Category: Sports News

It’s Opening Day! Baseball is back!

Earlier today, we shared our Purple Row staff predictions, and for the third-straight year, we asked the community to offer their same predictions! We received 18 responses, down from 35 in 2025, and here’s what you all think will happen this year:

Let’s start with a win total

The community was a bit all over the place regarding their record predictions, which just goes to show how volatile and unpredictable this team is right now. 63-99 received the most votes (3); the most pessimistic answer is 55-107 while the most optimistic is 82-80.

National League winners

As to be expected, the community was a bit more split with their predictions.

However, 17 out of 18 voters predict the Los Angeles Dodgers will once again be Kings of the NL West. The San Diego Padres received the other vote.

In the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs (10) just edged out the Milwaukee Brewers (8) to retake the crown.

In the NL East, though, the overwhelming majority of the community think the New York Mets will take the crown. The Philadelphia Phillies got six votes, and the Atlanta Braves got one.

As far as Wild Cards go, if the community has their way, the Phillies (9), Brewers (8) and Padres (7) will all make the postseason.

American League winners

Switching leagues, there were fairly clear winners in all three divisions.

In the AL West, 15 out of 18 respondents voted for the Seattle Mariners. The Texas Rangers received two votes, while the Not-Oakland Athletics received one.

In the Central, the Detroit Tigers were the overwhelming favorites, receiving 11 votes. The Kansas City Royals received six, and the Minnesota Twins received one.

The AL East was the most divisive division. The community was evenly split between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, who each received eight votes. The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles received the two remaining votes.

As far as Wild Cards go, if the community had their way, the three teams to make the postseason would be the Red Sox (12), Yankees (9) and Cleveland Guardians (8).

Champions

The pennant races were quite interesting again. On the NL side, the Dodgers are the clear favorites, earning 10 of 18 votes. The Mets earned four, while the Brewers, Phillies, Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks each earned one.

On the AL side, the Mariners edged out as favorites, earning six votes. The Blue Jays and Yankees each earned four, the Tigers earned two, and the Red Sox and Athletics earned one each.

As far as the World Series goes, the Dodgers are the clear favorites, earning seven votes. However, the Mariners were right behind them, earning five votes. The Blue Jays earned two, while the remaining four votes were split between the Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, and Padres.

Hardware

Pivoting to individual awards, there was once again a clear favorite for NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (LAD). The Japanese two-way superstar earned 12 of 18 votes. Fernando Tatís Jr. (SD) earned two votes, while the remaining were split between Juan Soto (NYM), Ketel Marte (AZ), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL).

On the AL side, Aaron Judge (NYY) was the clear favorite, earning eight votes. Cal Raleigh (SEA), Julio Rodríguez (SEA) and Vlad Guerrero Jr. (TOR) each earned two votes, while Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) earned the final one.

For the NL Cy Young, Paul Skenes (PIT) was the clear favorite to repeat — earning 10 of the 18 votes. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) earned three, while Shohei Ohtani (LAD), Nolan McLean (NYM), Matthew Boyd (CHC), Mason Miller (SD), and Justin Verlander (DET) also received votes. This also means that we might see a Verlander trade in the middle of the season (likely to the Dodgers, if I had to guess, because Dodgers).

The AL side is always more difficult to predict, but Tarik Skubal (DET) was the clear favorite as well, receiving 50% of the vote. Garrett Crochet (BOS) received three votes, while Max Fried (NYY), Cam Schlittler (NYY) and Drew Rasmussen (TB) each received one.

For the Rookies of the Year, things are a little all over the map (as to be expected.

On the NL side, TJ Rumfield (COL), Charlie Condon (COL) and Konnor Griffin (PIT) each received three votes. Also receiving multiple votes were Carson Benge (NYM), JJ Wetherholt (STL), and Justin Crawford (PHI). Andrew Painter (PHI) and Nolan McLean (NYM) also received a single vote apiece.

