Not that this comes as a shock to anyone, but Athletics manager Bob Melvin officially announced that Sonny Gray will start on Opening Day, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports.
It will be Gray’s third consecutive Opening Day start, making him only the third Athletic -- joining Dave Stewart (five) and Rick Langford (three) -- to make at least three consecutive Opening Day starts, A’s Baseball Information Manager Mike Selleck notes.
Gray, 26, is the obvious ace in a rotation that will include some combination of Jesse Hahn, Kendall Graveman, Chris Bassitt, Rich Hill, Jarrod Parker, and Henderson Alvarez. Last season, Gray finished third in American League Cy Young Award balloting, compiling a 14-7 record with a 2.73 ERA and a 169/59 K/BB ratio in 208 innings. He will become eligible for arbitration for the first time after the season, leading to some speculation that the A’s could pursue trading Gray.
