Covering the Bases: The best stuff happening in MLB this week

Welcome to theScore's roundup of everything you need to know from around MLB. Here we'll touch on the notable storylines, biggest trends, most shocking plays, and some other cool things. Let's dive in!

What everyone's talking about 👇

Guerrero cashes in with $500M deal: So much for that Opening Day deadline. The Blue Jays locked up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a 14-year, $500-million extension - the third-richest contract in MLB history. The deal represents a significant risk for the franchise, but it's one it had to make. We'll see how Guerrero's deal impacts the free-agent market this winter. Read more.

Nationals take series from the Dodgers: Maybe the reigning champs aren't so terrifying? After starting the season 8-0, Los Angeles dropped three of its last four. That includes back-to-back series losses to the Phillies and Nationals. Of course, we're not worried about the Dodgers, but injuries are mounting, and the Giants (9-3) and Padres (10-3) are off to hot starts. We could be in for more of a race in the NL West than initially anticipated.

The Pirates faithful are not happy: Fans in Pittsburgh have been upset with ownership for years, but it feels like we're reaching a breaking point. Despite Paul Skenes' incredible 2024 campaign, the front office did little to improve the roster this winter and entered the season with the fourth-lowest payroll, per FanGraphs. Owner Bob Nutting heard it from fans on Opening Day, and loud "sell the team" chants broke out Tuesday night.

Who's hot? 🔥

Tyler Soderstrom: The A's have some pretty intriguing young pieces, and Soderstrom appears to be one of them. The 23-year-old's already blasted six home runs and is slashing .354/.426/.771 through 13 games. His 1.197 OPS is second in the majors behind only Aaron Judge.

George Springer: On the heels of the worst season of his career, Springer's been incredible to open 2025. Not only does he lead MLB with a .429 average, but he sits 92nd percentile in average exit velocity, 87th percentile in hard-hit rate, and 91st percentile in barrel percentage. He's absolutely crushing everything he's seeing.

Spencer Schwellenbach: Could there be back-to-back Cy Young-winning seasons in Atlanta? Schwellenbach's allowed only one run over 20 innings to open the campaign (0.45 ERA) and has given up just 10 hits and three walks (0.65 WHIP) while striking out 19 batters.

Who's not? 🥶

Yainer Diaz: The Astros catcher is just 2-for-33 (.061) to start the season and owns a .200 OPS. What's even crazier is that Diaz went 3-for-4 last Opening Day.

Willson Contreras: The Cardinals' second-highest paid position player is slashing .102/.170/.143 through 12 games and struck out in 22 of his 54 (41%) plate appearances.

Orioles rotation: The offseason concerns over Baltimore's starting pitching appear to be justified. Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer have allowed 26 earned runs over 27 2/3 innings, while Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin are on the IL.

You love to see it 😍

Home run celebrations have been one of the best parts of baseball in recent years, but the new Wally head in Boston might be the best of them all.

We can't believe this happened 🤯

The Jupiter Hammerheads, the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, lost to the Dunedin Blue Jays 19-5 on Tuesday. Hammerheads pitchers only allowed one home run and nine hits, but they combined to walk 22 batters. The team threw just 121-of-267 pitches (45%) for strikes. The 327 in attendance will likely never forget.

The Pirates got the out the hard way Wednesday against the Cardinals. You really have to see it to believe it.

Chicago was a hamstring strain away from tying Wednesday's game with the Guardians in the ninth. Instead, they suffered a loss that even the 2024 White Sox would find shocking.

(Video Source: MLB.com)

Sound smart among your friends 🧠

MLB's leader in hard-hit balls to open the season is Tommy Edman. Yeah, seriously. The 5-foot-9 utility man has belted 26 balls 95 mph or harder. Edman's 55.3 hard-hit rate is easily a career-best mark.

They said what? 🗣️

Cody Bellinger on getting food poisoning from ordering room service in Detroit: "I will not eat wings for five years."

Paul Skenes, after allowing a career-high five runs against the Cardinals: "It's not like they hit the ball into the river or anything like that. ... Not going to sweat it. It is what it is."

Guerrero on advice from Vlad Sr. before signing his extension: "My dad told me to trust God and try to get the last penny that I could from the organization."

Chris Sale on his poor start to the season: "It just hasn't clicked yet. It's frustrating, obviously. We won this game, but I still know I'm going to be staring at the ceiling until about three in the morning. I've got some days to figure it out."

Corbin Burnes on Orioles only offering him a four-year deal: "That was kind of one of the things that we were scratching our heads at of where they kind of got the years from."

What to watch this weekend 📺

Blue Jays @ Orioles: Anthony Santander arrives back in Baltimore for the first time since signing with Toronto. He said last month that the Orioles' contract offer "wasn't even close."

Giants @ Yankees: San Francisco brings its 5-1 road record and MLB's second-best ERA into the Bronx to face the AL's highest-scoring offense.

Cubs @ Dodgers: In a rematch of the Tokyo Series, the Cubs visit Chavez Ravine for three games. Chicago leads MLB in runs scored, while the Dodgers' 28 homers tops baseball.