On the AL side, Kevin McGonigle (DET) received four votes. However, the following players also received one vote each:

• Travis Bazzana (CLE)
• Carter Jensen (KC)
• Chase DeLauter (CLE)
• Colt Emerson (SEA)
• Tatsuya Imai (HOU)
• Munetaka Murakami (CWS)
• Trey Yesavage (TOR)

Bold predictions

Now is the fun part of the predictions! The staff made some fun predictions, what does the community think?

Here are some predictions for the Rockies:

• Mickey Moniak will be an All-Star Team designee in 2026
• Kyle Karros hits a walk-off home run to complete a cycle.
• The Rockies will finish within 5 games of the Giants
• A Rockies pitcher wins 15 games.
• The Rockies finish 7th in MLB attendance in 2026.
• Charlie Condon will be called up in June….and be a Rookie of the Year finalist
• The Rockies will give up half the runs in the first inning than they did last year.
• Dollander becomes main closer for Rockies.
• Condon is up by May 1 and hits .290 with 35 HRs the rest of the way
• Rockies will not be last in the division and will sweep one series against the Dodgers
• Condon wins NL Rookie of Year
• Ezequiel Tovar will put it all together. He’ll hit 30+ HR, finish with 6+ bWAR, win a Gold Glove, get some down ballot MVP votes, and be named 1st or 2nd team All-MLB SS at the end of the season.

And here are some for MLB as a whole:

• Cal Raleigh breaks the single season HR record.
• Ohtani wins a batting triple crown while also being a top 20 pitcher
• Elly De La Cruz steals 90 bases
• J-Rod has a 40-40 season to beat out an Aaron Judge 60-HR year for MVP
• Athletics come in 2nd in the AL West
• Athletics vs Mets in the World Series. Mets pull it out in 6 games.
• Dodgers lose 81 games
• Ohtani throws a team no hitter while hitting 2 HR in the same game

Some of these bold predictions will come true, and we’ll all wish we had come up with them ourselves. But either way, baseball is back everyone!

Happy MLB Opening Day!

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

As is traditional, on the eve of the Diamondbacks’ first game, I have polled the writers to make their prediction as to how many wins the team will get this year. These were all submitted through a Google form to avoid any risk of cross-contamination, but it’s always interesting to see everyone’s takes, and how they reached the final figure. But before we get to that, and their logic (or lack thereof!) influences your thinking (or lack thereof!), here’s a poll to give your opinion on the topic. I’ll post the results on Sunday’s unusual off-day. But I encourage you to pick a specific number and, in the comments, post it and your own explanation. Then we can revisit it at the end of the season and see how close or far away everybody was!

James Attwood – 81

The team is starting the season on the back foot because of injuries. With Burnes, Kelly, Puk, Moreno, Martinez, Saalfrank, and Carroll all in various stages of missing time, the team will be doing well just to tread water early in the season. I could fairly easily see them dropping to 7-10 games below .500 if just few things go against them. But then, assuming they do not have themselves another rash of injuries to deal with, they should get most of those players back for the second half. I expect them to be a much better squad then, the sort of squad that can make a hard charge to erase that below .500 deficit and to get them back to right around Mt. 500 by the end of the year.

1AZfan1 – 81

I don’t think the offense will be as good as last couple years, but will still be in the top half of the league. I think the rotation will be better than last year, with Ryne delivering similar performance to last year and the rest of the group all slightly improving their performances. The big problem, as always, will be the bullpen. There are glimmers of hope from ST, especially Morillo and Hoffman and Jonny Lasagna, but there are far more discouraging performers and it has my expectations very low for the bullpen overall.

DBacksEurope – 79

Hey! How are you all doing? I’ll be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to Spring Training, so I will stick to my sentiments after a low-ball off-season. We repeat last season’s starting rotation, but haven’t addressed our traditionally weak bullpen, like we are used to by now with Mike Hazen. On top of that, there is a good chance that our batting won’t be as good as last season. It seems Hazen is banking on players to repeat last season’s performance, to improve on it or to return from an injury and deliver immediately. That is a bold and naive strategy; last time we did that was in 2021 and the results were as expected. Obviously, this team is much better but there are too many flaws on the roster. I think we will hover around mount .500 for most of the season but will fail to climb over it. It’ll be Lovullo’s last season, and Mike Hazen will know he will have to deliver, somehow, in 2027 after yet another year of the rudderless Diamondbacks.

