Baseball 2025 (NL West)

Baseball season gets a special early opening with the Dodgers and Cubs playing in Tokyo.  Shohei Ohtani's the biggest star in the game...and he's Japanese...so the Dodgers' selection makes complete sense.  Especially when you throw in the fact they've also snagged a top Japanese starting pitcher in each of the last two offseasons.  And the Cubs are a global brand with Japanese stars of their own, so they make sense as an opponent.

With teams from the NL West and NL Central getting underway before every other division, I figured it made sense to flip the order for my annual baseball preview and start with those two.  I'll do the West first because, let's face it, it isn't really going out on much of a limb to say the Dodgers will win the division again.  That's what happens when you're dealing with a juggernaut that just keeps reloading.

As for how the other four teams will sort out, San Diego was a playoff team last season and almost beat the Dodgers in the Division Series.  The Padres could easily be a playoff team again.  Arizona was in the World Series two seasons ago and just missed the playoffs last year.  And they added Corbin Burnes at the top of their rotation, so the Diamondbacks could definitely make some noise.

The Giants are the fourth-best team in the division and their lineup isn't very deep.  They've got starting pitching, though, and any team with that is dangerous.  The Rockies lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history last season.  Not losing 100 again seems like a reasonable goal for 2025.  Because, like the Marlins and Nationals in the NL East, they're nowhere near talented enough to compete with the powerhouses at the top of the division.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: I make fun of the Dodgers for stockpiling starting pitchers and outfielders, but there's obviously a method to their madness.  They've been THE dominant team in baseball for the better part of a decade and are coming off a World Series title, yet they're nowhere near satisfied.  It pisses off everybody else, but, this is how any fan should want their team to act.  Whether it's in the best interest of baseball is a different question (and will be what leads to the "Dodger Lockout" when the CBA expires after next season), but you've gotta respect how committed they are to winning and how they're willing to invest so many resources into doing just that.

Last season, they somehow ran out of starting pitching in the postseason, so they signed two of the biggest-name free-agent starters out there in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.  Plus, Ohtani will go back to pitching at some point early in the season.  As we've seen with the Yankees during Spring Training, you can never have enough starting pitching.  And now they've got protection for their injury protection.  The lineup is basically the same.  They signed Michael Conforto, which moves Mookie Betts to the infield full-time (for now) and made Gavin Lux expendable, so he was traded to Cincinnati.  Re-signing Tesocar Hernandez was huge, too.  That was such a perfect combination of player and team last season!
Projected Lineup: Shohei Ohtani-DH, Mookie Betts-SS, Freddie Freeman-1B, Teoscar Hernandez-RF, Will Smith-C, Max Muncy-3B, Michael Conforto-LF, Kike Hernandez-2B, Tommy Edman-CF
Projected Rotation: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Dustin May, Shohei Ohtani
Closer: Blake Treinen
Projected Record: 103-59

2. San Diego Padres: Will Dylan Cease and Michael King still be Padres at the end of the season?  Will we even make it to Opening Day with those two still part of San Diego's rotation?  Those are the type of questions you always have to ask yourself regarding the Padres, who sent Juan Soto to the Yankees prior to last season, only to add Luis Arraez in May and become a playoff team.  There's no reason to think they can't be again.  Even if they make some changes during the season (either additions or subtractions).

Why is that?  Because the Padres boast some absolutely ridiculous talent!  Arraez, Manny Machado, Francisco Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth.  They lost Jurickson Profar to Atlanta in free agency, but replaced him with Jason Heyward, who really only needs to provide a veteran presence.  The pitching is the big question mark.  Not because of doubts about their ability or injury concerns, but because they've got starting pitchers other teams will want who could very likely get traded.  Whether they are or not could depend on how close the Padres can stay to the Dodgers.  If they feel like they have a chance at returning to the playoffs, they'll probably keep them.  If not, expect them to be traded.
Projected Lineup: Luis Arraez-1B, Jackson Merrill-CF, Manny Machado-3B, Fernando Tatis Jr.-RF, Xander Bogaerts-SS, Jake Cronenworth-2B, Connor Joe-DH, Jason Heyward-LF, Elias Diaz-C
Projected Rotation: Dylan Cease, Michael King, Yu Darvish, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez
Closer: Robert Suarez
Projected Record: 87-75

