Major League Baseball’s 2025 Opening Day is less than two weeks away. As such, it is never too early to keep tabs on each team’s Opening Day starter. These announcements have come in throughout spring training, but there are still plenty of decisions to be made.
With that in mind, here is our living document chronicling every team’s Opening Day starter situation. These announcements are tentative because sometimes things change due to injury, so check back regularly for updates. We’ll have everything you need to know about Opening Day starters right here.
Before we get to the good stuff, here is the all-time Opening Day start leaderboard:
Tom Seaver: 16 Steve Carlton: 14 Jack Morris: 14 Randy Johnson: 14 Walter Johnson: 14
While it’s true that Opening Day counts for only one game in the standings, it’s still an honor to be tabbed as the starting pitcher for that day. With that in mind, here’s who’s getting the ball in Game 1 around the league.
Arizona Diamondbacks: TBA
Zac Gallen has started the last two Opening Days for the D-backs, though it seems likely the nod will go to Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner and recipient of a $210 million contract this offseason. If it is Burnes, it would be his fourth straight Opening Day start, following 2022-23 with the Brewers and 2024 with the Orioles. The D-backs will host the Cubs to begin 2025.
(Sacramento) Athletics: Luis Severino
The A’s have used six different Opening Day starters in the last seven years and this year will make it seven in eight years. Luis Severino gets the ball after signing a three-year, $67 million contract that is the largest in franchise history. The A’s will begin the season on the road against the Mariners. Their first home game in Sacramento will be Monday, March 31, against the Cubs.
Atlanta Braves: Chris Sale
It would have been a surprise if it was anyone but reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. No surprises here. Sale has made five career Opening Day starts between the White Sox (2013-14, 2016) and Red Sox (2018-19). Last year he threw 177 ⅔ innings with an MLB-leading 2.38 ERA. He struck out an NL-best 225 batters. The Braves will open 2025 on the road against the Padres. Spencer Strider, who is coming off UCL surgery, started Opening Day for Atlanta in 2025.
With Corbin Burnes leaving as a free agent and no big-name starter imported to replace him, Eflin seemed likely to get the Opening Day start for the O’s. Sure enough, he will. Acquired from the Rays at least summer’s deadline, Eflin had a 2.60 ERA in 55 ⅓ innings for the Orioles. This will be his second consecutive Opening Start, as he received the honors for Tampa Bay last year. The O’s will be in Toronto to face the Blue Jays on Opening Day.
Boston Red Sox: Garrett Crochet
Offseason trade pickup and new Boston ace Garrett Crochet gets the call. Crochet had a terrific first year as a big-league starter, striking out 209 batters with a 3.58 ERA in 146 innings for the White Sox. That earned him a spot in the All-Star Game. The Red Sox acquired the lefty in a December five-team swap with Chicago. The Red Sox will begin the regular season in Texas against the Rangers. Brayan Bello started Opening Day for the BoSox last season
Imanaga will indeed get the nod in his home country when the Cubbies begin the new season with two games against the Dodgers in Tokyo from March 18-19. The team announced it Feb. 18. Imanaga threw 173 ⅓ innings with a 2.91 ERA in 2024, and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting and fifth in the Cy Young voting. He’ll be be Chicago’s fourth different Opening Day starter in four years, and this will represent his first Opening Day start in just his second season in MLB.
Garrett Crochet, last year’s Opening Day starter and breakout player, was traded over the winter. The Opening Day assignment instead goes to rookie Sean Burke, who has thrown just 19 innings in the majors. In four MLB games last year (three starts), Burke struck out 22 of the 76 batters he faced and allowed three earned runs. The ChiSox will host the Angels on Opening Day as they look to improve upon last year’s historic 121-loss season.
Although Nick Martinez had a terrific 2024, the young ace Greene will get the Opening Day nod after finishing eighth in the NL Cy Young voting a year ago. He started the season opener for Cincinnati in 2023. Frankie Montas, now with the Mets, was their Opening Day starter in 2024. The Reds will take on the Giants at home to begin the new season. The 25-year-old Greene last season had a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts. His 6.3 WAR led all NL pitchers.
Cleveland Guardians: TBA
Shane Bieber has started the last five Opening Days for Cleveland, and although he re-signed with the club this offseason, he won’t make a sixth straight as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery. Tanner Bibee, the club’s best pitcher last year and their No. 1 starter in the postseason, is the obvious candidate to start Game 1 in Bieber’s place. The Guardians will be in Kansas City to play the Royals on Opening Day.
Colorado Rockies: Kyle Freeland
Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez have combined to start the last six Opening Days for Colorado (three apiece). Make it seven and give Freeland the lead, as he’ll get the ball to start 2025. The Rockies will visit the Rays to begin the new season. That will be the first MLB regular-season game played in George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa’s home for 2025.
It was only a matter of time until manager A.J. Hinch made it official and named the reigning AL Cy Young winner the club’s Opening Day starter. He did so on Feb. 26, calling it
2025 MLB Opening Day starter tracker: Paul Skenes gets call for Pirates, Padres turn to Michael King
