Astrology Top Stories: Opening Day
Although I’m publishing this blog post on April 27, imagine that I had back-dated it exactly 31 days, to March 27, also known as Opening Day. I am not proud of doing this, but given the absolute avalanche that has descended onto my life in recent months, I am also not ashamed about not posting regularly. But now that I have some more bandwidth, I can at least pretend that I have been posting regularly, with a feature that I have been considering for some time.
For many years now, I have been keeping up to date with MLB Trade Rumors - if not every single post, at least the ones classified as “Top Stories” on the app (or the ones with the “Newsstand” tag on the desktop site). So I thought it would be fun to compile these stories in a weekly recap, and give some commentary about how they affect the fantasy astrology landscape.
The week before Opening Day on Thursday March 27 technically starts Friday March 21. The top transaction that day was the Orioles signing of Kyle Gibson, reuniting the Libra starter with the team with which he spent 2023 (leading the league in starts… and base hits allowed). GIbson didn’t factor into Libra’s season opening roster considerations, and for good reason: he will need to effectively go through a late Spring Training in the minor leagues.
Also on 3/21, news broke of Thairo Estrada’s broken wrist, which was slated to keep him from making his debut in a Rockies uniform for four to eight weeks. Before this injury, Estrada was slated to back up Maikel Garcia and Luis Rengifo in the Pisces infield. (SPOILER ALERT: Guardians sophomore Gabriel Arias would settle into that role, as of the start of Taurus season 2025.)
The next day brought two big extensions and one big injury. Starting with the bad news, top White Sox prospect Drew Thorpe will miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery, depriving the Libra rotation of his well-hyped talent for 2025. (Good thing Kyle Gibson has a job now, right?) The extensions go to Pisces ace Tanner Bibee (who got $48 million over five years with a club option from the Guardians) and Leo reliever Justin Martinez ($18 million over five years plus THREE club options from Arizona).
A big trade also went down on Saturday 3/22, as Cleveland acquired Taurus outfielder Nolan Jones from Colorado in exchange for Gemini utility player Tyler Freeman. Jones had a huge breakout in 2023, but struggled mightily last year, through injuries and ineffectiveness. Meanwhile Freeman, who graduated from backup infielder to starting center fielder last year for the Guardians, was no longer necessary given that the Guardians retained 2024 trade acquisition Lane Thomas.
Sunday saw another trade of a Taurus, this time it was righty pitcher Ian Anderson going from the Braves to the Angels in exchange for Capricorn lefty Jose Suarez. Both pitchers have settled into their new teams’ bullpens, with the latter faring significantly better than the former. 3/23 also saw a couple of Opening Day roster decisions: Cancer prospect Kristian Campbell was reported to break camp with the Red Sox, while Capricorn veteran Mitch Haniger was released by the Mariners.
The only transaction on Monday 3/24 (which was actually first reported on Sunday) was the Tigers signing Manuel Margot, after the Libra outfielder opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers. Monday was a big news day, with two pitcher injuries (Capricorn Jordan Montgomery, Diamondbacks, and Leo Jared Jones, Pirates), an extension (Scorpio catcher Alejandro Kirk by the Blue Jays), and a big time prospect promotion (Cam Smith on the Astros). The Pisces third baseman/outfielder was the centerpiece of the offseason Kyle Tucker deal with the Cubs, but no one expected him to contribute to the big league club this soon, given that he was just drafted last June.
The last transaction before Opening Day was another extension, this one given to Sagittarius catcher Cal Raleigh by the Mariners. There was never any doubt that the Big Dumper would start behind the plate in Seattle and compete for the title of best catcher in the league, but it’s nice to know that he’s got some financial security. Also breaking on Wedesday 3/26 was news that Rafael Devers would move off third base and act as the Red Sox’s designated hitter. This is terrible news for Scorpio heading into the future, because the DH slot is already logjammed with Marcell Ozuna and Brent Rooker.
Of course, the biggest news that dropped on Opening Day itself was the gigantic $500 million extension of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by the Blue Jays, keeping him in Toronto for ostensibly his whole career. Interestingly enough, this deal means that water signs hold the one, two, and three spots in terms of largest ever MLB contracts: Juan Soto’s $765 million dollar free agent deal with the Mets beats out Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million guarantee with the Dodgers - even more so when counting for deferrals, of which Vlad Jr.’s extension has none.