<p>The season may be young, but after playing around 10 games, some fascinating themes have started to emerge as we head into spring and summer.</p>
<p>While it’s too early in the season to definitively make any statements about potential winners, powerhouses and underdogs, there have been plenty of stories around the horn that deserve some attention.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
<p>Below are five interesting developments to keep track of throughout the season or that are noteworthy out of the gate.</p>
<h2>Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension with the Blue Jays</h2>
<p>After many young players’ extensions over the past few seasons, such as Merrill with the Padres and Julio Rodriguez with the Mariners, expectations around Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension became a major storyline for a couple of years and this past offseason.</p>
<p>For some time, the Blue Jays couldn’t find ways to reach an extension with the son of a Hall of Famer, and the outlook for holding onto Guerrero Jr. in Toronto seemed slim. That changed late last night, as <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909113280427114588">ESPN&#8217;s Jeff Passan</a> reported that the Blue Jays and Guerrero had reached a $500-million, 14-year extension on Monday with no deferred money. This is comparable to Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765-million contract and Mike Trout’s 12-year, $426-million contract, with Guerrero&#8217;s contract being the second-largest behind Soto&#8217;s in terms of guaranteed money.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">News: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a 14-year, $500 million contract extension that starts in 2026 and includes no deferrals. More details on a deal expected to make Vlad a Blue Jay for life, free and unlocked at ESPN: <a href="https://t.co/QMbaQeqtlT">https://t.co/QMbaQeqtlT</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909113280427114588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The All-Star first baseman’s fate is now sealed – Guerrero Jr. won’t leave Toronto anytime in the near future with this deal locked in. This is one of the more important extensions around the league from Toronto’s contention perspective and its competitiveness in the AL East. This demonstrates the Blue Jays’ willingness to go all in on the talent despite its value-oriented ways and will help shape the team’s core moving forward.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays are trying to avoid rebuilding like the Washington Nationals or the Chicago White Sox and are finally locking down younger core talents to have cornerstone players in the system long-term. The biggest question Toronto will have to answer will be how competitive the team can become in a tougher division and whether Guerrero Jr.’s contract will have more upside compared to the downside. Needless to say, this storyline will continue to evolve and will garner attention around the league for years to come.</p>
<h2>How will the AL East shake out?</h2>
<p>The AL East as a division has always been one of the most competitive compared to a majority of the other divisions over the past few years. The division this year also looks hyper-competitive as usual, with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees looking the strongest. But the scrappy Tampa Bay Rays will throw a wrench into AL East contenders’ plans with thief under-the-radar performances, and the Toronto Blue Jays hope to make a ripple effect by aiming to become a contender again.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">More Max Fried Curveballs. 😍 <a href="https://t.co/MLHspxghhf">pic.twitter.com/MLHspxghhf</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1908287005881995753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The division now also added some additional heavyweight players like Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet, and Max Fried to go along with stalwarts like Aaron Judge and Rafael Devers, along with young players like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and the rest of the Orioles squad.</p>
<p>The AL East will likely come down to the wire when it comes to winning the division and has the potential to put at least two teams in contention for Wild Card spots. It will be another relentless season for the AL East, but who wins the division will be a tough question as the season drags on.</p>
<h2>Will the NL West continue to exert its dominance?</h2>
<p>Aside from the hilariously and unfortuntely incompetent Colorado Rockies, the NL West came out of the gate hot, with all four teams having a winning record so far.</p>
<p>The San Diego Padres began the season by winning seven games in a row, while the former World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers exceeded expectations by winning eight games in a row. The San Francisco Giants started with a 6-1 record, which somehow only placed them third in the division, initially.</p>
<p>Two weeks into the season, the NL West division is shaping out to be a four-team race, with the Rockies firmly in last. There are still more than 150 games to be played in the season, and the NL West could also produce multiple Wild Card contenders. At this point, Los Angeles seems to be the lock to win the division, but there is a possibility that the Giants, Padres, and Diamondbacks will challenge that status or at least make the former champions’ lives harder to reclaim their division lead. The Giants currently hold the top spot with their 8-1 record to the Dodgers 9-2 but San  Diego is not far behind at 8-2.</p>
<h2>Will the Atlanta Braves bounce back?</h2>
<p>No sugar coating here, but the Atlanta Braves are seriously behind in their attempt to win the NL East.</p>
<p>Before the season began, many baseball insiders picked the Braves to be a strong playoff contender or, at a minimum, a division winner. The Braves lost seven games in a row to start their season and lost Jurickson Profar to an 80-game suspension, while their rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, have built a significant lead by banking more wins out of the gate.</p>
<p>However, Atlanta isn’t without hope. Its stars, like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, will all return to the roster relatively soon. Besides, this isn’t the first time the Braves have fallen behind. The 2021 Braves were hovering around the .500 mark heading into August but went on to win the World Series. Similarly, the 2022 Braves had a losing record in April (10-12) and May (13-15) but went on to win the division with a 101-61 mark. But the real question is if Atlanta will have enough time to catch up to its rivals before everything slips away.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/Braves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Braves</a>, this Spencer Strider guy is pretty good!</p>
<p>The rehabbing righty strikes out 8 in 5 1/3 no-hit innings for <a href="https://twitter.com/GoStripers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoStripers</a>: <a href="https://t.co/OixjCHzQqt">pic.twitter.com/OixjCHzQqt</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1908318316416163862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>There’s no doubt there are simply too many talents on the Braves’ roster, and the team will end with a winning record. Whether they can end it with a division lead or a Wild Card spot is anyone’s guess.</p>
<h2>Can the Seattle Mariners recover to challenge the AL West crown?</h2>
<p>The Seattle Mariners have largely been disappointing for the past couple of seasons after making the playoffs in 2022. The team may have made it to the ALDS, but since then, they have failed to clinch any playoff spots in 2023 and 2024. The unfortunate part of this team is that it has always had strong pitching talents up and down the roster.</p>
<p>Seattle employs some of the better pitchers, like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Andres Muñoz in the bullpen, yet its lineup has largely failed to produce enough firepower to push the team to the next level. The Mariners always were behind either the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers. Now that the Astros have lost much of their dominance this season, Seattle has a chance to become a serious division contender again.</p>
<p>Except, now the Rangers will become a real threat to the Mariners’ pursuit of a playoff spot and division lead. So far, the Mariners haven’t been able to win nearly enough games to start strong with a losing record, while Texas is running away with the division early. Much like Atlanta, the Mariners will need to bank more wins sooner rather than later if they want to close the gap.</p>
<h2>Will the Chicago Cubs finally turn things around this season?</h2>
<p>The Chicago Cubs have attempted to win the NL Central division for a few years now, but they came up short each year to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and are desperate to get back. So far, the team has invested much in its roster and has doubled down by trading for former all-star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Chicago also signed former Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell in 2023 to bring the winning culture.</p>
<p>The crucial part now is that the team needs to maintain its winning way once it has the momentum. That’s one thing the Cubs have failed to have in the past. The team couldn’t find ways to win enough games, while more competent division rivals always found ways to keep their hot streaks. This is the season for the Cubs because the Brewers have taken a large step back while the Cardinals stood pat and did nothing to enhance their roster.</p>
<p>The Cubs must strike iron when it’s hot, and they have succeeded so far by leading the division. Winning the division is the best way for Chicago to make it back to the playoffs, and it&#8217;s an easier path than the Wild Card. They’ve put all the chips in, and it’s finally time to reap the rewards — if they can.</p>
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The season may be young, but after playing around 10 games, some fascinating themes have started to emerge as we head into spring and summer.