Dano_in_Tucson – 86

I dunno, really, beyond having a feeling based on little empirical evidence that year’s Diamondbacks will wind up performing better than it seems like the widespread conventional wisdom seems to be expecting. Here’s hoping I’m right, and that I have in fact underestimated the brilliance the team will unleash upon us starting Thursday.

Steak85 – 81

While injury luck almost certainly will not be as poor as it was in 2025, the Diamondbacks are starting from a worse position. While it is possible to squint and see this roster contending, it’s a long shot (unless the Diamondbacks were suddenly moved to the AL Central, where they might be the favorites.)

Contending will rely on bounce back years from Gallen, E-Rod, Soroka, and Arenado, plus sustained performance and health by Perdomo, Marte, Carroll, and Moreno. That’s a lot to ask for, and even if that does happen, the bullpen can still ruin everything. But there’s enough talent here to get to .500 even if some things go wrong, as will certainly happen.

Imstillhungry95 – 92

I’m backing off from my typical response of 100, but not by much.

I’m expecting to see a decent improvement over last year, at least in part due to just natural bounce backs. They’ll have a full season of Merrill Kelly, instead of losing him for the last month and a half. That alone is easily four wins. Gallen almost literally can’t be worse, at least if you go by his ranking among qualified pitchers.. If they can change the team record in his starts from 13-15 to even just 16-12, that plus more Kelly is more than half of my predicted improvement. Add in even the slightest bit of better luck in the bullpen and maybe the WBC reminding Eduardo Rodriguez what it’s like to pitch well, and I think this is actually fairly achievable.

Watch this be the year they finally hit 100.

Jim McLennan – 82

The team did very little to improve this winter in terms of moves. Arenado and Santana are likely not to be as good as Suarez and Naylor, and compared to Opening Day last year, the signing of Soroka doesn’t move the needle much. We’ve rearranged the pieces of the bullpen, but after almost a decade of failure in that department, it’s hard to be optimistic there. The return of Burnes, Puk and Martinez might help a bit, but expecting all three to be at pre-TJ form immediately is likely optimistic. In a tough division, the D-backs will likely be fighting for third/fourth place with either the Padres or Giants.

Makakilo – 85.1

• 13 January. My too early prediction was 84.4 wins (774 runs scored and 739.5 runs allowed). See
• 27 January. My updated prediction was 87.3 wins (784 runs scored and 719 runs allowed). Rationale follows: Nolan Arenado was acquired. His batting will add 10 runs, while his excellent defense against ground balls will impact runs allowed, especially for 5 pitchers. Jonathan Loaisiga and Kade Strowd will enhance Arenado’s impact because they have above-average ground balls to third. See Can Jonathan Loaisiga help the Arizona Diamondbacks Bullpen? and Is Kade Strowd the Best Offseason Acquisition?
• 10 February. My updated prediction was 81.8 wins. Rational Follows:
  Andrew Saalfrank needs season-ending left shoulder surgery: 1.6 wins reduction
  Carroll suffered hamate fracture: 3.9 wins reduction
• 23 March. My updated prediction was 85.1 wins. Rationale follows:
  Perdomo breakout: 2.4 wins increase.
  Carroll recovery better than expected: 0.9 wins increase
  Comment from 23 March Round Table: “This season is unusual because of the wide range of possible wins. My view is that the Diamondbacks will win between 81 and 89 games, depending on the health and performances of nearly all Diamondbacks players. Therefore, my confidence that they will reach the playoffs is [about 4 out of 10].” — Makakilo

Justin27 – 84

I just clicked through month by month of the Dbacks schedule for this season and also looked at head to head records from last year. I just did variations on series’ and pretty much assumed every 4 game series was 2-2. Nothing too scientific. Yeah, I ended up with more wins than last year… I remember one season I simmed the season 10 times on Baseball Mogul and took the average. It isn’t being released until the 27th this year. I am not sure if we did a late win predictions article or it was released early. That was fun.

