Projected lineups, rotations for every MLB team

Opening Day 2023 is upon us, so here’s how each club's lineup and starting rotation are expected to look early in the season.

AL EAST

BLUE JAYS

Lineup:

This lineup will change early and often, particularly at catcher, where Kirk and Danny Jansen will split time and in the outfield, where a lefty starter could slide either Merrifield or Santiago Espinal to a corner spot.

Rotation:

With Kikuchi taking the clear edge for the No. 5 job, this impressive rotation seems set with at least four starters capable of topping 170 innings.

ORIOLES

Lineup:

Ramón Urías should get plenty of starts in the infield (particularly against left-handed starters), while the DH spot will be rotated among players to get them a day off their feet on defense.

Rotation:

Grayson Rodriguez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall prospect, appeared on track to make the rotation out of camp, but the 23-year-old right-hander will start the year in the Minors.

RAYS

Lineup:

Josh Lowe and/or Luke Raley could soak up a lot of at-bats vs. right-handed pitchers in place of Margot while Taylor Walls should get playing time at the hot corner for when the Rays want to boost their infield defense.

Rotation:

Tyler Glasnow’s left oblique strain opens up a rotation spot, which goes to Chirinos right now over Luis Patiño, Josh Fleming and No. 1 prospect Taj Bradley.

RED SOX

Lineup:

Manager Alex Cora’s top priority is to keep Devers and Yoshida separated in the lineup.

Rotation:

James Paxton, Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock are all expected to start the season on the injured list, but just for brief stints.

YANKEES

Lineup:

Harrison Bader's oblique injury may force Judge back to center field in April. Top prospect Anthony Volpe earned his way onto the Opening Day roster with a stellar spring.

Rotation:

With Frankie Montas, Carlos Rodón and Luis Severino injured, Germán and Schmidt are both opening the season in the rotation. A hamstring injury forced Cortes to drop out of the World Baseball Classic, and he is about a week behind the other starters, so he'll take a later turn in the rotation to start the year.

AL CENTRAL

GUARDIANS

Lineup:

The Guardians could choose to mix up how they line up Naylor and Giménez in the order, but there aren’t many other question marks when it comes to their starters. The Guardians have had this group of nine set basically since Bell and Zunino were acquired in December.

Rotation:

The Guardians entered camp with their five-man rotation essentially set, but a late-spring injury to Triston McKenzie will shut the right-hander down for at least two weeks, pushing Gaddis into the rotation.

ROYALS

Lineup:

Manager Matt Quatraro hasn’t dropped any hints about lineup construction, and he has said he’d like to play the matchups as much as he can, which could mean platooning players.

Rotation:

The Royals were going to be faced with a decision between Bubic and fellow lefty Daniel Lynch for the No. 5 spot before Lynch went down with a left shoulder strain.

TIGERS

Lineup:

After a disappointing 2022 debut season, Torkelson lands a spot in the heart of the order thanks to an impressive spring.

Rotation:

None of these starters pitched a complete season last year, so look for manager A.J. Hinch to watch innings their judiciously, especially Turnbull in his first year back from Tommy John surgery.

TWINS

Lineup:

There was some question as to whether Miranda would be ready to play third base in time for Opening Day, but manager Rocco Baldelli expects to pencil his name into the lineup.

Rotation:

Such is the Twins' bolstered rotation depth that all five starters will have received at least one Opening Day nod following López's scheduled start on Thursday, and Bailey Ober, who owns a 3.82 career ERA as a big league starter, doesn't even have a spot.

WHITE SOX

Lineup:

Colás, the No. 2 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, impressed with his bat and plate approach in Spring Training and broke camp with the team for Opening Day.

Rotation:

Kopech was brought along gradually during Spring Training after having end-of-season surgery to repair a right meniscus tear, but the right-hander will get the home opener against the Giants on April 3.

AL WEST

ANGELS

Lineup:

The Angels face a lefty on Opening Day, so O'Hoppe gets the start with Max Stassi beginning the season on the injured list. With some moving pieces in the infield, manager Phil Nevin said Urshela will start the opener at short.

Rotation:

Shohei Ohtani, RHP
Patrick Sandoval, LHP
Tyler Anderson, LHP
Reid Detmers, LHP
José Suarez, LHP

The Angels are using a modified six-man rotation, with lefty Tucker Davidson and right-handers Griffin Canning and Jaime Barría the top candidates for that role.

ASTROS

Lineup:

Injuries to second baseman Jose Altuve (broken thumb) and left fielder Michael Brantley (recovering from shoulder surgery) have opened a couple of slots in the lineup, and that’s assuming Tucker (sprained ankle) and Alvarez (hand soreness) will be ready to go.

Rotation:

The loss of veteran right-handers Justin Verlander to the Mets in free agency and Lance McCullers Jr. to a muscle strain opens the door for the team’s top prospect, Brown, to begin the year in the rotation despite a back injury hiccup toward the end of camp.

ATHLETICS

Lineup:

The A’s hope the additions of veterans such as Díaz, Aguilar and Peterson will help improve an offense that ranked last in the Majors in most categories in 2022.

Rotation:

An injury to 2022 All-Star Paul Blackburn opened the door for Muller, who was acquired this winter from the Braves as part of the return for catcher Sean Murphy.

MARINERS

Lineup:

The Mariners used 129 different lineups last year in 162 games, and that type of diversity will only continue.

Rotation:

It’ll be interesting how they handle that fifth spot, but right now it belongs to Kirby, who put up a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings this spring.

RANGERS

Lineup:

An oblique injury will likely keep center fielder Leody Taveras from starting on Opening Day, but the rest of the lineup falls perfectly behind the core four of Semien, Seager, Lowe and García.

