Opening Day and the start of a new Major League Baseball season are just weeks away, but teams are already announcing plans for who’ll take the ball for their maiden voyage in 2026. Traditional MLB Opening Day is set for Thursday, March 26, for the 2026 season, though the Yankees and Giants will get the season started a day earlier with a matchup in San Francisco on March 25.
With that in mind, CBS Sports will use the space below to log every team’s Opening Day starting pitcher decision. These things are always subject to change at a later date, be it because of injury or further roster move, but we’ll keep this as current as the news cycle allows.
Before we meet this year’s crop of Opening Day starters, here’s a look at the pitchers who’ve made the most of these starts in MLB history:
- Tom Seaver: 16
- Steve Carlton: 14
- Jack Morris: 14
- Randy Johnson: 14
- Walter Johnson: 14
Boston Red Sox: Garrett Crochet
Crochet will be entering his second season with the Red Sox, and he’ll be making his third consecutive (and third overall) Opening Day start. Crochet finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting after compiling a 2.59 ERA (159 ERA+) and a 5.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 32 starts. The Red Sox open the season in Cincinnati.
Detroit Tigers: Tarik Skubal
Skubal, winner of two consecutive AL Cy Young awards, will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Tigers, tying him for eighth most in franchise history. It’s possible this could be Skubal’s final Opening Day assignment for Detroit. He’s entering his walk year and is expected to receive a massive payday after accumulating a 3.08 ERA (135 ERA+) and a 5.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first 137 big-league appearances. The Tigers will be in San Diego on Opening Day.
Houston Astros: Hunter Brown
The Astros will start someone other than Framber Valdez (now a member of the Tigers) on Opening Day for the first time since 2021. Brown will receive the honors after managing a 2.43 ERA (172 ERA+) and a 3.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31 starts in 2025. He and the Astros will host the Angels on Opening Day.
Miami Marlins: Sandy Alcantara
It was Friday, Feb. 13 when the Marlins announced that Sandy Alcantara would again get the ball on Opening Day. This will be the sixth time in the last seven seasons that he opens the season for the Marlins with 2024 — when he was recovering from Tommy John surgery — being the exception. The 2022 Cy Young winner was 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA last season, but he seemed to finally pitch back to form late in the season. He was 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA in the last eight outings. The Marlins start the new season at home against the Rockies.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen
The D-backs originally announced Merrill Kelly as their Opening Day starter, though he came down with an achy shoulder last month, and the team had to shift gears. The season opener will instead go to the recently re-signed Zac Gallen. It will be his fourth straight Opening Day start. Only Hall of Famer Randy Johnson has started more Opening Days in franchise history. The D-backs will face the two-time defending champion Dodgers in Los Angeles when the season begins.
Tampa Bay Rays: Drew Rasmussen
The Rays will send Rasmussen to the bump to start this season March 26 in St. Louis. It’ll be the first Opening Day start in the career of the Rays’ right-hander. Last season marked the first full season since Rasmussen underwent an internal brace surgery on his right elbow and he made a career-high 31 starts. In those starts, he worked 150 innings, pitching to a 2.76 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 127 strikeouts against 36 unintentional walks. He made the All-Star team for the first time and finished ninth in Cy Young voting, also accumulating a career-best 4.4 WAR.
New York Mets: Freddy Peralta
The Mets acquired Peralta from the Brewers via a four-player trade in January, and the right-hander gives New York the reliable frontline presence it sorely needs. Last season, Peralta, a two-time All-Star, deservedly finished in the top five of the NL Cy Young vote. In each of the last three seasons, he’s reached at least 30 starts and racked up at least 200 strikeouts, and over that span he boasts an ERA+ of 123. The start — against the Pirates at Citi Field — will mark Peralta’s third straight Opening Day start.
Cincinnati Reds: Andrew Abbott
With Hunter Greene’s elbow acting up, the Opening Day assignment will fall to Abbott, who is more than worthy. The 26-year-old went to the All-Star Game last year and has a career 3.42 ERA since being called up in June 2023. He finished eighth in the Cy Young voting in 2025. It will be Abbott’s first career Opening Day start. The Reds have not had a pitcher earn consecutive Opening Days since Johnny Cueto started four straight from 2012-15. Abbott and the Reds will host the Red Sox to begin the new season.
Chicago White Sox: Shane Smith
From Rule 5 Draft pick to Opening Day starter. Smith was an obvious pick for the ChiSox following his All-Star Game selection and 3.81 ERA in 29 starts as a rookie last season. Chicago took Smith from the Brewers in the December 2024 Rule 5 Draft, and last year he joined Dan Uggla as the only players to go to the All-Star Game the season after getting Rule 5ed. He will be the White Sox’s fourth different Opening Day starter in four years. Smith and the ChiSox will open the new season in Milwaukee.
New York Yankees: Max Fried
No surprise here: Fried will start the season opener for New York. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young last season, his first with the Yankees. Gerrit Cole is on the mend from Tommy John surgery and is expected back in late May or June, so he wasn’t an option. Because of Cole’s injuries, the Yankees have had four different Opening Day starters in the last four years (Cole in 2023, Nestor Cortes in 2024, Carlos Rodón in 2025, Fried in 2026). They’ll begin the season in San Francisco.
