The Rays have announced the first two starters for the season’s opening games on Friday and Saturday against the Blue Jays, and neither of them is Blake Snell.
But that shouldn’t be cause for concern... yet.
We begin with Cy Young award finalist Charlie Morton, who gets to take the mound on Opening Day after throwing four innings over the weekend in a simulated game. He will take the mound opposite LHP Hyun Jin Ryu, who signed a four year, $80 million contract with Toronto this winter.
The second man up is then Ryan Yarbrough, who had no delays in travel or COVID testing and is therefore potentially the most ready arm to step up and take on innings.