Happy “official” Opening Day, baseball fans. Twenty-eight of Major League Baseball’s 30 clubs will be in action on Thursday as the 2025 season gets underway. Can the Los Angeles Dodgers become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to repeat as World Series champs? Who will lead the league in homers? Which teams are sneaky playoff contenders?

We asked our MLB national trending news team for their bold predictions for the season ahead. Here’s what they had to say. Jazz Chisholm Jr. becomes the latest Yankee to hit 40 home runs Aaron Judge and Juan Soto each hit over 40 home runs last year, with Judge’s 58 leading the sport. Don’t be surprised to see Chisholm, who hit 11 homers over 46 games with the Yankees last year, follow in Soto’s footsteps. The energetic Chisholm has repeatedly emphasized how comfortable he feels in pinstripes, and he’s returned to his familiar second base position after a brief stint at third.

Chisholm has a sweet swing perfectly made for Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field. I don’t expect the Yankees to win the AL East, especially not after their recent rash of injuries, but Judge and Chisholm should help them stay in the playoff race. -Jake Elman

Athletics win 85 games, make the postseason for first time since 2020 It won’t be enough to win the division and it’s going to take some good fortune and a second-straight healthy season from new ace Luis Severino, but the Athletics of Sacramento have enough offensive firepower to make a real leap in the AL West. After finishing 69-93 and in fourth place last year, the trio of Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and Shea Langeliers will combine for 100 home runs and 250 runs batted in.

Houston, who captured the division crown with an 88-73 mark, gets hit with the injury bug and falls down a couple of pegs. Plus, I’m not sold on Texas’ rotation coming together. Seattle takes the West, but a wild card path is there. -Chris Licata Red Sox win first division title since 2018 As it currently stands, the Boston Red Sox have the best roster in the AL East despite having a losing record each of the last three seasons. The additions of Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet have revitalized the roster. Also, the Yankees have been decimated by injuries to their rotation, and the Baltimore Orioles did not do enough to supplement their young core this offseason. This year, the AL East runs through Boston. -Mike El-Far

Sure, this one isn’t exactly under-the-radar as the only question surrounding the former back-to-back Cy Young winner is his health. But if the Texas Rangers play their cards right and ease him back into longer starts, it’s not out of the question to predict a full-force return to greatness for deGrom this season. It would be a little outlandish to predict a Cy Young win for him this season with Tarik Skubal, Crochet, Max Fried, Cole Ragans and Framber Valdez potentially shoving this year, but deGrom will get back to full health and dominate from June to September enough to place him firmly in the conversation. -Zach Kaplan Pirates make playoffs for first time in a decade

Somebody from the NL Central has to make the postseason. Paul Skenes is the front-runner for National League Cy Young Award. Jared Jones is a bona fide No. 2…when healthy. And Bubba Chandler, Baseball America’s No. 7 prospect in the game, should join the rotation before June. The lineup isn’t scary and will need overachieving seasons from players like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Nick Gonzalez, but Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds make a solid 1-2 punch in the middle. So, yeah, why not the Pirates? -Eric W. Bolin

Ozuna has hit 79 homers over the last two seasons, including a career-high 40 in 2023. Still, he hasn’t finished higher than tied-fifth on the league leaderboard. Now a full-time DH, the 34-year-old played all 162 games last season and still ranked among the top 5% of active hitters in average exit velocity (92.1 mph), average home run distance (412 feet) and hard hit percentage (53.4%).

It would be the lowest home run total for the league leader since 2014 (Nelson Cruz; 40), but the Atlanta Braves slugger remains in prime position to challenge Shohei Ohtani and Judge. Oh, by the way, he’s in a contract year. -Licata Mets miss playoffs after historic offseason spending The New York Mets poaching Soto on a historic 15-year, $765 million contract was the highlight of the offseason. Unfortunately, though, they did not address their most glaring need: starting pitching. While the 2024 NL runners-up did add former closer Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas, the latter has a lat injury that will cause him to miss at least two months.

The current rotation is severely lacking compared to division rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia, and Edwin Diaz is another year older. Unless they make a big move at the deadline for an established pitcher, do not expect to see Soto in the playoffs again come October. -El-Far