In just a little over one week, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will open the 2025 MLB season in Tokyo, Japan.
Now deep into the throes of spring training, the rumor mill has quieted down. Most free agents have homes, most trades will wait until the summer, and most teams are making final decisions on their rosters.
Still, there's always information trickling out that we can glean some insight from. With injuries also starting to pile up, the news cycle for the baseball season has just begun.
Grayson Rodriguez, Francisco Alvarez, George Kirby to miss start of season with injuries
Look, injuries are just a part of baseball. They're inevitably going to happen. Just look at the New York Yankees, who are navigating injuries to Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, and others.
Still, injuries this time of year always sting, especially when they come at the expense of some of the game's brightest stars.
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will miss roughly eight weeks after needing surgery to fix a fractured left hamate bone. Luis Torrens is expected to be the starting catcher until Alvarez returns.
New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez needs surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone and will be out for six to eight weeks, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 9, 2025
Joining him on the first edition of the 2025 Injured List is Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, who is dealing with an elbow issue. That's normally a damning statement for young pitchers who throw hard, but the dreaded "Tommy John" surgery hasn't been thrown around as an option just yet.
Likewise, Baltimore's veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge will miss months after requiring knee surgery. Mariners stud George Kirby will also miss time due to persistent shoulder inflammation. And Luis Gil has a lat strain that could keep him out for months.
The number of injuries is simply deflating. It sucks to see so many talented players dealing with long-term issues, especially the young starting pitchers who are among the next generation of players that will be the face of the league.
Depth is always a key part of building a championship contender, and it appears teams that focused on it this winter will be heavily rewarded come the regular season.
Philadelphia Phillies were interested in signing Pete Alonso this offseason
Though it won't have any impact on the league in 2025, it is noteworthy that the Phillies, who have one of the most expensive rosters in the league with a payroll clocking in at over $300 million, were interested in signing first baseman Pete Alonso.
Alonso, of course, ended up signing a disappointing two-year deal with the New York Mets to remain in Queens for at least the upcoming season (he has an opt-out after 2025). It's unlikely that Alonso, who has long pledged his allegiance to the Mets and their fans, would have signed with a hated division rival.
Still, Bryce Harper has been on record saying that he'd be willing to shift back to the outfield in order to accommodate a lineup-changing presence at first base, which Alonso certainly qualifies as. The first baseman has a career slash line of .249/.339/.514 with 162-game averages of 43 home runs and 112 RBIs.
If Alonso has a strong campaign in 2025 and hits free agency again next year, the Phillies could pose as a threat to poach him, especially with $20+ million salaries in J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber set to come off the books.