Dodgers: Dave Roberts Hesitant to Announce Opening Day Starter

The official start of Spring Training is not when pitchers and catchers report to camp. It’s not when players show up or even when Cactus League games start. No, Spring Training hasn’t started until Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is asked if he has an Opening Day starter. 

And after a shockingly long time(5 games) Doc was asked about it today. Standing outside of the Dodgers clubhouse at Camelback Ranch, Doc couldn’t help but crack a smile at the annual question. 

But as expected, Doc isn’t ready to tip his hand quite yet. But the Dodgers skipper does sound like he knows who he will be going with, and assumptions can be made. Will it be Walker Buehler or Clayton Kershaw taking the ball in game 1 of the 2022 season?

“No, I don’t think so. I think that right now, yes the season is approaching quickly but I don’t think so. I’ll have one soon, very soon. We don’t have one, but I have one.”

The Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw start 8 consecutive Opening Day games from 2011 to 2018. Then an injury made it so that they had to go with Hyun-jin Ryu on Opening Day in 2019. They followed that up with Dustin May being pushed into an emergency start for 2020 when Kersh was a late scratch.

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Surprisingly, Walker Buehler has yet to get the ball on Opening Day. That sort of happens when you have someone like Clayton Kershaw available most years. But Buehler has been the unofficial ace of the staff for a while now, and this could be his year. 

Who do you think gets the ball on Opening Day? Drop into the comments and let us know! 

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