The D-Backs are 8-9 this spring. They made moderate changes to their 2025 roster, including adding 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado in a Cardinals' salary dump. Arenado is with Puerto Rico at the WBC. In fact, a big chunk of the D-Backs' big league roster is at the WBC, including Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, and Alex Thomas.

Spring training stats are generally discarded for a reason: They mean nothing once the regular season starts. However, with the Giants making such a fundamental and outside-the-box change at manager by hiring Tony Vitello, it is clearly important to them that they set a winning tone even if it's only March.

A big chunk of the Yankees' projected roster is away at the WBC. That includes captain Aaron Judge, closer David Bednar, catcher Austin Wells, infielder Jazz Chisholm, and others.

Lefty Connelly Early, 23, has a good chance to break camp with the Red Sox and be in their starting rotation. In 4 starts in 2025, he posted a 0.6 bWAR, tossed 19.1 innings, surrendered 17 hits, allowed 5 earned runs, walked only 4, and struck out 29. Even more impressive, he did not surrender any home runs.

Dylan Cease signed a 7-year, $175 million contract with the Blue Jays this past offseason. After a rough season for the Padres in 2025 going 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA, Cease hopes to regain the form he showed in 2022 with the White Sox, when he was 2nd in the AL Cy Young Award voting, and the 2024 form in San Diego, when he finished 4th in the NL voting.

The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil, hopes to rebound from his injury-plagued 2025 campaign and return to pending star status.

While the Dodgers' age has shown at times this season, so has their experience in the postseason. That has never been more evident than in their must-win victory in Game 6 to push the series to a deciding Game 7.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has pitched consecutive complete games, beating the Brewers in the NLCS and the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the World Series. In those starts, he surrendered a combined 7 hits, 2 earned runs, walked 1, and struck out 15. He threw 111 pitches in the first game and 105 in the second.

After the 18-inning slog ended in disappointment on Freddie Freeman's walk-off homer for the Dodgers, the Blue Jays fought back in Game 5, touching up Shohei Ohtani for 4 runs.

In Game 3's seesaw battle, the fundamental difference between the Blue Jays and the Dodgers came to the forefront.

Injuries limited the 41-year-old Scherzer to 17 starts during the 2025 regular season. A thumb injury led to a lat injury. He posted a 5-5 record, allowed 87 hits in 85 innings, walked 23, and struck out 82.

In the 2025 playoffs, Dodgers' Game 2 starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has posted a 1.83 ERA in 19.2 innings, surrendering 13 hits and 4 earned runs, walking 4 and striking out 18. Against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS, he pitched a complete game 3-hitter, allowing 1 run — a leadoff homer to Jackson Chourio — and nothing else. He walked 1 and struck out 7.