The two best hitters over the past three years changed teams this offseason. In a stroke of good fortune for baseball marketers, both wound up with glamor teams in the two biggest markets.
Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees on Dec. 7. Four days later, Shohei Ohtani signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As spring training starts, roughly 1,800 players are competing for the 780 Opening Day roster spots. Just as many narratives abound. For the first time in 22 years, for instance, neither Dusty Baker nor Terry Francona is managing a team. They have been replaced by Joe Espada with the Houston Astros and Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians, two first-time managers among seven new hires.
