The New York Mets, who won 101 regular-season games last season and now have the largest payroll in Major League Baseball, are set to open their season on Thursday night at the low-budget Miami Marlins.

New York’s payroll — including luxury tax — stands at $375.3 million, according to Spotrac.com, while Miami’s payroll ranks 24th in the league at $110.2 million.

That’s a huge disparity, and New York’s starting pitcher on Thursday, Max Scherzer, will make $43.3 million in 2023.

“The atmosphere is crazy at every venue,” Scherzer said when asked about pitching on Opening Day. “It’s really fun to get the ball in that situation.”

Even so, Miami will be a legitimate threat to win on Thursday because the Marlins are starting fellow right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who was a unanimous selection last year as the first Cy Young Award winner in franchise history.

Alcantara, 27, led the majors last year in innings pitched, and his six complete games were more than any other major league team.

Armed with a 98 mph fastball, a sinker that goes just as fast before dipping and a wipeout slider, Alcantara went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA in 2022. In 14 career appearances against the Mets, he is 3-5 with a 2.97 ERA.

Scherzer, 38, is an eight-time All-Star with three Cy Young Awards in his trophy case. He made his Mets debut last season, going 11-5 with a 2.29 ERA. Against the Marlins, he is 15-5 with a 2.94 ERA in 26 starts.

The only team Scherzer has beaten more than the Marlins is the Philadelphia Phillies (16-5).

New York, however, has had a rough spring, losing two-time All-Star closer Edwin Diaz for the season due to a knee injury sustained while celebrating a World Baseball Classic win for Puerto Rico.

The Mets will miss his 99 mph fastball, his devastating slider and the 32 saves he produced in each of the past two years.

Given his loss, one of the most important Mets is David Robertson, who figures to be their new closer. He has 157 career saves, and he had a 2.40 combined ERA last year with the Chicago Cubs and Phillies.

New York’s other injury loss this spring revolves around fifth starter Jose Quintana, who will be replaced by fellow lefty David Peterson. Quintana is set to return in July, and the Mets shouldn’t experience much, if any, drop-off with Peterson (3.83 ERA last year).

Miami’s biggest addition is second baseman Luis Arraez, who won a batting title last year for the Minnesota Twins (.316 average). He is set to bat leadoff for the Marlins.

The Marlins, who led the majors last season in one-run losses with 40, have also reworked their bullpen, adding closer Matt Barnes and lefty A.J. Puk. Barnes’ career numbers include 47 saves and a 4.07 ERA. Puk, who turns 28 next month, was brilliant last season with Oakland, posting a 3.12 ERA in 62 relief appearances.

However, there are some defensive questions for Miami as middle infielder Jean Segura has moved to third base, and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has shifted to center field. Those are new positions for each.

“I think there is a lot of talent on this club,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said. “We want to get out of the gate quickly.”

–Field Level Media

A top-tier pitching matchup headlines the season opener between the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.

The Phillies will turn to right-hander Aaron Nola, while the rebuilding Rangers will start their new ace, right-hander Jacob deGrom, who signed a five-year, $185 million contract during the offseason.

Nola, who went 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA over 32 starts last season, is making his sixth straight Opening Day start for the defending National League champion Phillies. His six straight Opening Day starts rank third in team history, behind Hall of Famers Robin Roberts (12 in 1950-61) and Steve Carlton (10 in 1977-1986).

This is a huge season for Nola, who turns 30 in June. He’s entering the final year of a five-year, $56.75 million deal and could be among the sport’s most coveted free agents at season’s end. Nola and the Phillies recently halted talks regarding a contract extension, with the sides agreeing to resume them next offseason.

“Sometimes it comes to that; we’ll talk at the end of the season,” Nola said. “I’m focused on this year. We want to win, so we’re just so focused on having a good season and having fun with these guys.

“We definitely tried to get it done, but it just didn’t work out right now. Doesn’t mean it’s over, by any means. We’ll talk at the end of the season and see what happens.”

deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, is making his fourth Opening Day start, but his first with the Rangers, who have had 14 different Opening Day starters since 2010.

“You want to set the tone for the season and get things going,” deGrom said. “It does feel different even though you try not to make it feel different. You want to go out there, like I said, set the tone and have success.”

deGrom, a four-time All-Star who turns 35 in June, went 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in just 11 starts last year with the Mets. His last two seasons have been derailed by injuries; he has made just 26 starts. He also already has dealt with an injury this spring, as tightness in his left side limited him during camp.

When deGrom has been healthy, he has been dominant. He posted a 1.94 ERA with an average of 12 strikeouts per nine innings from 2018 to 2021.

