It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As we speak, major league baseball players are making their way to Arizona or Florida for spring training. However, we cannot begin talking about spring training until we look at a few teams with a notable offseason.

  First, let’s talk about the Mets. They ended the year with a strong 101-61 record and looked to have a promising playoff push. Unfortunately, they fell short of potential and lost in the Wild Card Series to the San Diego Padres. With the massive loss, they also lost their ace in the form of Jacob DeGrom, who is arguably a top three pitcher – if not the best – in the game. Soon after, they gained a top three pitcher with the addition of Justin Verlander from the Astros. The future looks promising to come back from a wild card exit.

  All rise! Another offseason win comes with the New York Yankees securing their future captain Aaron Judge. Aaron Judge signed a nine-year, 360 million-dollar contract with the pinstripes and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. So can the Yankees make a push for the World Series with the Judge this year?

  Last on the short mentions of offseason surges are the boys in blue. The Chicago Cubs finished with a record of 74-88, and if you ask any Cubs fan, it could’ve been worse! With their little resources and losing Wilson Contreras to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs needed to do some shopping. They did just that by adding people such as Dansby Swanson, Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer, Tucker Barnhardt, and Cody Bellinger, just to name a few. Just those five people have winning experience, tons of talent, and are great people to have in a clubhouse. The Cubs also have a great farm system in the minor leagues, and it is getting better and better by the second. So a winning season just well may be coming to the North Side once again.

  Another topic that will be briefly discussed is the series of rule changes coming to Major League Baseball. The bases are now three square inches bigger than they were before. Another change includes the pitch and batter clocks being put into play to speed up the pace of play. This will cause some pitchers or batters to be quicker to be set and ready on the mound or at the plate

  Now that a few notable offseasons have been highlighted, it is time to turn our attention to spring training. This time of the year is a great time to get a feel of your favorite team or see some of the underdogs or minor leaguers who don’t get the chance to start in the big show. There truly is so much to be excited about when February turns to March.

  Another great thing about spring training, especially this year, is seeing how your team performs or meshes together. As big of an offseason as it was, many people wonder if their teams’ trades or decisions were the right ones. Spring training is a great way to see a preview of that. Especially this year, it will also be a great time to get a feel for the different rule changes that were announced as well.

  Baseball fans have a lot to be excited about this spring. The anticipation of hearing the crack of the bat or smack of a mitt again lingers deep in fans all over the country. This year is already looking to be a great one.