After a war of attrition seemingly eliminated several options, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts officially named Hyun-Jin Ryu the club’s Opening Day starter. Clayton Kershaw was initially scheduled to start a ninth consecutive season opener before shoulder inflammation set in.
Like Kershaw, Walker Buehler fell behind other starting pitchers in camp. The Dodgers maintained Buehler was healthy and simply being slow-played, but it was later revealed the right-hander was dealing with a bit of a hangover effect from the 2018 season.
Once Kershaw and Buehler were eventually ruled out as options for Opening Day, it left Rich Hill and Ryu as the likely candidates.