These early Spring Training games are one of the highlights of every season because they arrive at a time when it feels like forever since we had them. So we soak up the sights and sounds and the sunshine and know baseball will be part of our daily conversation for the next eight months.

Best of all, we can learn plenty from these first games. Nothing will be decided, but we could begin to see certain things take shape. A few teams might even decide to revisit the free-agent marketplace if things break a certain way.

Here are seven things to keep an eye on as games begin:

1) Indians outfield: Lots of kids competing for jobs along with some solid comeback candidates. As the Twins have added player after player in an effort to make the AL Central competitive, are the Indians considering rethinking their decision not to trade a starting pitcher for an outfielder? Would the Dodgers do Alex Verdugo for Corey Kluber? Or do the Indians stick with a championship-caliber rotation and try to piece things together in the outfield? These first couple of weeks could be telling.

2) Phillies front office: Can the Phillies compete in the NL East without signing Bryce Harper? That’s the question team executives will ask themselves over and over these next few days as agent Scott Boras continues to look for the largest contract ever. The Phillies appear to believe they’ve offered Harper the best deal, but because Boras plays this game brilliantly, they do not know.

3) Vlad Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 3B: This isn’t about whether he starts the season in the Minor Leagues. He almost certainly will. Rather, the Blue Jays want him to make the decision difficult and to make sure he shows team executives that he’s ready. Until a young player has done it in the big leagues, there’s always some doubt no matter how heralded a prospect he is. The Braves went through this with Ronald Acuna Jr. last spring, and then he hit .432 and that was that.

4) Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers LHP: He was so frustrated after a recent throwing session that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave him Thursday off, and maybe it’s important to point out that frustration to Kershaw wouldn’t be frustration to 99 percent of Major League pitchers. In the last three seasons -- these are his three worst -- his 2.26 ERA is the best in the Majors. So is his .278 xFIP. Future Hall of Famers have a different standard. On the other hand, his velocity has declined and his days on the injured list have increased. As he has many other times, he sets the highest standard on earth for himself. But his concern makes his first few spring appearances more interesting than they’d normally be.

5) Braves rotation: The Braves may have enough starting pitching without signing free-agent lefty Dallas Keuchel. Even with Mike Soroka sidelined with a cranky shoulder, Touki Toussaint likely will step into the fifth spot in the rotation. In a normal season, this might not be an issue since the Braves have so much pitching in their system. But after winning the NL East in 2018 and then watching the Mets, Nationals and Phillies have busy offseasons, Keuchel -- the best of the unsigned starters -- would appear to be a nice fit.

6) Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler, Cardinals OF: These two might just decide the NL Central. Both of them had disappointing 2018 seasons, but the Cardinals are convinced -- as well as the players so far -- that both can bounce back in a significant way in 2019. If they do, the Cardinals are in good shape.

7) Albert Pujols, Angels 1B/DH: His 70 starts at first base were his most since 2015, and after offseason knee surgery, the Angels don’t know what he’s capable of. But when Shohei Ohtani returns in early May, he’ll be the full-time DH, putting Pujols at first as often as he can play. Manager Brad Ausmus may not play him much in these first days to preserve his legs as much as he can.