We're so close. Opening Day is Thursday for the Yankees, Nationals, Giants and Dodgers, and Friday for the rest of MLB. So Monday was a great time to catch up with MLB Network personalities and ask them what they've been up to while baseball has been away due to COVID-19, as well as what their predictions are for the 2020 season.

MLB Network's "Catching Up Presented by Camping World" was streamed live at 7 p.m. ET on Monday on MLB.com and MLB Network's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch social media channels. And by all accounts, it was a blast for all involved.

The show was hosted by Matt Vasgersian and featured 12 former players who are now MLB Network analysts jumping in and out of the Zoom session -- Vasgersian was joined at various points during the one-hour program by Kevin Millar, John Smoltz, Carlos Pena, Eric Byrnes, Mark DeRosa, Cliff Floyd, Ryan Dempster, Mike Lowell, Sean Casey, Jim Thome, Bill Ripken and Al Leiter.

So what have these guys been up to during quarantine, anyway?

"I've gotta be honest with you," Millar said. "Most guys are getting in shape. I'm getting out of shape. It started out like everybody else -- it's like, 'What's happening?' You're staying home, you're sitting there, and I realized my life didn't really change, other than they took the golf carts away at the golf course, and you had to social distance and walk the golf course. I don't know the last time you walked a golf course, but that's like 6 1/2 or seven miles. ... The 20 pounds came on quick."

On the topic of weight gain, host Vasgersian said he had actually lost weight, partially due to having a colonoscopy.

"They call it the doubleheader," Vasgersian said. "I had the endoscopy and the colonoscopy."

There was a lot of golf talk, including a "humble brag" from one of the 2020 River Club Member/Member champions, DeRosa (the other champion was longtime catcher Brian McCann).

"It's been a slow burn since back in 1999, when Smoltzy introduced me to golf, and we slow-burned this, and we're now a champion," DeRosa said.

But enough about the quarantine and how it was spent. What do these guys think about the upcoming season, and who do they like?

For Floyd, it's the Reds, who had a busy offseason bolstering their lineup -- Cincinnati signed outfielders Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama, as well as slugging infielder Mike Moustakas.

"The Reds stick out to me," Floyd said. "Because on paper, they look pretty darn good. And I know one thing -- names mean nothing, but the talent in the clubhouse speaks to how this bunch is a little bit different ... I think they're gonna surprise a lot of people ... They can hit the ball out of the ballpark, and they can play small-ball as well."

For Lowell, it's the White Sox and Mets that are intriguing in this 60-game schedule.

"I like the White Sox; I don't know why -- I think they're developing player-wise, they've got some great prospects with Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert, and I think they're exciting," Lowell said. "I like the Mets for some weird reason ... seeing videos of Yoenis Céspedes, and he could take over, and you've got Pete Alonso, Jacob deGrom is just coming with money in the bank. I mean, if you get hot for three weeks, that's almost 30 percent of the season."

Speaking of the White Sox, there was a lot of talk about Robert, who has been wowing us with his tremendous power lately and looks the part of the next AL Rookie of the Year.

"He's a special player," said Thome, a Hall of Famer and former White Sox slugger. "Obviously, we think very highly of him and the sky's the limit. I mean, this kid, from Day One, he's done everything the White Sox have asked him to do. The potential is off-the-charts. ... He's a guy that, when he's up, you're not going to get up and leave the TV because he could do something that's just incredible every night."

The anticipation for Opening Day has been building for months, and it was a fun hour catching up with MLB Network personalities a few days before the season finally begins. One thing's for sure -- "Catching Up" was a hit.

"Can you guys do this more?" Byrnes asked. "This was really, really great. This was fantastic."