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For established big leaguers, spring training is a time of leisure, preparation and reacclimation. February and March are all about getting reacquainted with the sport’s rhythms and routines while avoiding injury at all costs.
But for some, spring training is a hidden war, a battle for professional survival. Those on the edges of a roster and those fighting for an every-day spot wake up each morning with a sense of quiet determination. And despite all the planning, prognosticating and projecting that happens over the winter, there are a number of contending teams that will enter camp with uncertainty at key positions.
Let’s whip around the league and highlight some of the more compelling spring training position battles.
Read more: Grading every team’s offseason, from an A+ for the Dodgers to Fs for the Padres and Mariners
Yankees: Third base
Contenders: DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza
New York’s winter has been dominated by Juan Soto’s departure and the team’s ensuing pivot, but the unsettled infield mix has existed somewhat separately from that hullabaloo. With longtime second baseman Gleyber Torres departing in free agency, as predicted, and presumptive replacement Caleb Durbin dealt to Milwaukee in the Devin Williams deal, the Yankees are left with an opening on the dirt.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., whom the club acquired at last year’s trade deadline and inserted at the hot corner, is slated to slide over and become the Yankees’ Opening Day second baseman. That means that barring an unexpected transaction, the Yankees will have a three-way battle for the every-day third-base job.
LeMahieu has the most experience but also comes with the biggest questions. Injuries limited the 36-year-old in 2024, and there’s skepticism about whether the lanky infielder can rediscover his bat-to-ball prowess as he approaches 40. That said, the vet is under contract through 2026, so the Yankees are incentivized to give him every shot to bounce back.
Cabrera was an adequate utilityman last season, finishing the season with 326 plate appearances and an adjusted OPS 13% below league average. About to turn 26, the affable Venezuelan could have unscratched potential, but it’s more likely that he’s a limited offensive player who fits best as a bench piece.
And then there’s Peraza, a former top prospect whose star has fallen. After starting a game in the 2022 ALCS, he entered spring training 2023 as the projected Opening Day shortstop. Instead, Anthony Volpe wrested the role away, seemingly for good, sending Peraza back to the minors. The slick-handed Venezuelan is still only 24, but he was offensively mediocre in Triple-A last season.
Prediction: LeMahieu is the Opening Day 3B, but the Yankees find a way to upgrade the position ahead of the trade deadline, and somebody else is starting at the hot corner during the ALDS.
Braves: Starting pitcher(s)
Contenders: Grant Holmes, Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep
Three hurlers are locks to begin the season in Atlanta’s five-man mix: NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale, 2024 breakout Reynaldo Lopez and youngster Spencer Schwellenbach. Ace Spencer Strider, who underwent elbow surgery last April, should rejoin the group at some point before the All-Star break. That means the Braves need to settle on two starters during spring training.
Holmes is an awesome story. A well-regarded starting prospect with the Athletics and Dodgers before his career was sidetracked by injuries, the long-locked righty reemerged last season as an effective reliever in Atlanta’s bullpen. He made a handful of spot starts, including an appearance in Game 162 against the Mets after Sale was a dramatic late scratch. Atlanta brass believe he can handle a move back to the rotation, and he’s currently the most likely of this bunch to win a job.
Anderson, too, was once the next big thing. As a 23-year-old, he threw the third-most regular-season innings for the World Series-winning 2021 Braves. But his career has been bumps and potholes ever since, and he hasn’t tossed a big-league pitch since Aug. 13, 2022.
Elder was a surprise 2023 All-Star, but that breakout proved to be smoke and mirrors. He was tattooed across 10 starts in 2024 to the tune of a 6.52 ERA. Smith-Shawver and Waldrep are talented prospects with MLB cameos, but both could use more minor-league marinating.
Prediction: Holmes and a late-signing veteran, such as José Quintana, Kyle Gibson or Ross Stripling, make the team out of camp. The level of financial investment in said veteran will determine whether he or Holmes is moved to the pen upon Strider’s return.
