ST. PETERSBURG -- Last October, they started their teams’ final games of the postseason. Now, José Berríos and Zach Eflin will set the tone for a new year.

Berríos will start for the Blue Jays on Opening Day, and Eflin will take the mound for the Rays as they host Toronto at 4:10 p.m. ET on March 28 at Tropicana Field. It will be the fourth Opening Day start for Berríos and the first for Eflin.

After a standout first season in Tampa Bay’s rotation, Eflin ended the year on a sour note. Taking the ball with the Rays’ season on the line in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series, Eflin gave up five runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings in an eventual 7-1 loss to the Rangers. Meanwhile, Berríos started Toronto’s Game 2 loss in the Wild Card Series against Minnesota and pitched well, only to get a controversial quick hook after three innings.

But it’s a new year, a new season and a new opportunity for a pair of deserving Opening Day starters.

José Berríos
Previous Opening Day starts: 2022, ‘20 (Twins), ‘19 (Twins)
2023 season: 11-12, 3.65 ERA in 189 2/3 inning

Berríos will get the nod on Opening Day with Kevin Gausman still building up his pitch count following some shoulder fatigue earlier in camp, and there’s something fitting about the Puerto Rican right-hander being the first man on the mound. It was Berríos who started the final game of Toronto’s 2023 season, where he was pulled early, igniting a controversy that hung over the offseason. Berríos says he’s ready to turn the page, and there’s no better time to start than Opening Day.

Berríos is coming off an excellent bounceback season that quickly proved his 2022 was an outlier. Long one of the game’s most consistent starters, it’s amazing that Berríos is still just 29 years old, but he’s come into camp in remarkable shape and he's looked like a man on a mission. Especially when you consider the Opening Day assignment lining up Berríos for as many starts as possible in '24, he could take a run as his second career 200-inning season if he stays healthy.

Berríos’ two starts against the Rays in 2023 went well, as he allowed just two runs over 12 innings (1.50 ERA) with 11 strikeouts. He’s added a cutter since then, too, which he’s been tinkering with in camp and plans to carry into regular season games. One of the quiet stars of camp, Berríos has earned his fourth career Opening Day start.

Zach Eflin
Previous Opening Day starts: None
2023 season: 16-8, 3.50 ERA in 177 2/3 innings

The Rays entered last Spring Training with an apparent embarrassment of riches in their rotation. They planned to line up Shane McClanahan and Tyler Glasnow in front of Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Zach Eflin, with Eflin being a somewhat surprising veteran addition signed to the largest free agent contract in franchise history (three years and $40 million).

Eflin is the last man standing from that group, as Glasnow was traded to the Dodgers in December while McClanahan, Springs and Rasmussen are all recovering from injuries. But the right-hander clearly earned his first career Opening Day start with his stellar performance on the mound and off the field in his first year with Tampa Bay.

Eflin finished sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting after leading the AL with 16 wins and putting together a career-best 3.50 ERA. He always displayed the potential to pitch at such a high level, but injuries had often kept him off the mound during his time with the Phillies. Health was rarely a concern for Eflin last year, however, as he made a career-high 31 starts and pitched a team-leading 177 2/3 innings, the most by a Rays pitcher since Charlie Morton in 2019. He also served as a valuable leader in the clubhouse, a role neither he nor the club anticipated him taking to quite so capably.

The Rays are counting on Eflin to provide more durability and leadership this season as he fronts a rotation also featuring Aaron Civale, Zack Littell, Ryan Pepiot and a to-be-determined fifth starter. He enjoyed an excellent start last year against this year’s Opening Day opponent, holding the Blue Jays to one run on six hits and two walks while (oddly) not striking out anyone over seven innings in a 6-3 win at Tropicana Field on May 25.