, he seems to always deliver.”
The Yankees have no doubt been stewing over their loss to the Dodgers in October’s World Series, which will be remembered for the agonizing parade of defensive breakdowns in the fifth inning of the fifth and final game.
The storied Yankees franchise, which boasts a record 27 World Series championships, still had a productive offseason, signing closer Devin Williams, veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and former Dodger Cody Bellinger.
The Yankees will once again lean on unanimous AL MVP Aaron Judge to power them to the AL East title and beyond.
And while the Dodgers had the best offseason overall, the New York Mets grabbed the single biggest prize, luring four-time All Star Juan Soto from the Yankees on a record 15-year, $765 million contract.
The Mets, who last won a title in 1986 and have long played second fiddle to the Yankees, rejoiced in acquiring the 26-year-old Soto from their crosstown rivals as they aim to build on their surprising run to the NLCS last season.
While the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets will no doubt dominate the conversation nationally, the now-healthy Atlanta Braves, the potent Philadelphia Phillies and high-powered Baltimore Orioles all have eyes on upending the current order.
The majority of MLB’s 30 teams will get their 162-game regular season campaigns underway on Thursday.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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