In his final spring start Saturday against the San Diego Padres, deGrom pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits to go along with six strikeouts and two walks.

deGrom is 9-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 136 strikeouts and 27 walks in 20 appearances against the Phillies. Nola has never faced the Rangers, who beat the Phillies in all four meetings last year, outscoring them 19-7.

The Rangers went 68-94 and finished fourth in the American League West, well behind World Series champion Houston, which cruised to its fifth division title in six years by going 106-56.

The Phillies finished third in the National League East with a mark of 87-75 — their most victories since recording 102 in 2011. They earned the final wild-card spot in the National League playoffs and made their first World Series appearance since 2009, falling to the Astros in six games.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays visit the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday afternoon for an Opening Day matchup between playoff contenders.

The Cardinals, who went 93-69 and won the National League Central last season, hope to make their first deep postseason run since they reached the 2019 National League Championship Series.

The Blue Jays, who were second in the American League East last season with a 92-70 record, have not won a postseason game since reaching the 2016 American League Championship Series for the second consecutive season.

Both teams were swept 2-0 at home in their wild-card series last year.

The Blue Jays have particularly bad feelings about their embarrassing exit in Game 2 against the Seattle Mariners. They led 8-1 after five innings. Seattle tied it with four runs in the eighth and won it in the ninth to complete the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and the largest comeback victory to clinch a postseason series.

The Cardinals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Right-hander Alek Manoah (16-7, 2.24 ERA) will start for Toronto on Thursday.

“You can expect him to be up to the task,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

“Alek has shown he loves big games. A lot went into it. We have a lot of really good pitchers. He separated himself a little bit last year and even into this year after a huge workload.”

Manoah, who has never faced the Cardinals, leads a rotation that includes Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi.

The Cardinals will start right-hander Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.29). He is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in one career start against Toronto.

Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Jake Woodford and Steven Matz make up the rest of the Cardinals rotation.

The Cardinals had planned to start Adam Wainwright, 41, on Opening Day, but he suffered a strained groin during a pregame warmup before Team USA’s loss to Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

“I think everybody knows what Jack Flaherty is capable of, and everyone knows what Miles Mikolas is capable of, but I don’t think they know quite how great Miles is yet,” Wainwright said. “I don’t think people know about our two big lefties (Matz and Montgomery) and how good those guys could be.”

The Blue Jays tried to improve their pitching and defense in the offseason and also focus on the team’s attention to detail and professionalism.

Former major league manager and New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly was added as bench coach.

Outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are gone, with outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho replacing them that should improve the defense. First baseman/DH Brandon Belt, Bassitt and reliever Erik Swanson also were added.

The Cardinals did not make many changes, feeling the talent is there to contend.

National League MVP Award winner Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado will be joined in the lineup by new catcher Willson Contreras and 20-year-old slugger Jordan Walker. They feel they have depth in the rotation and the bullpen.

“We’re betting big on our guys,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “We think we have enough talent in the (clubhouse) to win, and we’re about to find out.”

Tyler O’Neill, a Gold Glove winner twice in left field, and Lars Nootbaar will continue to compete for the job in center field. “I think (O’Neill in center) would be our best-case scenario of how it would work out,” Marmol said.

–Field Level Media

Despite standing pat most of the offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays have the same hopes as they prepare to open their 26th season: Win plenty of baseball games and make the postseason.

Coming off a 2022 campaign that saw manager Kevin Cash’s squad go 86-76 in the ultra-competitive American League East, the Rays will face the Detroit Tigers in the opener on Thursday afternoon at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Third-place finishers last season, Tampa Bay earned the final AL wild-card spot but posted its worst winning percentage since 2017, primarily due to injuries.

Brandon Lowe, the Rays’ best slugger with 39 homers and 99 RBIs in 2021, went deep only eight times and drove in just 25 runs in 65 games last year.

Wander Franco, Tampa Bay’s dynamic young shortstop, played just 83 games and had six homers and 33 RBIs while batting .277. Due to constant leg injuries, he stole only eight bases.

A dominant force in 2019, hard-throwing Tyler Glasnow is currently nursing a left oblique strain after missing much of the 2021 and 2022 seasons following Tommy John surgery. Barring any setbacks, a May season debut is likely.

Shane McClanahan received his second straight Opening Day nod from Cash. The left-hander posted Cy Young Award numbers for most of 2022 (12-8, 2.54 ERA) before being derailed by a late-season shoulder injury.

“You’re always on the quest for seeing just how good you can be,” McClanahan said. “There always absolutely is room for improvement. … There’s obviously goals and achievements, but there’s no real, like, set limit or boundary to how good you can be.”

In three career starts against the Tigers, the 25-year-old is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings against Detroit.

Cash decided to add Josh Fleming, who struggled last season (2-5, 6.43 ERA), to the roster as the team’s fifth starter in Glasnow’s absence.

