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