Rotation:

The Rangers didn’t spend all that money to not have an elite, top-end rotation of veteran starters. Highlighted by deGrom, Texas’ rotation should be one of the best in the American League if it stays healthy.

NL EAST

BRAVES

Lineup:

With Acuña and Albies healthy, the Braves should again have one of the game’s best offenses. Olson and Riley are capable of hitting 40 homers. Harris and Rosario add more instant-offense capability to the lower portion of the lineup.

Rotation:

Fried and Strider are Cy Young Award candidates atop the rotation, with two rookie lefties -- Shuster and Dodd -- getting a start with Kyle Wright and Michael Soroka slowed by injuries.

MARLINS

Lineup:

Reigning American League batting champion Arraez is an easy choice to lead off, which pushes Chisholm into a more run-producing spot in the order.

Rotation:

The Marlins will open with a traditional five-man rotation, led by reigning Cy Young winner Alcantara and anchored by 15-year veteran Cueto (118 ERA+ in 2022).

METS

Lineup:

This is essentially the same lineup the Mets used in the playoffs last season, with free-agent acquisition Narváez splitting catching duties with incumbent Tomás Nido.

Rotation:

José Quintana was supposed to be in the Opening Day rotation, but a lesion in his rib that will require bone graft surgery will keep him out until at least July, forcing the Mets to replace him with Peterson.

NATIONALS

Lineup:

The Nationals are looking to be athletic with a focus on extra-base hits, and the leadoff hitter could vary throughout the season as they do so.

Rotation:

Already without Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals starting pitching staff suffered another setback during Spring Training when Cade Cavalli underwent Tommy John surgery. Veteran Chad Kuhl will take his place in the rotation.

PHILLIES

Lineup:

Don’t be surprised if the lineup looks completely different on Opening Day, other than Turner in the leadoff spot. Phillies manager Rob Thomson can go different ways, especially with Rhys Hoskins lost for the season.

Rotation:

Elbow injuries to Andrew Painter and Ranger Suárez opened the door for Falter and Strahm to land rotation spots early on. Strahm, signed as a high-leverage reliever, will be a fill-in until Suárez returns.

NL CENTRAL

BREWERS

Lineup:

The Brewers have great starting pitching and will go as far as their bullpen and lineup can carry them.

Rotation:

The Brewers also hope to get quality starts from young lefty Aaron Ashby, though he’s sidelined into May by a shoulder injury.

CARDINALS

Lineup:

With Walker on the Opening Day roster, he is going to play every day, and that turns O’Neill and Dylan Carlson into a righty/lefty platoon.

Rotation:

Though Mikolas got the Opening Day nod, due in part to Adam Wainright (strained groin) opening the season on the IL, the Cardinals need Flaherty to be the ace of the staff to be serious World Series contenders again.

CUBS

Lineup:

With Seiya Suzuki sidelined, expect a lot of mixing and matching between right field, first base, third base and the designated hitter spots.

Rotation:

Wesneski gets the No. 5 spot with Kyle Hendricks missing the start of the season.

PIRATES

Lineup:

The Pirates feature their most intriguing blend of young talent and established veterans in years, and if all goes well, they could add even more youth to their lineup by the end of the summer.

Rotation:

With the signings of Hill and Velasquez, the Pirates have a very solid rotation heading into the season, though expected No. 3 starter JT Brubaker reported right elbow/forearm discomfort that removes him from the Opening Day plans.

REDS

Lineup:

As he works his way back from August left shoulder surgery, Votto will start the season on the IL, leaving Vosler to get the nod at first base.

Rotation:

The Reds run out an impressive top three of the rotation, starting with Opening Day starter Greene, who the team hopes builds on his strong end to the 2022 season.

NL WEST

D-BACKS

Lineup:

Alek Thomas will get a majority of the playing time in center field with Carroll in left, and Josh Rojas will get the bulk of the playing time at third base. But against Dodgers lefty Julio Urías, it would not be a surprise to see manager Torey Lovullo try to get more right-handed bats in there.

Rotation:

The first four spots in the rotation have been locked in for weeks, and the race for the fifth spot went to the 25-year-old Nelson.

DODGERS

Lineup:

Rojas, one of a number of new faces in Los Angeles, will handle shortstop duties after Gavin Lux suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Dodgers will look to Chris Taylor to provide versatility.

Rotation:

Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney are gone, but the Dodgers signed Syndergaard and are expecting big things from May in his first full season since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021.

GIANTS

Lineup:

With Mitch Haniger (Grade 1 left oblique strain) and Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) both iffy for Opening Day, the Giants seem likely to carry Sabol, a Rule 5 Draft pick who can split time between catcher and the outfield.

Rotation:

Lefty Sean Manaea and right-hander Jakob Junis will also be starting pitching options, so the Giants could experiment with a six-man rotation or tandem starts early in the season.

PADRES

Lineup:

The Padres are still awaiting the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. In the meantime, they’ll platoon at DH and in right field. Facing Rockies righty Germán Márquez, Carpenter probably starts over Nelson Cruz and Dahl over José Azocar.

Rotation:

Blake Snell, LHP
Nick Martinez, RHP
Michael Wacha, RHP
Seth Lugo, RHP
TBD
Yu Darvish, RHP

Joe Musgrove will open the season on the injured list with a fractured left big toe, and Darvish slides to the back of the rotation following his irregular schedule at the World Baseball Classic. But the Padres expect to have their full-throttle rotation in action by mid-April.

ROCKIES

Lineup:

The late spring addition of Profar gives the lineup a proven bat at the top -- and Profar has a chance to go against his old club in the opener at San Diego’s Petco Park.

Rotation:

Bounceback years from Freeland and Márquez are necessary to give the Rockies a fighting chance in the NL West.

Every team's expected Opening Day lineup, rotation

Every team's expected Opening Day lineup, rotation