Baseball Connection

Corbin Burnes showed everyone why the Orioles cashed in their chips to trade for him. Burnes retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced on Opening Day, including 11 strikeouts. Juan Soto flashed both offense and defense by reaching base 3 times and throwing out the potential game-tying run at home plate. Tyler O'Neill homered for the 5th consecutive Opening Day - a feat no known player has done before. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Opening Day has arrived. The Dodgers and Padres got things started with the Korea Series last week, but everyone else joins the action today. Aces are on the mound and everyone is even in the standings. Let the games begin!

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's name has been found within a gambling investigation. At least $4.5 million was transferred from Ohtani's bank account to an illegal bookmaker. Ohtani's camp initially said the transactions were made by Ohtani himself to pay off his interpreter's gambling debt. Now Ohtani's camp say he was the victim of "massive theft". The Dodgers have fired Ohtani's interpreter. What's going on here? What are the implications? All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Padres acquired Dylan Cease, bringing and end to longstanding speculation surrounding the star pitcher. Cease has always been an innings-eater, but what will his run prevention look like in 2024? The Astros are in "win now" mode but will be without several key pitchers to start the season? Houston is reportedly in serious talks with Blake Snell, who remains a free agent with the season just 11 days away. Gerrit Cole and Devin Williams will each miss about 3 months with their respective injuries. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Blake Snell still doesn't have a team yet. Will Snell take a less-than-desired deal from the Yankees or will another team meet his asking price? Cody Bellinger re-signed with the Cubs on a 3-year, $80 million deal with opt outs. Brandon Crawford is a Giant no more, but will he even start on his new team? All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Giants need help on offense. They haven't had a hitter belt 30+ home runs since Barry Bonds in 2004. This is why they've signed Jorge Soler to a 3-year, $42 million deal. No ballpark is too big to contain Soler, who is an easy threat for 30+ home runs if he stays healthy. The Padres are making a swap in their middle infield alignment. Xander Bogaerts will play 2B and Ha-Seong Kim will play SS. Spring Training is underway. Which top prospects will break camp? All this (and more) on today's episode.

The Royals and Bobby Witt Jr. have agreed to an 11-year, $288.78 million extension. Kansas City locks in their budding young star - a move which can kickstart a genuine attempt to return to relevance. It's the largest contract in team history so the Royals will likely add more pieces to build around Witt Jr. Jose Altuve will be an Astro for life. Altuve was set to be a free agent after the upcoming season but the Astros signed him to a 5-year, $125 million extension. Even at age 34, Altuve is still one of the the game's best players. Clayton Kershaw is back in LA - not that anyone expected him to go anywhere. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Corbin Burnes is on the move. Burnes is heading to Baltimore to join the American League's new juggernaut. The Orioles will surround Burnes with young talent. Baltimore has boasted baseball's best farm system for a while now and those prospects are now turning into MLB stars. The Brewers received rookie infielder Joey Ortiz and LHP D.L. Hall in return. Justin Turner signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Blue Jays. Why are the Red Sox so afraid to spend? Carlos Santana signed with the Twins and Alex Wood signed with the A's. All this (and much more) on today's episode.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class has been announced. Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, and Todd Helton will be this year's inductees. Beltré and Mauer were each first-ballot inductees and Helton was on the sixth ballot. Billy Wagner was just 4 votes shy of making it. He'll be on the ballot for the final time next year. The Dodgers have done a lot to address their starting pitching concerns this offseason. LA just added James Paxton to the back of their rotation. Rhys Hoskins agreed to a 2-year, $34 million deal with the Brewers. Josh Hader signed with the Astros on a 5-year, $95 million deal. All this (and more) on today's episode.

Teoscar Hernandez, Marcus Stroman, Shoto Imanaga, and Jordan Hicks all agreed to notable free agent deals within the past week. Hernandez brings a solid bat to LA while the remaining three are key starting pitchers. And yes, that includes Jordan Hicks. The Giants gave Hicks a 4-year, $44 million deal with the plan of converting him to a starter this year. Juan Soto agreed to the largest-ever arbitration deal. Soto can lock in big money with another strong season this year. All this (and more) on today's episode.