Jeffern11 – 85

I am buying into the improved defense and ‘run prevention’ mantra that we have heard all spring. That and I am bullish on Jordan Lawlar, Alek Thomas, and Gabriel Moreno contributing to one of the top offensive cores in baseball. It doesnt take much for you to see room for optimism with this team.

It is all going to come down to the pitching. This teams depth is so paper thin that it is impossible to predict where we will actually end up this season giving the infinite number of injuries that can occur to the pitching. Its also complicated by the fact that we have no way of predicting how the rest of the injured guys’ recoveries are going to go. But with as much bad luck as they had last season in this regard, I am betting on some good luck. All eyes will be on Brian Kaplan and the training staff to be able to demonstrate that they can turn a corner with some of these guys and develop them as well as keep guys healthy and help them return from injury.

If they can get one of Pfaadt, ERod, or Gallen to really turn a corner and be someone this year or 2 or 3 of Garcia, Hoffmann, Ginkel, Loasiga, Jameson, Diaz, Burgos, Carrillo, etc al we should be fine. If this team plays anywhere even close to .500 ball and gets the reinforcements back they certainly should be within striking distance of the wild card. If the pitching continues to produce nothing, this could be a disaster of a season. Ill bet on the former.

mcbenseigs – 84

I have immense faith and confidence in the team’s offense. I think there are exciting players throughout the lineup that will make for some fun watching with speed, contact, and power. But the pitching is likely going to be an immense drag on the team – especially the bullpen which could be a real nightmare for most of the season until Martinez and Puk return.

I’m not sold on any of the other non-Dodgers teams in the division and if the D-Backs can improve on their head-to-head records with some of them – especially against the Rockies – then they’ll keep themselves in the hunt and be competitive heading into the Trade Deadline where Hazen will be highly motivated to push in his chips.

Spencer O’Gara – 79

I don’t have much faith in the team’s decision to rely on the likes of Arenado and Santana. But when you’re in a division with the Rockies and a league with the Cardinals, Braves, and Nationals, you’re going to win more games than you should. So I’ll go ahead and let some realistic positivity enter my prediction and say we almost break .500 again this year. Hopefully the season ends strong in the vein of 2022. That seems very likely to me.

C. Wesley Baier – 95

Although it’s a flawed roster, I think this team is a lot stronger than people think. I think the team is going to go on a tear down the stretch after Corbin Burnes and others return from the injury list. The first half will be the real test, and if they can enter the trade deadline with a winning record, I can see them challenging the Dodgers for the division title. Alternatively, if they have a losing record at that point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish with a worse record than in 2025.

That comes out as an mean of 84.2 wins and a median of 84 wins predicted by the SnakePit writers, with a range of 79 on the low side (by DbacksEurope and Spencer O’Gara) to 95 at the high end (C. Wesley Baier).

There has been much discussion about the upcoming 2026 season being one that will reveal much about who the St. Louis Cardinals will be as this rebuild process continues. I also believe that we’re about to learn a lot about the fanbase of our beloved team. Who are the real St. Louis Cardinals fans and will they show up?

It’s an amazing fact that many of the younger St. Louis Cardinals fans have not been alive long enough to remember when the team was not competitive. That’s a tribute to the DeWitt family that the St. Louis Cardinals have been perennial contender for the National League Central for more than two decades. If you just look at the St. Louis Cardinals since Albert Pujols rookie season of 2001, the team has been to the playoffs 15 times. That era includes 4 World Series appearances and 2 championships. If you’re 25 or younger, you’re not accustomed to seeing the St. Louis Cardinals lose much. That’s likely why attendance has been on a rather sharp decline since 2022:

2022: 3.3 million+ total

2023: 3,241,091 total

2024: 2,878,115 total

2025: 2,250,007 total

I’m going to make a bold prediction that the decline in attendance will end with the 2026 season. I am not saying that the St. Louis Cardinals will suddenly return to the 3 million+ home game numbers from a few years ago, but I believe that the real St. Louis Cardinals fans now understand that the settling for mediocre “we just hope we can stumble our way into the playoffs and hope for a miracle” mentality is gone. Yes, a winning record might not be in the cards for 2026, but the trajectory toward constant winning has resumed I think. I don’t agree with everything that new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has done, but I am convinced that he’s chosen a path that will lead the Cardinals back to greatness sooner rather than later. Yes, that sooner will likely not be the 2026 season barring a real miracle, but I think contending for NL Central titles at least will be within reach in the next 2 or 3 seasons.

