Five under-the-radar storylines to watch in 2026 MLB season: A’s in the playoffs? Tony Vitello’s big jump

Welcome to Opening Day. Baseball is in a good place right now. We’re coming off a thrilling World Series and a World Baseball Classic that delivered the drama. Now the focus shifts to the 2026 regular season as Opening Day arrives Thursday.

There are plenty of storylines to follow, but these five under-the-radar plots could shape the season. Let’s break them down.

1. The Athletics look like a contender

The A’s will make the playoffs. Yes, you heard that right. After spending time around them this spring, it’s clear this is a club that believes in itself and has reason to.

The A’s can hit with anyone in the majors. They ranked seventh in home runs (219), eighth in OPS (.749) and fifth in slugging (.431). They had five players hit 20 or more homers, three of whom reached 30-plus. That group included then-rookie Nick Kurtz, who blasted 36 in just 117 games.

For much of the last quarter-century, the A’s have famously not locked up their premier talent. Most recently, they waved goodbye to the core of Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. All have gone on to become household names for other clubs. 

Yet something is brewing with the new-look Athletics, even as they play in a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento. They’re signing players to long-term deals ahead of their planned move to Las Vegas. The A’s first extended Brent Rooker in 2024, then doubled down with deals for Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom. The team extended Jacob Wilson ahead of this season. Kurtz and the A’s have been in talks about a contract extension, but have yet to come to terms. 

“We were known for not locking up players just because we couldn’t do it,” David Forst, the team’s president of baseball operations, said during spring training. “We needed to maintain roster flexibility with what we were working with. This is what we’ve all been waiting for, was the ability to keep a team together. We had two- to three-year runs of playoff teams, and then couldn’t afford to keep it together. But the new building, the new city, allows us to change the way we operate.” 

The Athletics, while led by their offense, also have a group of promising young arms. Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold are both top-60 prospects. Both are left-handers. Jump is expected to start at Triple-A, while Arnold, who was drafted 11th overall last year, will begin at Double-A. Both could reach the majors this season.

In the current rotation, Luis Morales has electric stuff and could emerge as a frontline starter if he can put it all together. The A’s also have Luis Severino, a veteran who is just two years removed from a renaissance season with the Mets in 2024.

And, for what it’s worth, zoom out in the AL West. Look at the rest of the division. The Mariners sit at the top, but they’ve proven to be inconsistent over the years. Would it shock anyone if they missed the playoffs this year? Seattle nearly collapsed down the stretch last season.

The Rangers feel stuck between a rebuild and win-now mode. The Astros are fading. And the Angels? We can skip that one. 

The A’s will make some noise.

“We have more guys coming, both position player-wise and pitching-wise,” Rooker said. “So yeah, credit to David and his team and the scouting department as a whole for identifying talent.” 

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Kate Feldman

2. The Padres’ X Factor 

For the first time in what feels like half a decade, the Padres entered spring without much noise. Not long ago, they were seen as the Dodgers’ closest challenger. Now, they’ve slipped into the background after a string of disappointing playoff exits. Even A.J. Preller, typically one of the game’s most aggressive executives, was quiet this winter, with the club’s pending sale hanging over the offseason.

For all the chaos surrounding the Padres, including six managerial shifts (one interim) since 2018, San Diego still is a talented group. But one star player who has built his name on producing stardom has struggled to find his old self: Xander Bogaerts. 

“He’s a big thing for our team,” Preller said. “We still have a lot of faith in Xander.” 

Bogaerts, in the fourth year of an 11-year, $280 million deal, hit .272/.331/.407 with a .738 OPS in 2025, down from .290/.353/.459 with an .812 OPS in his 10 years with the Red Sox. He has dealt with multiple injuries, including a fractured shoulder on a dive attempt in 2024 and a fractured foot after a foul ball in 2025, both of which have affected his production.

The shortstop is entering his 14th major-league season and will turn 34 in October. He remains confident he can rebound.