Fleming will be the third southpaw in the Rays’ rotation — joining McClanahan and Jeffrey Springs.

“(Fleming’s) a guy that really competes,” Cash stated.

Newcomer Zach Eflin basically replaces Corey Kluber, who signed with the Boston Red Sox, and the rotation is rounded out by Drew Rasmussen.

The Tigers went 66-96 last season, but there is renewed excitement as the organization has new leadership under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, who previously was an executive with the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants.

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch spent the final weekend of the Grapefruit League trying to organize his roster, primarily the pitching staff.

One rotation spot appears to be secured by Matthew Boyd, a two-time Opening Day starter for the Tigers.

The left-hander was non-tendered after the 2021 campaign due to flexor tendon surgery on his arm. He made 10 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners last year, going 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

Detroit scratched Boyd on Saturday to give other hurlers an opportunity to make their case for landing a roster spot.

“Matt’s done everything that we really wanted him to do physically to get ready for the season,” Hinch said. “We need to take a look at a few people. We’re trying to prioritize how to do that while also getting ready for the season.”

Eduardo Rodriguez, who went 5-5 with a 4.05 ERA in 17 starts last year, will get the Opening Day start for the second year in a row. The lefty is 2-5 with a 5.59 ERA in 14 career appearances, all starts, against the Rays.

“It’s just another game, and I just focus on doing my job,” Rodriguez said of pitching the opener. “Just throw the ball where I want to, enjoy it and just play the game. I never think about it like, it’s ‘this’ game or it’s ‘that’ game. ‘We need this game.’ Nothing like that.”

With 507 home runs in a surefire Hall of Fame career spanning 20 years, Miguel Cabrera will play in his 2,700th game Thursday to begin his final season.

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Brewers hope to leave behind a disappointing 2022 finish and return to the postseason.

The Chicago Cubs, meanwhile, added some established contributors to their young talent, sparking optimism for 2023.

The quest for both begins Thursday, when Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes aims to put his personal issues with the Brewers aside while facing the Cubs in Chicago.

On Aug. 1, the Brewers led the NL Central by three games when traded star closer Josh Hader. They then went 29-31 to finish 86-76 and miss the postseason for the first time since 2017.

“Each year is its own year,” star Christian Yelich, who hit a combined .243 the past three seasons, told the Brewers’ official website. “We have a great opportunity in front of us, and we’ll see what we can do with it.”

There certainly is reason to believe Milwaukee can return to prominence. Shortstop Willy Adames wants more after setting career highs for homers (31) and RBIs (98) last season, while Rowdy Tellez also recorded personal bests with 35 home runs and 89 RBIs. In addition, All-Star catcher William Contreras (20 homers in 97 games last year) was a major acquisition from the Atlanta Braves.

Milwaukee also boasts one of the majors’ best rotations after opponents hit .229 last year, the third-lowest figure in the National League.

Following his Cy Young Award-winning 2021 season, Burnes went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA last year while setting career highs in starts (33), innings (202) and strikeouts (NL-best 243). However, after losing his arbitration case, Burnes admitted he harbors hard feelings toward the Brewers, although he won’t carry that over to his pitching.

“When I’m out on the field, I’m going to do what I do. That hasn’t changed,” the right-hander said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Despite going 0-1 in three starts versus the Cubs in 2022, Burnes posted a 2.37 ERA in those games.

Chicago finished 74-88 last year, its second straight losing campaign. However, the Cubs went 10-9 against Milwaukee, including 6-4 at home.

Star catcher Willson Conteras joined the rival St. Louis Cardinals, but 28-year-old All-Star outfielder Ian Happ returns after setting career bests in RBIs (72), doubles (42) and batting (.271) while also winning his first Gold Glove. Meanwhile, 25-year-old second baseman Nico Hoerner posted 10 homers and 55 RBIs.

He will make up half of Chicago’s middle infield with Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson, who signed a seven-year, $177 million deal. Meanwhile, 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger looks for a revival after batting a combined .203 for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the past three seasons.

Veteran newcomers Eric Hosmer, Trey Mancini, Tucker Barnhart, Jameson Taillon, Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer will all try to help Chicago contend for a postseason spot. However, second-year outfielder Seiya Suzuki (14 homers, .262 average in 2022) is expected to open on the injured list with a strained oblique.

“Whether the hardware is here, the championship things are here, the Gold Gloves, winning players all around. We still have to go out and prove it in 2023,” Cubs manager David Ross said, according to MLB.com.

Chicago’s Marcus Stroman takes the ball after going 6-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 25 starts last season. The right-hander allowed two runs over 20 innings to win his final three home starts.

Stroman was 1-0 with a 1.37 ERA in three starts vs. Milwaukee last season.

–Field Level Media