It was just a few weeks ago that the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series for the 2020 MLB season. Now, we are in the offseason and await the return of baseball this upcoming spring. Even though we are only a few weeks into the offseason, it is never too early to begin looking forward to next season and what will happen. As of now, the 2021 MLB season is already scheduled; however, due to the uncertain nature of sports right now,things could change as we get closer to the beginning of the season.
As of writing, the season is scheduled to begin at the same time it does in a normal year. Spring Training will begin on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2021, with teams playing in the Cactus League or the Grapefruit League. Some exhibition league games will be played in Major League Baseball ballparks from March 28 to March 30. The regular season will begin on Thursday, April 1, 2021. This year, like the past few years, all 30 teams will play on Opening Day and there will be 10 division match-ups among the 15 games on the first day.
At this point, while a plethora of teams could potentially win the world series, the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays seem to have a pretty good chance at winning it. However, there are several teams that are in a pretty good position to do well in the season next year and possibly make the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays are three of the teams to watch next season.
For the Braves, much of their roster will return for the next season. While Marcell Ozuna, who led the Braves in hits and home runs this past season, has elected free agency, Freddie Freeman, who was second in hits, RBIs and batting average for the team, will return for at least one more year before his contract expires. Max Fried, who led the Braves in wins, will also return next season.
The Dodgers also have much of their team returning next season. Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Chris Taylor, Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly will all return for at least one more season. While these, and other players, will be returning next season, Justin Turner, who led the team in batting average, will not be returning.
Based off of their performance last season, The Tampa Bay Rays could make it back to the World Series next season. Randy Arozarena, who was fourth on the team in batting average, Hunter Renfroe, who was second in home runs and Brandon Lowe, who led the team in hits, home runs and RBIs, will all be returning next season.
The start of the upcoming MLB season is still just under five months away, but it is never too soon to think about what will happen in the next season of baseball.