Part of that comes with a better understanding of his body, recognizing that, at this stage, less can be more. Managing his workload and being more strategic physically will be key.

“I think health is one of the biggest keys,” Bogaerts said. “Health and keeping your body warm. That can be a little tough, then you get warmed up, you’re ready to go, and then you have to sit again. I just have to make sure I keep moving.” 

3. Basallo ready to break out after debut

The Orioles added first baseman Pete Alonso during the offseason, further solidifying an already strong lineup. Adley Rutschman remains a player the club believes can rediscover the form that once made him look like a franchise cornerstone.

So does that limit top prospect Samuel Basallo’s path to playing time? It shouldn’t. Basallo, 21, played in 31 games last season after debuting in August, batting just .165 with four homers. Nevertheless, that certainly is indicative of who he is. Basallo, who reached the majors at 20, was widely viewed throughout the industry as the best-hitting prospect in all of baseball last year. He hit .270/.377/.589 with 23 homers at Triple-A Norfolk. He will likely command Baltimore’s DH role, initially sitting against lefties. But that will probably be a role he will fit into nicely once he becomes a bit more acclimated to the big leagues. 

The O’s lineup is for real. One of the best in baseball. That’s not just because of Gunnar Henderson and Alonso, but because of Basallo too. 

4. Can Tony Vitello leave college behind?

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey made the gutsy and controversial decision to hire University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello as his manager this offseason, making him the first to jump directly from the college ranks to the majors.

Former manager Bob Melvin had one year left on his contract after Posey extended him during the summer, but Posey ultimately chose to part ways with the veteran skipper and go with Vitello instead.

There will, of course, be a learning curve for Vitello, and it showed at times during spring training in his media sessions. Vitello went on an unprompted rant about how his hiring was reported, saying that at the time of the report, no decision had been made.

“That was not reality,” Vitello said. “At all.” 

Saying that to the media off the record is one thing, but doing it while the cameras are rolling is another. He called it therapy. Talking to the media shouldn’t be therapy. The following day, after that clip gained traction, Vitello doubled down on his statement. 

“I didn’t say anything surprising that I know of. Just stating the facts,” added Vitello.”If somebody tweets out or says something that’s not true about you, and it affects your life significantly, it’s not just a deal where your feelings are hurt, but it’s has a significant impact, in particular, on my family.” 

It’s evident Vitello means well. Afterward, he even approached a reporter who doesn’t cover the team and was only there for the day to further explain the situation. It wasn’t necessary. For whatever reason, he couldn’t let it go. He also kept circling back to college.

That could get old fast in a big-league clubhouse.

Things settled for Vitello as spring training progressed, and he no longer, unintentionally, made himself the story. Judging him strictly on early results will be difficult. That leash, though, could be shorter in the coming years, especially with San Francisco having made the playoffs just once since 2020. Some around the game question whether his style translates, believing it is better suited for college players.

Only winning will quiet that.

5. Can the Red Sox find the bats to match their arms? 

One thing that’s become clear about Red Sox lead exec Craig Breslow? He has a clear eye for identifying pitching talent. He’s built this Red Sox staff into one that could be formidable. He traded for Garrett Crochet last winter and added Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray over this offseason. He drafted Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, who made the team and will start Sunday against the Reds.

But the position-player side still leaves something to be desired. Around the sport, Breslow gets viewed in a similar vein to former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, with executives saying he’s tough to make deals with. Instead of pulling the trigger and trusting his gut, he often tries to squeeze every bit of value out of a trade. When he steps outside his pitching comfort zone, he can look out of sync.

The Sox do have Roman Anthony, who sits on the doorstep of superstardom, and Wilyer Abreu, who made strides this offseason by shortening his swing. Breslow also added Willson Contreras. But he lost Alex Bregman.

For Breslow to truly solidify this roster as a postseason force, he’ll eventually have to get uncomfortable when it comes to building out the position player group.