Washington Nationals: Cade Cavalli
An impressive second-half return from Tommy John surgery last season has landed Cavalli the Opening Day start in 2026. Washington’s first-round pick in 2020 had a 4.25 ERA in 10 starts after returning; six times in those 10 starts, he allowed no more than two earned runs. Cavalli will be the Nats’ fourth different Opening Day starter in the last four years, joining Patrick Corbin in 2023, Josiah Gray in 2024, and MacKenzie Gore in 2025. The Nationals will open the season at Wrigley Field.
Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd
The 35-year-old lefty in 2025 enjoyed one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, as he pitched to a 3.21 ERA/120 ERA+ with a 3.65 FIP and 154 strikeouts against 42 unintentional walks in 179 ⅔ innings. He also earned his first All-Star selection. For his career, Boyd has an ERA+ of 95 and a WAR of 12.2. His nod on Opening Day will be the 200th start of his MLB career. The Cubs will be home against the Nationals on Opening Day.
Baltimore Orioles: Trevor Rogers
Last year’s remarkable finish to the regular season (1.81 ERA in 18 starts) earned Rogers the Opening Day assignment in 2026. Despite making only 18 starts, Rogers finished ninth in the AL Cy Young voting. He will be Baltimore’s fifth Opening Day starter in five years, joining John Means (2022), Kyle Gibson (2023), Corbin Burnes (2024), and Zach Eflin (2025). The O’s will host the Twins to begin the season.
Toronto Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman
The 35-year-old right-hander Gausman will get the nod for the defending AL champs. He’s coming off a 2025 season in which he pitched to a 3.59 ERA (119 ERA+) with 3.78 K/BB ratio in 193 innings. He’s been a stalwart in the Toronto rotation since 2021 and has made at least 30 starts in each of his four seasons with the Jays. Last season, José Berríos got the Opening Day start for Toronto, but he’s dealing with elbow inflammation. The Blue Jays begin 2026 at home against the Athletics.
Texas Rangers: Nathan Eovaldi
The 36-year-old right-hander and Texas native will be making his third straight Opening Day start for the Rangers. Eovaldi is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he put up a sparkling ERA of 1.73 across 22 starts and 130 innings. Over that span, he struck out 129 batters against 20 unintentional walks. If not for a rotator cuff injury that ended his season in the latter half of August, he likely would have been an AL Cy Young contender last season. Eovaldi and the Rangers will host the Philles to start the new year.
San Francisco Giants: Logan Webb
No surprise here. Webb will start with his fifth straight Opening Day for the Giants. The five Opening Day starts tie Madison Bumgarner for third most in team history behind Hall of Famers Juan Marichal (11) and Carl Hubbell (six). Webb has led baseball in innings pitched each of the last three seasons, and he made two starts for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The Giants will host the Yankees on Opening Day.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Yamamoto threw the final pitch of the 2025 World Series and he will also throw the first pitch for the 2026 Dodgers. It will be his second straight Opening Day start. Yamamoto threw 173 ⅔ innings with a 2.49 ERA last year and then earned World Series MVP honors thanks to his heroic relief appearance on zero days’ rest in Game 7. He will be the first Dodger to start consecutive Opening Days since Clayton Kershaw started eight straight from 2011-18. The Dodgers start the regular season at home against the Diamondbacks.
Los Angeles Angels: José Soriano
One of the game’s most underrated pitchers, Soriano is a reliever-turned-starter success story. He has a 3.93 ERA in two years since moving into the rotation, and last year he led baseball in ground ball rate. Yusei Kikuchi, last year’s Opening Day starter, spent much of the spring away from the Angels at the World Baseball Classic. The Angels go to Houston for their first series of 2026.
Colorado Rockies: Kyle Freeland
For the third straight year and the fourth time overall, Freeland will start Game 1 for the Rockies. The Denver native is already the franchise leader in Opening Day starts and pitching WAR, and should finish the season as the franchise leader in innings. Freeland and the Rockies will visit the Marlins to start the new season.
Kansas City Royals: Cole Ragans
Make it three straight Opening Day starts for Ragans, who joined Kansas City in the Aroldis Chapman trade with the Rangers at the 2023 deadline. A shoulder issue limited Ragans to 13 starts last year, during which his underlying numbers (2.50 FIP) were much better than his surface stats (4.67 ERA). He will be the first pitcher to start three straight Opening Days for the Royals since Gil Meche from 2007-09. The Royals visit the Braves to begin 2026.
St. Louis Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore
After turning in 29 effective starts last year (and learning a new splitter this spring), Liberatore will get the Opening Day assignment for St. Louis. He came over in the Randy Arozarena trade with the Rays. Liberatore will be the first left-hander to start Opening Day for the Cardinals since Donovan Osborne in 1999. Liberatore will face the Rays, the team that drafted him, in the season opener.