While it’s too early in the season to definitively make any statements about potential winners, powerhouses and underdogs, there have been plenty of stories around the horn that deserve some attention.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
Below are five interesting developments to keep track of throughout the season or that are noteworthy out of the gate.
<h2>Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension with the Blue Jays</h2>
After many young players’ extensions over the past few seasons, such as Merrill with the Padres and Julio Rodriguez with the Mariners, expectations around Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension became a major storyline for a couple of years and this past offseason.

For some time, the Blue Jays couldn’t find ways to reach an extension with the son of a Hall of Famer, and the outlook for holding onto Guerrero Jr. in Toronto seemed slim. That changed late last night, as <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909113280427114588">ESPN's Jeff Passan</a> reported that the Blue Jays and Guerrero had reached a $500-million, 14-year extension on Monday with no deferred money. This is comparable to Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765-million contract and Mike Trout’s 12-year, $426-million contract, with Guerrero's contract being the second-largest behind Soto's in terms of guaranteed money.

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909113280427114588

The All-Star first baseman’s fate is now sealed – Guerrero Jr. won’t leave Toronto anytime in the near future with this deal locked in. This is one of the more important extensions around the league from Toronto’s contention perspective and its competitiveness in the AL East. This demonstrates the Blue Jays’ willingness to go all in on the talent despite its value-oriented ways and will help shape the team’s core moving forward.

