[jksander]

March 24, 2026: It’s “International Opening Day,” and we’ve officially got our roster set for the start of the upcoming season! Jerry Reinsdorf has made it clear he expects us to continue to show significant improvement, and anything less than a .500 record is going to be seen as a disappointment considering how many critical moves we made this offseason. The folks at the Sporting News have us finishing fourth in the division with a 79-83 record, ahead of the Tigers but well behind the Twins and Royals who are expected to be pushing toward 90 wins each, with whoever doesn’t win the division expecting to be locked in a brutal battle with the teams in the East for wildcard scraps. Noah Schultz is expected to be in the Cy Young hunt as one of the top pitchers in the league, and we’re hopeful that our bullpen improvements give us a real edge in close games. The Braves and Yankees are the early favorites, with 103 wins each in the preseason predictions, and the Braves’ Japanese import, Etsuo Den, is anticipated to be one of the top hitters in either league and an MVP contender.

Here’s our opening day roster:

Lineup
C - Brandon Valenzuela (25)
1B - Michael Vargas (26)
2B - Ha-seong Kim (30)
3B - Chase Meidroth (24)
SS - Yordys Valdes (24)
LF - Heston Kjerstad (27)
CF - Ceddanne Rafaela (25)
RF - Cody Bellinger (30)
DH - Mike Tauchman (35)

Bench
C - Gary Sanchez (33)
1B - Joey Gallo (32)
2B - Brooks Lee (25)
3B - Andre Lipcius (27)
LF - Joshua Mears (25)

Starters
1 - Noah Schultz (22)
2 - Drew Rasmussen (30)
3 - Dylan Cease (30)
4 - Brandon Pfaadt (27)
5 - Sean Burke (26)

Bullpen
CL - Ben Joyce (25)
SE (8+) - Ryan Helsley (31)
SE (7+) - Jose Alvarado (30)
MR - Eduard Bazardo (30)
MR - Julian Merryweather (34)
MR - Luis Sanchez (23)
LR - Noah Syndergaard (33)

- - - - -

Division Schedule
Cleveland (H): 4/17-19, 9/14-17
Cleveland (A): 4/2, 4/4-5, 7/31-8/2,
Minnesota (H): 4/14-16, 9/18-20
Minnesota (A): 7/16-19, 8/14-16
Detroit (H): 5/4-7, 8/7-9
Detroit (A): 5/25-27, 9/25-27
Kansas City (H): 7/10-12, 9/29-10/1
Kansas City (A): 5/28-31, 9/22-24

The final month of the season is going to be brutal, and unless someone already has a huge lead, no divisional or wildcard races will be secure until the final week I'd wager. From September 14 through October 1 we'll have 16 games combined against all four divisional opponents, which should be great for late-season ticket sales!