All players have officially reported to camp to begin the 2025 Major League Baseball season, with familiar faces arriving to new places. Here’s your guide on who to look out for this spring.
New York Yankees: Max Fried and Cody Bellinger
It’s been all eyes on Max Fried down in Tampa, Florida since reporting to George M. Steinbrenner Field for New York Yankees Camp. The newest addition to this starting rotation has been the center of attention. The Yankees signed “Mad Max” on December 17, 2024, with the largest ever contract for a left handed pitcher (8 years, $218M), to follow their ace Gerrit Cole in a shutout 1-2 punch.
Alongside Fried, Cody Bellinger has also been turning heads at Yankees Spring Training Camp. Bellinger’s sweet lefty swing has fans anxious to see the damage he will do in the Bronx with Yankee Stadium’s right field short porch. Belli has already attracted fans after going yard off of Carlos Rodón, sending one deep to right field in a live batting practice session.
Yankees fans (including myself) are very excited to welcome these two to the Bronx in just a little over a month and will be keeping an eye out for them this spring.
New York Mets: Juan Soto and Clay Holmes
The largest move of the offseason came when Juan Soto signed a record breaking 15 year, $765M contract with the New York Mets. When Soto arrived at Port St. Lucie, he was greeted by the media and fans who had been waiting for his arrival since sunrise. Crowds proceeded into the stadium, following Soto in for batting practice.
Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza says there is a different feel in the air now, having Soto in the clubhouse. Soto is the Mets’ greatest addition since they initially acquired Pete Alonso and fans are already showing him all the love.
Former Yankees closer Clay Holmes also headed across town to Queens this offseason. Holmes will be named a starter in the Mets rotation after spending most of his career in the bullpen. The Mets are looking to have him pitch 3 innings with a limit around 40 pitches per game.
This is an interesting move for New York considering Holmes struggled greatly in the Bronx with constantly giving up runs in much needed save situations. I’m curious to see if Holmes will be received by fans in Queens the same way he left those in the Bronx.
Boston Red Sox: Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet
This offseason, the Boston Red Sox are making a push to bounce back from their 3rd place finish in the American League East at 81-81. Their top signing was Alex Bregman to a 3-year, $120M contract.
Bregman has multiple Gold Glove Awards and will serve as an asset to this Red Sox lineup. Red Sox fans are anticipating the damage he will do to the Green Monster in left field.
The Sox also acquired Garrett Crochet, who is turning the heads of many by resembling Chris Sale. Crochet is an electric lefty arm who started his career as a reliever before working his way up to the top of a rotation.
Ahead of Spring Training, Manager Alex Cora explains the teams’ struggle in their competition for spots in the starting rotation. He says that Crochet should be their No. 1 guy, with other stars such as Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler to follow. This newly improved Sox rotation should be just what they need to make a postseason push in 2025.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell
Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason through the international signing pool. He drew a crowd when arriving at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ as people waited to see his first pitching appearance in the United States at batting practice.
It is no surprise that Sasaki landed in Los Angeles with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to guide him through MLB. He has generated a lot of excitement among the baseball world regarding his transition into the Majors from the Nippon Professional Baseball League and fans are eager to watch.
The last player I want to focus on is Blake Snell, another dominant pitcher the Dodgers will be adding to their starting rotation. Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, coming off of an underwhelming season across the bridge with the San Francisco Giants.
Snell came into this Spring Training in a better place than last season, making one of the most dominant rotations in baseball even stronger. He is hoping to bring the Dodgers another World Series Championship back to the fans of LA.
Ultimately, these are just some of the many familiar faces in unfamiliar places that I will be keeping a lookout for this Spring Training and you should be too.
Edited by Taylor N. Hall
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