These are the days we’ve all been waiting for. That is Sunday’s official Opening Day, featuring Cardinals vs. Cubs, and today’s unofficial Opening Day that features everyone else. 

It’s no coincidence that baseball opened at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs one of the biggest stories of the offseason and spring training between their acquisitions (Joe Maddon, Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Dexter Fowler, Miguel Montero) and the loud development of their elite prospects this spring. Of course, last night’s version didn’t feature either Kris Bryant or Javier Baez.

The matchup also could be an indication of a rekindled rivalry, with the Cubs offering hope that they can challenge the Cardinals for the NL Central crown this season. With hopeful Cubs fans fueling World Series odds that were set 6/1 during their peak, there’s certainly hope on the north side of Chicago.

Sunday night’s nationally televised game had pitching dominance by Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. He came at a discounted price in drafts this year between offseason elbow surgery and an abdominal injury this spring, but was able to cruise through a Kris Bryant-less lineup for six innings.

New Cubs acquisition Jon Lester didn’t look as good, lasting only 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Lester struggled in his first start, as he battled through a dead arm late in spring. The positive is that he averaged nearly 93 mph on his fastball, according to Pitch f/x data, after averaging 91.5 mph last season. Owners in shallow mixed leagues might want to give Lester another turn or two in the rotation before employing him, but there’s no reason to be overly concerned about his rough outing.

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Kimbrel Traded to Padres in Blockbuster Deal

New Padres GM A.J. Preller made many of the headlines during the offseason with his huge trades, and he apparently isn’t finished. On the eve of Opening Day, San Diego acquired elite closer Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. from the Braves for pitching prospect Matt Wisler, outfield prospect Jordan Paroubeck, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, and the 41^st overall pick in the June draft.

The Fantasy Impact…

For Kimbrel is obvious, as he goes from a team picked by most people to finish fourth in the NL East to one of the frontrunners in the NL West. That could provide a few more save opportunities than most cheat sheets had him projected for heading into 2015, and he’s a strong candidate to lead the NL in saves for the fifth consecutive season. PETCO Park also provides a slight advantage to Turner Field for a flyball pitcher like Kimbrel, but that’s of minimal consequence for a pitcher who has averaged three homers allowed per year over the last four seasons and has recorded more than half of his outs via the strikeout during his career. However, the trade is a tough break for Joaquin Benoit owners, as he will certainly be demoted to setup man in San Diego as a result of Kimbrel’s arrival.

For Upton, we can only hope that a change of scenery will do him some good. He will miss all of April with a foot injury, and will likely serve as a backup outfielder and defensive replacement when he does return. He has three years and more than $46 million left on the five-year deal he signed with Atlanta prior to the 2013 season. That’s quite a price for what will probably amount to a pinch runner and defensive replacement when he returns to the field, but Upton could replace his pending free agent brother, Justin, as a regular going into next season in the best case. Melvin’s potential for this season is more or less wiped out, not that many fantasy owners are waiting on him.

For Maybin it’s also a boost with a disclaimer. He adds some much-needed depth to the Braves roster, while Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Braves are likely to designate Carlos Quentin for assignment. Maybin should have an opportunity to play regularly immediately in an outfield that had Jonny Gomes, Eric Young Jr., and Nick Markakis penciled in as regulars. However, fantasy owners should temper expectations for the injury-prone Maybin given his lack of production over the last two seasons. Over that time, he’s hit only .222-2-20 with eight steals in 329 plate appearances. Maybin probably only has potential beyond NL-only leagues if he’s hitting atop the batting order, but he needs to perform better than he has recently to stay ahead of Eric Young Jr. on the depth chart.

For the Braves bullpen it’s a shuffling of cards. The Braves have two relievers with significant past closing experience in Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson. Grilli would seem like the most obvious candidate to take over for Kimbrel with 45 saves over the last two seasons, but Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart didn’t tip his hand yet. Grilli did lose the job in Pittsburgh last season, but finished the season back on track in Anaheim with a 3.48 ERA and 3.60 K/BB ratio in 40 appearances. Johnson, on the other hand, was atrocious for the A’s and Tigers in 2014 with 35 walks in 53.1 innings and an ERA above 7.00. Both pitchers have had favorable springs, but Grilli’s 11/0 K/BB is most eye catching. Hart also said that hard-throwing right-hander Juan Jaime could figure into the equation later in the season, but that seems ambitious given his career 6.1 BB/9 in the minors and 11 walks in 8.2 innings this spring.

The most important return for Atlanta was the prospects and draft pick. Matt Wisler was arguably San Diego’s best prospect prior to the trade, a polished mid-rotation starter with easy projectability despite his 5.01 ERA in 22 starts for Triple-A El Paso last season. Wisler has a 2.4 BB/9 for his pro career, but struggled to keep the ball in the park in a hitter’s atmosphere. He could arrive late this season if he establishes better success at more pitcher-friendly Triple-A Gwinnett. Fantasy owners will want to keep a watchful eye in the second half of the season. Paroubeck was a second-round pick in 2013 out of high school, and hit .286 in 34 games at Rookie Level last season.

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$68.5 million man Yasmany Tomas has been a story this spring, but mostly for the wrong reasons while he’s struggled to field at third base and shown streakiness at the plate. Arizona has been a team in flux with several moves to profile their youth movement and new regime, but none of those moves drew more headlines than the demotion of Tomas to Triple-A Reno on Saturday night.