Dodgers: Starting pitcher(s)
Contenders: Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, Ben Casparius, Landon Knack, Nick Frasso, Justin Wrobleski
Not even a $380 million payroll can buy you certainty. L.A. is almost definitely rolling with a six-man rotation in 2025. That means there are two open spots until Shohei Ohtani is a full (pitching) go, which is expected to happen at some point in May. Right now, four spots are locks: Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki.
Gonsolin, a Dodgers rotation stalwart before he suffered a derailing elbow injury, is the likeliest No. 5 starter. The last spot should come down to May, another longtime Dodger clawing back from injuries, Miller, who shined in ‘23 but stunk in ‘24, and a gaggle of unproven youngsters including Casparius, Knack, Frasso and Wrobleski.
Prediction: It’s Gonsolin and May on Opening Day. Miller has minor-league options and could use the Triple-A time. Also, don’t forget about Clayton Kershaw, who is expected to re-sign with the team at some point during the season. This, my friends, is quite the first-world problem.
Mets: Third base
Contenders: Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña, Ronny Mauricio, Nick Madrigal
If Pete Alonso re-ups in Queens, this conversation becomes moot. But if he doesn’t, it’s likely that 2024 breakout Mark Vientos gets pushed across the diamond to replace Alonso at first, leaving a big hole at the hot corner.
Baty won the job over Vientos in camp last year and was the Opening Day starter, but he failed to produce at the plate and was replaced in late May. Acuña showed splendidly during a brief debut in September after Francisco Lindor went down due to a back issue. However, his glove fits best at short or second, and his bat might need more time in the minors.
Mauricio was readying himself to battle Baty and Vientos last spring, but then he tore his ACL in the Dominican Winter League and missed the whole season. The light-hitting Madrigal signed a minor-league deal but has enough big-league experience to be a viable fill-in.
Prediction: The Mets do bring Alonso back, Vientos cements himself at third, and Baty gets dealt. Also, Jeff McNeil gets hurt again, and Acuña becomes the every-day second baseman.
5 more to keep an eye on
Cubs 3B: Projected starter Isaac Paredes was sent to Houston in the Kyle Tucker trade. People are excited about top prospect Matt Shaw, but the Cubs might be hesitant to give him the job right away. That could create an opportunity for one of Jon Berti, who spent most of 2024 on the Yankees’ IL, Gage Workman, a Rule-5 pick from Detroit, Nicky Lopez, a soft-hitting, sure-handed vet, or Vidal Brujan, a softer-hitting, sure-handed vet.
Padres LF/DH: San Diego’s transactional hibernation has left its lineup in a bizarre place. The projected DH is Eguy Rosario, who has 100 career plate appearances over parts of three MLB seasons. That’s 100 more than Tirso Ornelas, a soon-to-be-25-year-old Mexican outfielder penciled in at left field. Other internal options for those spots include 27-year-old Brandon Lockridge, major-league journeyman Tyler Wade and minor-league journeyman Moisés Gómez. It’s something of a yikes fest.
Guardians 2B: Cleveland dealt Andrés Giménez to Toronto in December, and now the keystone mix is a total mystery that includes names such as Angel Martínez, Daniel Schneemann, Juan Brito, Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arías.
Rangers SP: Jacob deGrom (remember him?), Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle all seem set — health willing — to make the Opening Day five. That leaves a fight among a pair of commendable swingmen, Cody Bradford and Dane Dunning, a pair of famous prospects, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, and a veteran in Adrian Houser.
Astros LF: Kyle Tucker’s departure leaves Houston with an underwhelming mix in the grass. Right field and center field should belong to Chas McCormick and Jake Myers, but left looks like a toss-up. Mauricio Dubón is considered the front-runner, but he’s best deployed as a utilityman. Shay Whitcomb, waiver-wire god Taylor Trammell and Triple-A stalwart Pedro León are other names to know. This feels like a good spot for a low-risk free-agent outfielder on a one-year deal. Alex Verdugo, Mark Canha, Tommy Pham, Enrique Hernández, Randal Grichuk and Harrison Bader come to mind.
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