The Baltimore Orioles are seen as a team that has improved the most this offseason. The Orioles brought in Pete Alonso, solidified the bullpen with Ryan Helsley, traded for Shane Baz and Taylor Ward, and added veteran leadership to the rotation with Chris Bassitt. With these moves, there is a lot of excitement heading into the season. Keeping that in mind, Baltimore has officially named an opening day starter as March 26 quickly approaches.
On their official X account, the Orioles have made the unsurprising announcement that Trevor Rogers will start opening day against the Minnesota Twins, which also happens to be the home opener.
Trevor Rogers Deserves the Opening Day Start
GettyTrevor Rogers will get the opening day nod.
Rogers was acquired by the Orioles at the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Once he arrived in Baltimore, the left-hander did not live up to expectations. Over four starts with the Orioles in 2024, Rogers owned a 7.11 ERA in 19 innings pitched. He allowed 25 hits, walked 10, and struck out just 12 batters.
Despite his struggles, Baltimore trusted him enough to give him another chance in 2025. He started the season on the IL thanks to a knee injury, but was unhittable once he returned. The former first-round pick made 18 starts, threw 109.2 innings, allowed only 70 hits, struck out 103 batters, and walked 29.
His success was not a shock, though. Per Baseball Savant, Rogers was in the 70th percentile in chase percentage, 71st percentile in ground ball rate, 52nd percentile in whiff percentage, and he did a good job keeping hitters off the barrel.
Rogers has to prove he can maintain his success year after year, though. In spring training, Rogers has made two starts, thrown five innings, allowed two hits, and struck out six batters without allowing a run.
He will have to build himself up a little bit more in his next outing, but it has been all good signs so far this spring.
Rest of the Rotation in Baltimore
GettyKyle Bradish looks to open the season as the No. 2 starter.
With Rogers as the ace, the rest of the rotation will look like this, per FanGraphs:
1. Rogers
2. Kyle Bradish
3. Chris Bassitt
4. Shane Baz
5. Zach Eflin
6. Dean Kremer
That is a six-man rotation, which could become more popular in 2026. Still, there are some question marks.
Bradish has had his fair share of arm injuries throughout his career. He made his return from Tommy John surgery last year and looks healthy in spring training. But his health could play a factor heading into the new year.
Baz, much like Bradish, has dealt with some injuries. Mainly, Baz underwent Tommy John surgery, and that held him out much longer than expected. He was able to make 31 starts in 2025, though. The right-hander is another wild card in the rotation, but could be very good if he remains healthy.
Eflin dealt with a back injury all of 2025. He came into camp healthy, but keeping him healthy will be something the Orioles work hard to do this year. He made his spring training debut on March 5 and has a long way to go before he is ready to start another big league game.
Even with these question marks, Baltimore is a team to watch in the American League East division. Should they live up to the expectations, the Orioles could be a dangerous team come September.
Orioles Make Unsurprising Opening Day Starter Decision