Arizona fails to give up on the third base experiment with Tomas, even as they have two well-regarded young third basemen in the organization in Jake Lamb and Brandon Drury. Still, Tomas’ future seems more likely in the outfield, and he will continue to get seasoning in both areas. It’s really his bat that Arizona paid for when they signed the Cuban defector, and he hit a respectable .273-2-12 in 22 spring games with a late-month push. GM Dave Stewart said Tomas was sent down to see regular at-bats between both spots, and would likely see regular time as a third baseman when he makes it back to Arizona. That’s a meaningful red flag for Lamb owners, though a lot can happen in the first few weeks of the season.

The Diamondbacks have reason to be patient in a rebuilding year, and also with promising young hitters in Lamb and outfielder David Peralta keeping the seats warm before Tomas arrives to the majors. The hefty Tomas still profiles well as a 20-plus home run hitter at the major league level, and he has an opportunity to really gain confidence at the plate in a hitter-friendly atmosphere like Reno. The reasonable expectation is Tomas’ arrival to Phoenix by late April, if not sooner.

NL Quick Hits: Kevin Quackenbush filled in well as San Diego’s closer last season, but he was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday. He had a 3.72 ERA in 10 appearances this spring, and should return to the big league club soon. Brandon Maurer was also optioned … Eddie Butler won a spot in the Rockies rotation despite suffering through shoulder fatigue last week … Veteran Cody Ross was released by Arizona on Saturday. Ross has struggled since hip surgery in 2013 … The Giants said Jake Peavy could be skipped on Tuesday in favor of Ryan Vogelsong after Peavy’s terrible spring. He allowed 13 runs in his final 6.2 innings during spring. Though, such a move would only be temporary … Rockies manager Walt Weiss promoted Boone Logan as his primary setup man. That’s a notable role behind the aged and struggling LaTroy Hawkins, though Weiss said earlier this spring that Adam Ottavino would be the next in line for saves. Colorado also has former closer Rafael Betancourt on their 25-man roster and back from Tommy John surgery … Brandon Morrow beat out Odrisamer Despaigne for San Diego’s fifth starter job. Morrow still has a strong arm, and is worth fantasy consideration while pitching half his games at PETCO Park … Top pitching prospect Archie Bradley made a late push to become Arizona’s fifth starter, and posted a 1.61 ERA during the spring. His six walks in 22.1 innings is a promising development after walking 49 batters in 83 innings last season … Dustin McGowan signed a contract with the Phillies to join their pen after being released by Toronto … Hyun-Jin Ryu will begin a throwing program on Tuesday as he recovers from shoulder inflammation. There’s no clear timetable for his return at this point … Vance Worley became a possible fifth starter again for Pittsburgh after Charlie Morton was placed on the DL Saturday. Morton had a hurried return from hip surgery, and showed that he wasn’t quite ready after allowing five runs in 1.2 innings during his last start. Worley becomes an intriguing pick up with continued strong control this spring (three walks in 20 innings).

AL Quick Hits: Kevin Gausman will open the season in Baltimore’s bullpen in favor of Ubaldo Jimenez. Gausman was positioned to join the pen late in spring, with the Orioles likely wanting to limit his innings for the year. He probably won’t be in the bullpen for very long, especially if Jimenez struggles early on … Micah Johnson officially won the White Sox second base job, though Carlos Sanchez also made the team after hitting .435 in spring training. The pressure will be on Johnson to perform with Sanchez and Emilio Bonifacio waiting in the wings … David Ortiz will get the start at first base for Boston on Monday with the Red Sox playing without the DH in Philadelphia. Mike Napoli will come off the bench … Michael Saunders ran out of time in his recovery from left knee surgery and was placed on the DL, retroactive to March 27. He will likely only miss the minimum amount of time … 21-year-old reliever Keone Kela won a spot on the Rangers with a strong spring. The hard thrower could get high-leverage innings in a very thin Texas bullpen, and perhaps even find saves later this season if Neftali Feliz continues to struggle missing bats like he did last season … Power hitter Juan Francisco elected free agency after refusing assignment to Triple-A from the Rays … Yordano Ventura signed a five-year, $23 million extension with the Royals on Saturday. He’s become their ace by default following the departure of James Shields this offseason … Corey Kluber also signed an extension with Cleveland, along with No. 2 starter Carlos Carrasco … As expected, Roberto Hernandez won Houston’s fifth starter job. He still offers limited upside with a career 5.6 K/9 … Koji Uehara will throw a simulated game Thursday. If all goes well, he will go on a rehab assignment and return on April 13. Edward Mujica is expected to receive any save opportunities for Boston in the meantime … Mike Moustakas will begin the season as Kansas City’s No. 2 hitter. It’s a befuddling decision from manager Ned Yost given Moustakas’ career .290 OBP, but not one that should be a major surprise given Yost’s history of head-scratching decisions … Masahiro Tanaka stated that we shouldn’t expect much velocity from him this season as he adjusts his pitching style to account for his partially torn UCL. He’s been successful this spring, but the revelation is further reason to be wary of him this season … Drew Smyly (shoulder) threw batting practice on Saturday, and could be headed for a rehab assignment soon.