The Texas Rangers waste no time seeing what they have in Jacob deGrom.
The ace right-hander, who signed a five-year, $185 million deal with Rangers during the offseason, faces Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola when the 2023 Major League Baseball season begins next Thursday.
All 30 clubs will be back in action that day for the first time since 1968.
This is deGrom’s fourth career start on Opening Day. The two-time Cy Young winner received the nod while fielding for the New York Mets in 2019-21. Texas was wary of deGrom during spring training after the 34-year-old reported a strain in his left side right before team training began in February.
So solid was his work over the past month that Rangers didn’t hesitate to make deGrom the seventh other pitcher to get the ball on the team’s opening day in the past seven years.
“We had to hold him back a bit in the beginning, but we think he’s ready,” said new Texas coach Bruce Bochy. “We have the day off after opening day so we can cover him. We’re not looking for him to really get deeply involved in the game or anything. So it all just makes sense in the world to us.”
Nola, on the other hand, is a staple of the Phillies. The 29-year-old will start for Philadelphia on the first day of the game for the sixth time. Only Hall of Famers Robin Roberts (12) and Steve Carlton (10) have started more season openers in Phillies history.
A total of eight Cy Young winners will take the mound on March 30, including Corey Kluber, who will make his first start for Boston when the Red Sox take on Baltimore. Kluber is the first newcomer to start Boston’s first game since David Price in 2016.
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara will become the first Marlins pitcher to start four straight openers when he takes on three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and the New York Mets. Alcantara, a unanimous pick for the NL Cy Young in 2022, will break with Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12) for the most opening-day starts in club history. Scherzer is one of five pitchers since 1900 to have had 10 or more opening-day strikeouts at least three times in their career.
This is the second time in as many years that Cy Young winners will compete on Opening Day. Shane Bieber from Cleveland and Zack Greinke from Kansas City met last spring.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who just guided Japan to the World Baseball Classic title, will start for Los Angeles on his second straight opening day. Ohtani set career bests in wins (15), ERA (2.33), strikeouts (216), and innings (166) last year. Ohtani and the Angels begin the season against Oakland left-hander Kyle Muller, who will make his first start on Opening Day.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will join CC Sabathia, Jack Chesbro and Mel Stottlemyre as the only pitcher in team history to attend four straight opening days when the Yankees host the San Francisco Giants.
Framber Valdez will start for World Series Champion Houston when the Astros host the Chicago White Sox.
The youngest starter on Opening Day will be Hunter Greene from Cincinnati. The strong 23-year-old will take on Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greene hit 164 hitters in 125 2/3 innings last season as a rookie. Greene also played 7 1/3 no-hit innings against the Pirates this past April, only to accept the loss.
Washington’s Patrick Corbin is hoping the opening-day start will result in a better season than what he experienced in 2021 and 2022. Corbin led the majors the past two seasons 9-16 with a 5.82 ERA in 2021, then 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA last year. But with Stephen Strasburg still out through injury and top contender Cade Cavalli out for the year following Tommy John’s surgery, the Nationals are turning to one of the few remaining portions of the 2019 World Series-winning team.
HOSKINS TO GET SECOND OPINIONS
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins will seek a second opinion on his injured left knee, but the team believes Hoskins will miss the entire 2023 season.
General manager Dave Dombrowski said while Hoskins is being reevaluated he would be “shocked” if the 30-year-old Hoskins didn’t need surgery to repair a torn cruciate ligament.
Hoskins injured his knee Thursday while setting up a grounder. The Phillies will turn to Darick Hall to replace Hoskins. Hall, 27, hit .250 in 2022 with nine home runs and 16 RBIs in 41 games as a rookie.
“I feel comfortable saying that we like Darick Hall a lot,” Dombrowski said. “We think he’s ready to step up and become a big league player.”
GO THE EXTRA MILE(S).
No more contract uncertainty for St. Louis Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. The veteran right-hander signed a three-year, $55.75 million deal with the Cardinals that will run through the 2025 season.
The new deal replaces his current deal, a four-year deal signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to expire this fall. Mikolas receives a $5 million signing bonus, payable July 1, and earns $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the two subsequent seasons. Several award awards are available to Mikolas, including $250,000 for winning a Cy Young.
Mikolas is scheduled to start the second opening day of his career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.
“Miles is among the best pitchers in the game today and has continued to provide us with a consistent presence both in the rotation and in the clubhouse,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Gerrit Cole’s head was bowed as he walked toward the New York Yankees dugout at the conclusion of his final spring practice session on Friday when something — or someone else — caught his eye: Cole’s 2-year-old son, Caden.
The younger Cole made his way to the railing next to the shelter, forcing Cole to immediately switch from his typically hyper-intense hilltop behavior to good at just being a father. He patted Caden on the head and later got on one knee to chat with Caden’s younger brother Everett – born in January – and his wife Amy nearby.
“This is honestly one of the best moments of my career,” Cole told the YES Network after conceding a run in 5 2/3 innings with no walks and three strikeouts. “That was really something special. I look forward to more of these moments.”
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AP sports writers Dan Gelston and Stephen Hawkins and AP national writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.
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