Spring Training is finally underway, meaning fans can rejoice as there will be baseball played practically every day until the end of October. The appeal of Spring Training lies in the storylines and the hopes and perceptions that come along with teams trying to start fresh. With each new year comes a renewed hope that the team can be better than the previous year. While the games themselves don’t matter quite as much, the underlying implications and threads that make them important are worth keeping an eye. So, here are five storylines to keep an eye on this spring.

Will the investments pay off for the Dodgers?

The offseason was dominated by the Los Angeles Dodgers dropping over $1 billion on free agents and player extensions. The crown jewels of their offseason just so happened to be a pair of Japanese superstars, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. All eyes will be on the duo when they are finally able to take the field with the Dodgers this spring, but fans are already chomping at the bit to see them in action. Luckily, the Dodgers social media gave us a first look at Yamamoto’s live batting practice session.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's first live BP? Electric. pic.twitter.com/Q4wExEtpjA

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 17, 2024

The Dodgers came out swinging in their first game of Spring Training against the San Diego Padres, winning 14-1, including an eight-run first inning. It’s World Series or bust for the Dodgers this season and a dominant Spring Training, particularly from their new acquisitions, will be paramount to helping indicate how the team’s chances are looking heading into the regular season when they start the year in Korea.

Is Jackson Holliday big league ready?

One of the more intriguing opportunities in Spring Training comes courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles as they will be assessing the readiness of Jackson Holliday, the number one prospect in baseball, for big-league action. Since being drafted first overall by the Orioles, Holliday has quickly moved through the ranks of the minors, ending his first full season in Triple-A. In big league camp, he’s working diligently to get comfortable at second base as the Orioles are trying to make sure he is defensively versatile, enabling them to move him and use him as needed. He’s still expected to be a shortstop in the long term, but just finding him a spot in the lineup right now is the priority for the O’s. Every opportunity will be given for him to prove he is capable of handling the rigors of major league duty.

The Orioles are poised for big things in 2024 as they enter their window of contention and are looking for a way to make sure they won’t be swept in the playoffs again.

Jackson Holliday working primarily at second today. Their goal is to get him as comfortable there as he is at shortstop pic.twitter.com/XNw5DscbCq

— Danielle Allentuck (@d_allentuck) February 20, 2024

When or where will the Boras Four sign? 

With Spring Training underway, one glaring headline is the fact that four of the top free agents left on the market are still unsigned. Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman are all clients of super agent Scott Boras and things have reached a standstill. It’s been reported that they are all looking for significant deals, but unlike in years past teams aren’t biting at the hook. There has been interest from multiple teams for these players, but owners across baseball are trying to reduce payroll or are unwilling to pay the substantial price that would come from paying these pitchers. At some point, someone has to budge, but it’s unclear whether it’s going to be the players or one of the teams. It’s definitely not great for baseball to have four top free agents still unsigned, but it’s also within the players’ rights to get their value. The question lies in how far into Spring Training will these standoffs go, and whether could they even linger into the regular season.

Which Central teams are poised to run their divisions? 

Both the American League and National League Central divisions aren’t exactly considered the strongest in baseball. The NL Central has generally been dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, but 2023 showed that there are more pokers in the fire than before heading into 2024. The Brewers spent their offseason mainly subtracting from their roster while signing cheaper deals with free agents. The Cardinals are reeling after a fifth-place finish last year, and filled their rotation with aging starting pitchers. The Chicago Cubs haven’t been as busy, but they are building a young core and could still make a splash in free agency while the Cincinnati Reds were active early on in the winter to build around their young core of players. Then you have the Pittsburgh Pirates who continue to be a haven for veteran players looking for a place to play and hopefully get traded at the deadline.

In the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals dominated the offseason conversation with plenty of moves, but will it be enough to win the division? The Minnesota Twins have run the division for several years as the de facto winner while the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox tread water. Then there are the Guardians who continue to be a pitching factory but lack any sort of offensive upgrades to their lineup. There is youth aplenty in the Central divisions, but who will manage to rise to the top and show they are somewhat ready to compete for a playoff spot? Ideally there should be a bit more competition in the divisions to answer that question.

Will the uniform issues be addressed? 

There’s no way around it, the new uniforms are not popular. Fans and players alike are lamenting the new uniforms designed by Nike and produced by Fanatics, claiming they are cheap-looking and inconsistent. The pants have been the talk of the town as it’s been discovered that there is not only a pants shortage and lack of tailoring options, but that there are in fact quite sheer. Hems of jerseys tucked into pants and compression shorts underneath are clearly visible, presenting plenty of problems for the 2024 season. Players are unhappy with the uniforms and are clapping back against the league as well as Nike and Fanatics with the hopes of trying to get something fixed. Unfortunately, both the league and uniform producers are standing their ground talking about how innovative the material technology is. While it has nothing to do with actual games and player storylines, it’s an aspect of the game that deserves more recognition and scrutiny.