MLB Opening Day set
Opening Day starters are locked in — Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal headline the announced matchups as teams finalize rotations for March 25–27. (bleacherreport.com) Spring training notes show Andrew Painter made the Phillies’ Opening Day roster and the Marlins’ rotation looks set with Alcántara, Pérez, Meyer, Paddack and Junk — while spring injuries include Grayson Rodríguez’s sore arm and Hayden Birdsong heading for Tommy John. (x.com)
Major League Baseball released an official, club-approved list of Opening Day pitching matchups covering March 25–27 in a league press release. (mlb.com) Paul Skenes enters the 2026 season as the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner after a 2025 campaign that produced a 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts. (mlb.com) Tarik Skubal is a two-time American League Cy Young winner coming off a 2025 line that included a 2.21 ERA and 241 strikeouts across roughly 195 innings, and he was confirmed as Detroit’s Opening Day choice. (mlb.com) Rookie right-hander Andrew Painter — a 6-foot-7, 2021 first-round pick who returned from Tommy John surgery in 2023 — averaged roughly a 95.6 mph fastball in the minors last year and is lined up to make his major-league debut at the end of March. (espn.com) Grayson Rodríguez was held for precautionary evaluation after reporting right-arm soreness following a spring start and Angels manager Kurt Suzuki described the issue as a “dead arm,” placing his Opening Day availability in doubt. (mlb.com) Giants prospect Hayden Birdsong is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery next week to repair a right UCL sprain and forearm strain, a procedure the club says will sideline him for the 2026 season and is slated to be performed in Dallas. (mlb.com)
