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Phillies news and rumors 3/20: Zach Eflin to make Opening Day start for Rays

Zach Eflin will be the Opening Day starter for the Rays. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire)

Zack Wheeler will make his first career Opening Day start on March 28 at Citizens Bank Park against the Atlanta Braves, who will counter with Spencer Strider, also getting the ball in the season-opener for the first time in his career.

Elsewhere, a former Phillie will get the Opening Day nod for the first time in his career, as the Tampa Bay Rays have tabbed Zach Eflin to take the ball next Thursday when they host the Toronto Blue Jays. Eflin will be opposed by José Berríos, who will be making his fourth career Opening Day start.

It’s an honor that Eflin has earned following a tremendous first season with the Rays. After signing a three-year, $40 million deal that some thought was a bit rich, Eflin responded with the finest campaign of his career. Eflin led the AL with 16 wins, while posting a 3.50 ERA, 3.01 FIP and logging a career-high 177 2/3 innings pitched. He finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting.

Granted, Eflin is kind of the Opening Day starter by default in Tampa Bay, as manager Kevin Cash will be without a few key pitchers for some or all of 2024. Two-time All-Star Shane McLanahan will miss the entire season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Drew Rasmussen (internal brace procedure in July of 2023) and Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery in April of 2023) will also open the season on the injured list, as will Taj Bradley, who is dealing with a strained pectoral.

Not only do the Rays need Eflin to take the ball to start the season, but they’ll need him and Aaron Civale to hold the fort down in the first half of the season until they get some reinforcements back from the injured list. A sluggish start could doom the Rays in an AL East where the Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees all alos have World Series aspirations.

Must-Read Phillies Content

Phillies Nation‘s Ty Daubert examined the Wheeler vs. Strider Opening Day matchup, which will somehow mark the first time that the two NL Cy Young contenders have pitched head-to-head.

Speaking of Strider, this is a great stat from Phillies Nation‘s Destiny Lugardo.

Ty, Destiny and myself ranked the 10 best players on the Phillies entering the 2024 season.

Earlier this week, we released our latest Opening Day lineup projection, which you can read analysis of here.

I’ve written a couple pieces on Bleacher Report

this week; one that predicted who will be the top MLB player at each position in 2024, and another breaking down the best-kept secret for each team.

Over on Just Baseball, I examined nine MLB stars — including three former Phillies — that could be entering the final season of their excellent careers.