Teams in completely different stages of development open the regular season on Monday in Washington as Ricky Nolasco and the rebuilding Marlins oppose Stephen Strasburg and the highly-touted Nationals.

As the Mets and Padres prepare to meet on Opening Day, the spotlight will be on the players suiting up and taking the field in New York. But with thousands of eyes focused on the starting nine Bud Black and Terry Collins pencil onto their lineup card, there’ll be a handful of conspicuous names missing for each club.

Tommy Lasorda wants to celebrate come October. The Hall of Fame manager has waited 25 years since he saw his beloved Dodgers spray the World Series champagne and host a championship parade for the city of Los Angeles.

It is both presumptuous and preposterous to say it, but let’s just go ahead and say it — Opening Day between the Reds and Angels, which takes place at 4:10 p.m. ET Monday at Great American Ball Park, could be a preview of the World Series.

A new season is upon us. And for the Cubs and Pirates, that once again means new hope for two organizations and fan bases in need of positive years. The two teams open the 2013 season at 1:35 p.m. ET on Monday at PNC Park.

After Kyle Lohse started his first game for the Brewers on Thursday in a 6-2 win over the Rockies at Salt River Fields, manager Ron Roenicke proclaimed that the right-hander is “Major League ready.”

If there’s one bit of good news for the injury-wracked D-backs and Cardinals, it’s this: they open against each other. Misery loves company and all that, but it’s still probably not much consolation.

The real test for both the Tigers and Twins begins on Opening Day — 4:10 p.m. ET on Monday — with Justin Verlander and Vance Worley squaring off at Target Field.

Mets pitcher Johan Santana has re-torn his left shoulder capsule, the team announced Thursday, with a second surgery “a strong possibility.”

As with any Red Sox-Yankees matchup, there will be a thick sense of history in the air, one that will be that much thicker with the game’s greatest rivalry beginning its 2013 chapter on Opening Day.

The reigning World Series champion Giants face off against their eternal rivals, the Dodgers, and the inflated expectations created by Los Angeles’ all-time record payroll. Hollywood’s most creative minds couldn’t script for nearby Dodger Stadium a more fascinating Opening Day and Opening Series.

The Astros play their first game as an American League team against their closest new division rival, the Rangers, to open the 2013 Major League Baseball season Sunday night at Minute Maid Park at 7:05 CT on ESPN.

After an exceptionally healthy spring camp, the Astros may have to put outfielder Fernando Martinez on the disabled list.

The Yankees released veteran Juan Rivera from his Minor League contract on Thursday, giving Lyle Overbay the inside track to win the regular first-base job to open the season.

The numbers — two runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings — were hardly spectacular, but Roy Halladay was nonetheless pleased with the way he pitched Thursday against the Blue Jays in his final appearance of the spring.

Gio Gonzalez’s last start of the Grapefruit League season was, incredibly, his first at Space Coast Stadium in two years in a Nationals jersey. And just like that, he’s leaving again.

The Tigers, as expected, will begin the season without a set closer. However, that committee will not include Bruce Rondon, who was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.