Berríos will open season for Blue Jays

José Berríos will be getting the ball March 28 to start the Blue Jays’ season-opening game.

The 29-year-old right-hander will face the Tampa Bay Rays, the club announced Tuesday, as Kevin Gausman, who had been the favourite for the assignment, tries to play catch-up from the right shoulder fatigue that has sidelined him for part of spring training.

Gausman, who has yet to make a spring training appearance, will throw two simulated innings Wednesday, Jays manager John Schneider told reporters in Florida.

Berríos started on opening day in 2022 against Texas, when he recorded only one out and allowed four runs in a game the Jays would come back to win 10-8. He struggled throughout the 2022 season, posting a 5.23 ERA and leading the American League in both hits and runs allowed. But he returned to form last season with a 3.65 ERA.

Banged-up bullpens

The Jays are having injury issues at the back end of their bullpen. Closer Jordan Romano has right elbow inflammation and will miss three days after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection, and setup man Erik Swanson is dealing with right forearm tightness. Schneider said he will be sidelined for a day or two before ramping back up.

The Red Sox have similar problems. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters that an MRI revealed left-hander Chris Murphy had ligament damage in his throwing elbow, while closer Kenley Jansen is dealing with lower back tightness.

O’s rally past Jays

Colton Cowser and Tyler Nevin homered in the seventh inning as the Baltimore Orioles exploded late to beat the Blue Jays 13-8 in Dunedin, Fla. Baltimore trailed 7-5 after six innings, then outscored the Jays 8-1 in the final three. George Springer, with a two-run single in the third inning, and Daulton Varsho, with a two-run homer in the fifth, paced Toronto’s offence. Brandon Eisert (0-2) took the loss for the Jays, giving up three hits and three runs in 12⁄3 innings. Starter Chris Bassitt struck out four batters, walked two and gave up seven hits and four runs in 3⁄ innings.

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Opening statements

Major League Baseball announced all of the opening-day starters Tuesday, including the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and San Diego’s Yu Darvish, who meet Wednesday in Seoul, South Korea. Some of the more intriguing matchups include: Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler against Atlanta’s Spencer Strider; Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, the 2001 National League Cy Young winner, versus the Angels’ Patrick Sandoval; Houston’s Framber Valdes against Nestor Cortes of the New York Yankees; Oakland’s Alex Wood, making his first opening day start at 33, versus Cleveland’s Shane Bieber; and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox, a 24-year-old who will be making his first start on opening day, against Detroit’s Tarik Skubal.

Union wants change

A slow-moving MLB free agency in which top-tier stars settled for underwhelming contracts served as a strike against the MLB Players Association’s No. 2 executive, whom union members are now pushing to be replaced, according to reports. The majority of the players who took part in a Zoom call Monday night called for the removal of deputy executive director Bruce Meyer, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Participating players were said to have voiced their stance through an informal vote, telling MLBPA executive director Tony Clark they want lawyer Harry Marino, 33, to take the 62-year-old Meyer’s place.

Meyer reportedly denied the allegation, while Boras ripped the alleged “coup d’etat” by Marino and others.