Red Sox Officially Announce Opening Day Starter; Did They Make Correct Choice?

Boston will begin regular season action on March 30 vs. the Orioles

Opening Day is finally almost here. 

After what felt like an extremely long offseason, the Boston Red Sox and the rest of the league are set to kick off 2023 regular season action in just over two weeks. Before then, the World Baseball Classic will continue to make headlines and each MLB club will continue to fine tool their skills in spring training action. 

The Red Sox are set to begin their season on March 30 as they welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Fenway Park. One question that fans and media members alike have been wondering is who would get the ball as the team's Opening Day starter and manager Alex Cora made the announcement Wednesday, according to the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham.  

No big surprise. But Alex Cora acknowledged Corey Kluber is the Opening Day starter.

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 15, 2023

As Abraham noted, the announcement of Kluber to start Opening Day for Boston doesn't come as much of a surprise at all. Cora recently announced that Chris Sale wouldn't be starting Opening Day because the team wants to take things slow as the seven-time All-Star looks to return to regular season action after a plethora of injuries. 

Sale and Kluber both have been impressive so far for Boston in spring training. Sale has made two starts so far and hasn't allowed a run yet in five innings pitched. The lanky lefty has struck out seven batters and has allowed just three hits. His fastball has sat in the mid to high 90s and his changeup and slider both have looked sharp so far. 

Kluber is set to make his fourth start of spring training Wednesday afternoon but also has been impressive so far. He has compiled a 2.35 ERA through 7 2/3 innings pitched to go along with eight strikeouts in his three starts so far. 

Sale would make sense as the team's Opening Day starter as he likely will be the team's ace but after appearing in just 11 games over the last three seasons, it doesn't make any sense to rush him back to the field. He has looked electric so far in spring and Boston is going to need him to continue his progression if it wants to make some noise in 2023. 

At the end of the day, the role of Opening Day starter doesn't necessarily matter because, with plenty of off days built into the beginning of the season, the club will be able to realign their rotation however they see fit. If both Sale and Kluber can stay healthy this season they both should help the Red Sox win plenty of games. It doesn't matter who pitcher Game 1 or who pitches Game 2 as long as they both can pitch at some point. Cora certainly made the right decision giving Sale even more time to get ready. 

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