Clayton Kershaw from Spring Training 2016. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Cary Osborne

Today is optimism’s Opening Day.

There’s really not a whole lot going on. Players are getting their lockers situated, taking physicals, saying hello to old friends and meeting new teammates for the first time. There will be some stretching. Maybe some light workouts.

But to starving baseball baseball fans who have gone 3 ½ half months without being fed, the mere sentence: “Pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training today,” is Sunday brunch followed by dessert, followed by a buffet dinner.

Hope is here.

And there’s a lot to be optimistic about with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers will enter 2017 with a stronger complement to Clayton Kershaw, and thus will have one of the most formidable one-two punches in baseball.

Haters will look at Rich Hill’s age (37 on March 11) and the fact that he has thrown more than 100 innings twice in 12 Major League seasons. But Hill clearly discovered himself in 2016. He had the second-best rated curveball, according to Fangraphs, last season (minimum 100 innings pitched), and the 18th best fastball. And if you’ve listened to him speak, Hill is one of the most intelligent baseball players you will come across. A full season of Rich Hill is an exciting thought.

The Dodgers will go into 2017 with a better starting rotation — a rotation so deep that someone who could likely start for most Major League teams won’t be in the starting five. Because of that depth, the Dodgers have options with Julio Uriás (who statistically was one of baseball’s best starters in the second half of the season) and can preserve him. The same could be said about Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart.

Alex Wood is only 26 years old and was starting to blossom until he went down with an elbow injury last June. He’s healthy now. Kenta Maeda, who finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting, is wiser with a year of Major League Baseball experience under his belt. Scott Kazmir, despite some struggles last year, has had a career defined by resiliency. Brandon McCarthy is now 22 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Hyun-Jin Ryu is also long past shoulder surgery and nearly five months free from elbow surgery.

Yasmani Grandal, who has hit more home runs than any catcher in baseball the last two seasons, will start 2017 healthy. He came into Spring Training last year coming off shoulder surgery.

The re-signings of Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen were critical. Great third basemen — especially ones who hit and defend as well as Turner — are a rarity in the game. Not just now, but throughout baseball history.

Jansen entered a different category in 2016. It’s safe to say, after his first All-Star season and his gutsy postseason, that Jansen is elite.

Among relievers with 100 save opportunities from 2014–16, Jansen’s 90.7 save percentage is sixth best in baseball.

With the addition of Logan Forsythe at second base, there is potential for better offense and defense from the position.

Outfield depth is a good thing. Games matter in April, too. So what the Dodgers have done by stockpiling all of these talented outfielders is they have given themselves immediate and long-term flexibility. If we’ve learned anything the last couple of years, the Dodgers don’t play with a 25-man roster, they play with a 40-plus man roster.

And nothing surprises me anymore about this Dodger front office. This isn’t inside information, but I won’t close the door on the Dodgers making more moves to improve this team before Opening Day.

I’m 591 words into this and I haven’t even mentioned Corey Seager. Haven’t said anything about Adrián González or the prospects who we’ll see this Spring Training who could help the big league club at some point this season.

This is the beginning of something special — we hope. Even if there are no games today, the season is tangible.

Welcome back baseball.