3. Arizona Diamondbacks: Corbin Burnes to Arizona came out of absolutely nowhere!  And it gives the Diamondbacks a top three in the rotation that's as good as anybody's.  If this team's going to return to the playoffs, it'll be on the strength of that pitching staff.  They won't challenge the Dodgers for the division title.  No one is delusional enough to think that.  But can they challenge the Padres for second and contend for a wild card spot?  Absolutely!  Especially since, on paper, they're stronger than their 2023 World Series squad.

They added some pop to the lineup in Josh Naylor, too.  Naylor had 30 & 100 for Cleveland last season and is that power threat the Diamondbacks really haven't had in a while.  And, outside of Naylor, they're still really lacking.  Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are both great, but they're contact-hitter/on-base guys.  That's where I worry about Arizona.  Their pitching will carry them, but will the lineup be so anemic that they end up being too reliant on their arms?  If they get just enough hitting, it's not crazy to think about the Diamondbacks as a potential playoff team.
Projected Lineup: Ketel Marte-2B, Corbin Carroll-RF, Josh Naylor-1B, Eugenio Suarez-3B, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.-LF, Pavin Smith-DH, Gabriel Moreno-C, Geraldo Perdomo-SS, Jake McCarthy-CF
Projected Rotation: Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt
Closer: Kevin Ginkel
Projected Record: 82-80

4. San Francisco Giants: Last season, they got Blake Snell on a bargain two-year deal, only for him to pitch well enough to opt out and sing with their dominant archrival (and continue his personal tour through the NL West).  This year's offseason free agent pitching acquisition is 42-year-old Justin Verlander.  How much does the future Hall of Famer have left in the tank, though?  We haven't seen Vintage Verlander since 2022, and last season he only made 17 starts for Houston.

Their other big addition last offseason was Korean center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, who dislocated his shoulder in May and was lost for the season.  That's obviously just bad luck, but that's also how things have been going for the Giants (both San Francisco and New York) in recent seasons.  If everyone can stay healthy and productive, there's a chance the Giants can make life difficult for everyone else.  Are they a playoff team?  No.  Even finishing .500 could be a stretch.  Playing a spoiler, though?  That's absolutely possible.
Projected Lineup: Willy Adames-SS, Wilmer Flores-DH, Matt Chapman-3B, Mike Yastrezmski-RF, Heliot Ramos-LF, Jung Hoo Lee-CF, Patrick Bailey-C, LaMonte Wade Jr.-1B, Tyler Fitzgerald-2B
Projected Rotation: Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison
Closer: Ryan Walker
Projected Record: 75-87

5. Colorado Rockies: Fortunately for the Rockies, they're not the White Sox or Angels.  Yeah, that's about all I've got.  They might be the worst team in the National League.  (Yes, worse than even the Marlins and Nationals.)  And their best player, Ryan McMahon, will almost certainly be playing for another team by the end of the season.  Frankly, if they can avoid losing 100 games for the second straight season, it'll be a miracle!  I'm not sure they can do that, though.  The talent's simply not there.

Kris Bryant is a shell of his former self.  He simply hasn't been able to stay on the field since coming to Colorado.  In three seasons with the Rockies, he's played in just 159 games (and missed 325).  It isn't Anthony Rendon territory yet, but it's getting there.  This season, Bryant's moving to DH in an attempt to keep him healthy and his bat in the lineup.  They don't just need his bat in the lineup.  They need the Chicago Cubs version of Kris Bryant's bat in the lineup.  Otherwise, what already figures to be a long season will likely feel even longer.
Projected Lineup: Brenton Doyle-CF, Ryan McMahon-3B, Kris Bryant-DH, Nolan Jones-LF, Jacob Stallings-C, Ezequiel Tovar-SS, Michael Toglia-1B, Thairo Estrada-2B, Jordan Beck-RF
Projected Rotation: Kyle Freeland, Ryan Feltner, Austin Gomber, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela
Closer: Seth Halvorsen
Projected Record: 61-101