The millionaires are now back on the field for the billionaires – and all of us paupers – to watch.

Major League Baseball is back full force this weekend, your Boston Red Sox are in the Bronx, not locked out but likely dialed in.

Spring has indeed sprung – heck, high school baseball starts Monday after a three-week preseason – and the sports year starts a new chapter.

The Red Sox pulled a double surprise a year ago. First, there was no way we thought they’d be a playoff team, let alone lead the AL East for awhile. Second, it certainly looked like they had the jump on the Astros in the ALCS until the now gone Eduardo Rodriguez pointed at his wrist.

So here we go, as expectations will be all over the map. Other than the signing of Trevor Story, it was a fairly quiet offseason for Boston, which already won’t have former ace Chris Sale until June. Who knew when they picked him up in 2018 that Nathan Eovaldi would be their ace? But the lack of activity has many feeling the Red Sox aren’t trying to make a serious run while the contracts of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are in question.

But, really, you have to think Boston’s bullpen is the biggest issue.

As we do every year, we’ll take a look at who will do what this season, and you can have a great chuckle when you look back on it next November.

AL EAST – This is a softball as the Toronto Blue Jays, with some New Hampshire Fisher Cats graduates, are loaded. They missed the playoffs by a game last year and would have made it under the bad new format (we loved the one-game play-in). They did what good teams do – corrected a weakness, starting pitching (Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, etc.). And with Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, etc., they’ll give opposing pitchers nightmares.

We always say Tampa won’t do anything and they always do. But we’ll say it again this year, and the same will go for the Yankees, who corrected their infield problem but they still have stiffs around Aaron Judge in the outfield. The Sox? They could be fourth.

AL CENTRAL – Could the Twins be the team after taking 2021 off and adding Carlos Correa? Nah, but when have the White Sox won a division title two years in a row? If only the Tiger were ready. We’ll stick with the White Sox and Jose Abreu for now. Minnesota third – Rocco Baldelli could be the first manager fired – the Royals fourth and Guardians fifth.

AL WEST – Seattle is the trendy pick but the Astros are still the Astros; perhaps the Mariners, who have last year’s AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray in their rotation, could snare a Wild Card. Sorry, the Angels still can’t pitch after Shohei Ohtani (signing Noah Syndergaard, really?) the A’s are taking and the Rangers are still the Rangers no matter what high priced free agent they sign until they learn the lesson Nolan Ryan tried a decade ago to teach them as an executive – pitching.

NL EAST – Oh we love this division, because who thought the Braves were good enough to win the World Series? They subtracted their main guy, Freddie Freeman, but added Matt Olson and could get Ronald Acuna Jr. (ACL) back by May. They just have to pitch to edge the Mets, who are a lot of glitz and glitter with their rich second-year owner Steve Cohen but even he can’t help Jacob deGrom stay healthy. The Phillies can hit but their lousy bullpen is still, well, lousy. The Nats and Marlins? Nope.

NL CENTRAL – Ah, the Milwaukee Brewers. Quick, can you name any? Other than Hunter Renfroe, whom the Sox gifted to them, that is. OK, Christian Yelich. They’re good. St. Louis is good, but not as good. The rest – Pirates, Reds and Cubs – just aren’t in the same class.

NL WEST – The Dodgers are the Dodgers, rich with dollars and talent, making up for any free agent losses with even better players, like Freeman. Still, what will happen with Trevor Bauer and they have the worst pitcher we’ve ever seen in former Angel and Yankee Andrew Heaney.

But they still should beat out the Padres and Giants for the division title. No way the Giants win 108 games again, even with a guy named Yastrzemski in the lineup.

The Padres lost Fernando Tatis Jr. for three months but manager Bob Melvin could get them to 90 wins. And forget the Rockies and Diamondbacks, even though the latter have up and comer Daulton Varsho.

PLAYOFF TEAMS

AL – Toronto, Chicago, Houston, New York (Wild Card), Tampa (Wild Card), Seattle (Wild Card).

ALCS – Blue Jays over Astros.

NL – Atlanta, Milwaukee, L.A., Mets (Wild Card), St. Louis (Wild Card), San Diego (Wild Card).

NLCS – Dodders over Brewers.

WORLD SERIES: Blue Jays over Dodgers.

There you go, fans. Clip and save and have a great laugh come the end of next October.

But let’s enjoy spring and summer first.

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter at @Telegraph _TomK.