By: Abby Altman
It has been 146 days since the last pitch of the 2022 MLB season was thrown. Nick Castellanos of the Phillies flew out to right fielder Kyle Tucker of the Astros to give Houston the 2022 World Series title.
A lot has happened in the off season since the last game was played, with teams gaining and losing star players left and right. The offseason was chaos for many teams and athletes, and that will most likely show in the start of the 2023 season.
One of the best examples for the chaos seen this offseason is through Carlos Correa.
After the 2022 season, Correa announced he would be opting out of his 3-year contract with the Minnesota Twins. On December 14th, Correa reached an agreement with the San Francisco Giants, for 13 years/$350 million.
This appeared to be a done deal, and Correa was going to be a Giant. On December 20th, however, San Francisco canceled Correas introductory press conference, mere hours before it was scheduled to begin. Fans were given no explanation.
On December 21st, while most fans were asleep, Correa reached an agreement with the New York Mets, for 12 years/ $315 million. Again, this seemed like a done deal, and Correa was going to become a Met.
On December 24th, Correa’s introductory press conference was postponed, due to reported concerns with his physical. Correa showed few issues physically last season.
When the Giants and the Mets both passed on Correa, Minnesota took this time to step up, and bring him back home.
On January 10th, Correa and the Minnesota Twins reached an agreement for 6 years/ $200 million.
If that timeline of a star shortstop essentially joining 3 different teams all to end up with the same team as last season doesn’t give you a good idea of what this season will look like, I’m not sure what will.
At the end of last years regular season, the top 10 teams in the power rankings were:
- Dodgers
- Astros
- Braves
- Yankees
- Mets
- Cardinals
- Blue Jays
- Guardians
- Mariners
- Padres
The Philadelphia Phillies were ranked 12th, and still managed to play in the World Series, beating the Cardinals, Padres, and Braves to get there.
Since then, more than 150 free agents have signed new contracts, nearly 70 trades have been made, and 5 teams have hired new managers.
Opening day for the 2023 season took place on March 30th, and was an excellent look into what the upcoming season has in store for fans.
Here are my predictions for the top 10 teams this season, and the World Series matchup to end the season:
- Toronto Blue Jays
2022 record: 92-70
2023 predicted record: 103-59
- New York Yankees
2022 record: 99-63
2023 predicted record: 100-62
- Houston Astros
2022 record: 106-56
2023 predicted record: 100-62
- Los Angeles Dodgers
2022 record: 111-51
2023 predicted record: 98-64
- New York Mets
2022 record: 101-61
2023 predicted record: 96-66
- Atlanta Braves
2022 record: 101-61
2023 predicted record: 95-67
- San Diego Padres
2022 record: 89-73
2023 predicted record: 92-70
- Philadelphia Phillies
2022 record: 87-75
2023 predicted record: 90-72
- Cleveland Guardians
2022 record: 92-70
2023 predicted record: 90-72
- Baltimore Orioles
2022 record: 83-79
2023 predicted record: 88-74
The Houston Astros will come very close to back-to-back World Series titles. Uncomfortably close for many fans, who have had a strong disliking for the team since 2019, when the cheating scandal was uncovered.
However, I believe the New York Mets will make it through the playoffs, and beat the Astros in 6 for the 2023 World Series title.
Plaid Line 