The Blue Jays are trying to avoid rebuilding like the Washington Nationals or the Chicago White Sox and are finally locking down younger core talents to have cornerstone players in the system long-term. The biggest question Toronto will have to answer will be how competitive the team can become in a tougher division and whether Guerrero Jr.’s contract will have more upside compared to the downside. Needless to say, this storyline will continue to evolve and will garner attention around the league for years to come.
<h2>How will the AL East shake out?</h2>
The AL East as a division has always been one of the most competitive compared to a majority of the other divisions over the past few years. The division this year also looks hyper-competitive as usual, with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees looking the strongest. But the scrappy Tampa Bay Rays will throw a wrench into AL East contenders’ plans with thief under-the-radar performances, and the Toronto Blue Jays hope to make a ripple effect by aiming to become a contender again.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1908287005881995753

The division now also added some additional heavyweight players like Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet, and Max Fried to go along with stalwarts like Aaron Judge and Rafael Devers, along with young players like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and the rest of the Orioles squad.

The AL East will likely come down to the wire when it comes to winning the division and has the potential to put at least two teams in contention for Wild Card spots. It will be another relentless season for the AL East, but who wins the division will be a tough question as the season drags on.
<h2>Will the NL West continue to exert its dominance?</h2>
Aside from the hilariously and unfortuntely incompetent Colorado Rockies, the NL West came out of the gate hot, with all four teams having a winning record so far.

The San Diego Padres began the season by winning seven games in a row, while the former World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers exceeded expectations by winning eight games in a row. The San Francisco Giants started with a 6-1 record, which somehow only placed them third in the division, initially.

Two weeks into the season, the NL West division is shaping out to be a four-team race, with the Rockies firmly in last. There are still more than 150 games to be played in the season, and the NL West could also produce multiple Wild Card contenders. At this point, Los Angeles seems to be the lock to win the division, but there is a possibility that the Giants, Padres, and Diamondbacks will challenge that status or at least make the former champions’ lives harder to reclaim their division lead. The Giants currently hold the top spot with their 8-1 record to the Dodgers 9-2 but San  Diego is not far behind at 8-2.
<h2>Will the Atlanta Braves bounce back?</h2>
No sugar coating here, but the Atlanta Braves are seriously behind in their attempt to win the NL East.

Before the season began, many baseball insiders picked the Braves to be a strong playoff contender or, at a minimum, a division winner. The Braves lost seven games in a row to start their season and lost Jurickson Profar to an 80-game suspension, while their rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, have built a significant lead by banking more wins out of the gate.

However, Atlanta isn’t without hope. Its stars, like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, will all return to the roster relatively soon. Besides, this isn’t the first time the Braves have fallen behind. The 2021 Braves were hovering around the .500 mark heading into August but went on to win the World Series. Similarly, the 2022 Braves had a losing record in April (10-12) and May (13-15) but went on to win the division with a 101-61 mark. But the real question is if Atlanta will have enough time to catch up to its rivals before everything slips away.

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1908318316416163862

There’s no doubt there are simply too many talents on the Braves’ roster, and the team will end with a winning record. Whether they can end it with a division lead or a Wild Card spot is anyone’s guess.
<h2>Can the Seattle Mariners recover to challenge the AL West crown?</h2>
The Seattle Mariners have largely been disappointing for the past couple of seasons after making the playoffs in 2022. The team may have made it to the ALDS, but since then, they have failed to clinch any playoff spots in 2023 and 2024. The unfortunate part of this team is that it has always had strong pitching talents up and down the roster.

Seattle employs some of the better pitchers, like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Andres Muñoz in the bullpen, yet its lineup has largely failed to produce enough firepower to push the team to the next level. The Mariners always were behind either the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers. Now that the Astros have lost much of their dominance this season, Seattle has a chance to become a serious division contender again.

Except, now the Rangers will become a real threat to the Mariners’ pursuit of a playoff spot and division lead. So far, the Mariners haven’t been able to win nearly enough games to start strong with a losing record, while Texas is running away with the division early. Much like Atlanta, the Mariners will need to bank more wins sooner rather than later if they want to close the gap.
<h2>Will the Chicago Cubs finally turn things around this season?</h2>
The Chicago Cubs have attempted to win the NL Central division for a few years now, but they came up short each year to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and are desperate to get back. So far, the team has invested much in its roster and has doubled down by trading for former all-star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Chicago also signed former Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell in 2023 to bring the winning culture.

The crucial part now is that the team needs to maintain its winning way once it has the momentum. That’s one thing the Cubs have failed to have in the past. The team couldn’t find ways to win enough games, while more competent division rivals always found ways to keep their hot streaks. This is the season for the Cubs because the Brewers have taken a large step back while the Cardinals stood pat and did nothing to enhance their roster.

The Cubs must strike iron when it’s hot, and they have succeeded so far by leading the division. Winning the division is the best way for Chicago to make it back to the playoffs, and it's an easier path than the Wild Card. They’ve put all the chips in, and it’s finally time to reap the rewards — if they can.

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