A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The 2025 Major League Baseball season begins in earnest today. Fourteen games are scheduled to take place. Here with what he's expecting this season is reporter Steve Futterman. So, Steve, the last time we spoke, the Dodgers had just beaten the New York Yankees in the World Series. You were in New York then. Today, you're in Los Angeles. And I know a lot of Dodger fans expect this season could end up pretty much the same way.
STEVE FUTTERMAN: That's right. Now, many fans think it's unfair, but the Dodgers, with baseball's biggest payroll - more than $320 million, at least on paper - have an even stronger lineup than last year. They are led, of course, by the great Shohei Ohtani. And at some point this year, in addition to hitting, Ohtani will be back on the mound, pitching with his surgically repaired elbow. We think that's likely to come in May.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and the thing with Shohei Ohtani is that no one, not even Babe Ruth, has been able to do what he has done in his career so far.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah, the guy's amazing. And just listen to his manager, Dave Roberts, talk about him.
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DAVE ROBERTS: I think Shohei just seems like a superhero. And in the biggest of games or the biggest of moments, he seems to always deliver.
FUTTERMAN: Now, LA made several major offseason acquisitions, including another Japanese star, Roki Sasaki, a right-handed pitcher. So the Dodgers are, again, loaded. And with what at times seems to be an unlimited amount of money to get the players they want, some non-LA baseball fans are labeling the Dodgers - I know this may bother you, A, being a Dodger fan - but some are labeling the Dodgers the Evil Empire.
MARTÍNEZ: No, not at all. They outspend everyone. Even the Yankees say they can't compete with the Dodgers' spending, if you can believe the Yankees, the old Evil Empire, saying that. Now, the acquisition of Sasaki was indeed a very, very big acquisition, but really the biggest offseason free agent signing involved a guy named Juan Soto.
FUTTERMAN: Absolutely. Now, last year, Soto was one of the big stars for the Yankees. He is still in New York, but he's moved across town to join the New York Mets. Now, the Mets last year made it all the way to the National League Championship Series. They are hoping Soto is the missing piece to get back to the World Series. They signed him to a remarkable 15-year contract worth $765 million. Soto says the key reason he chose the Mets was their desire to win.
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JUAN SOTO: Definitely, that was one of the things that I opened my eyes more was how hungry they are for - to win a championship and to want to make a dynasty.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So speaking of the Yankees, they have lost two key players from last year's American League Championship squad.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah, that's right. Not just Soto, who's now, as we mentioned, with the Mets, but the Yankees pitching ace Gerrit Cole. He's out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. New York did acquire free-agent pitcher Max Fried. He played the last several years with the Atlanta Braves. But replacing both Soto and Cole will be difficult. Still, the Yankees are the pick of many to, again, top the American League. One team some expect to challenge the Yankees - watch out for the Baltimore Orioles.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, the Yankees also have Giancarlo Stanton, their slugger, out indefinitely with tendinitis in both elbows. A lot of injuries to start the season. Steve, tell us about the two teams in Major League Baseball that will technically play home games, just not in their home ballparks.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah, that's right. The Tampa Bay Rays are not able to play at their regular home, Tropicana Field. It was damaged by Hurricane Milton in October. So they will play at the spring training home of the Yankees in Tampa. As for the team formerly known as the Oakland A's, they are headed to Las Vegas, but the new stadium being built there won't be ready until 2028. So they are playing this year in Sacramento at the home of the minor league Sacramento River Cats. And this year, they won't have any city attached to their name. They will only be called the A's or the Athletics.
MARTÍNEZ: They're kind of named after me, the A's. That's reporter Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. The Dodgers have their home opener tonight against the Detroit Tigers. Steve, thanks.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, A.
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