Who are the real St. Louis Cardinals fans?

I’m not saying that if you disagree with the current rebuild or whatever you want to call it, you’re not a real fan. Not at all. Many of the complaints about the St. Louis Cardinals front office now are not that different from gripes that many of us had with Gussie Busch before the DeWitt family bought the team in 1996. But, I remember the eras when the St. Louis Cardinals were not expected to be playing in October yet we still went to games and supported the team. We kept showing up. The games I went to as a kid in the early 1970’s were not to see a playoff-caliber team. Other than 1971 and 1979, most seasons during that decade the St. Louis Cardinals were fortunate to have anything above a .500 record. Same can be said of the early 1990’s. Until Tony La Russa took over the team in 1996, we went to St. Louis Cardinals games for the atmosphere and because cheering on this team was what we did. Winning was just a bonus back then.

I think most of the bandwagon jumpers are gone now. Those who said they were fans of the team only because they were winning will gladly show up at the park once the new St. Louis Cardinals return to their winning ways, but the real fans will show up this year because they know something is different. Will players like JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson be the core of the next great Cardinals teams? We also can’t wait to see what Joshua Baez will do to major league pitching once he completes his development in the minors. Look at the stands at Busch Stadium this year and you’ll see the real Cardinals nation. Real Cardinals fans don’t always agree with the manager, ownership or what the team is doing, but we never leave either. I’ll be watching every single game I can in 2026 no matter what the record is. Will you?

SAN FRANCISCO — When the starting lineups are introduced Wednesday evening at Oracle Park, Heliot Ramos’ name will be announced as the Giants’ starter in left field. Just like he was in 2025.

And with that, the streak is over.

Ramos is the first Giants left fielder to make consecutive Opening Day starts at the position since Barry Bonds retired in 2007. The club rotated through different players for the past 19 seasons in what had grown into one of the most infamous and unlikely streaks in the sport.

“I don’t know that I’m going to break any of Barry’s records,” Ramos told The California Post with a humble chuckle. “But it’s something that I feel very proud of, something that obviously I’ve been working my whole life for. Not just the streak but just being a consistent big leaguer.”

First-year manager Tony Vitello previewed the news Tuesday and made it official when he filled in the first lineup card of his career for the Giants’ season opener Wednesday against the Yankees.

The move prevented the Giants from making ignominious history: One more year and they would have topped the Orioles for the longest such streak at any position. Baltimore’s streak, also in left field, ran for 19 years from 1937-55, beginning when the franchise was known as the Browns.

The longest active streak now resides in Cleveland, where the Guardians will roll out their 15th different right fielder since 2012 when they begin the season Thursday against the Mariners.

With Bonds set to return to the public eye as a commentator on Netflix’s exclusive broadcast of Opening Night, the Giants have officially rid themselves of the two streaks associated with the home run king.

In the final game of last season, shortstop Willy Adames launched his 30th home run of the campaign, becoming the first Giants player to reach that number since Bonds in 2004.

While Ramos, 26, established himself as a building block when he was named an All-Star in 2024, it wasn’t a sure thing that he would be the one to end the streak after his play in left last season.

Multiple metrics rated Ramos as the worst defensive player at his position last year. But Buster Posey, the team’s top baseball executive, said he is confident that Ramos has put those issues behind him.

Posey watched from the suite level as Ramos tracked down fly balls in batting practice a day before the opener.

“He was locked in on all live swings coming off the bat,” Posey said. “I’m sure he did that some last year, but it just seems like it’s more concentrated work than it was last year.”

Vitello described Ramos in spring training as a “man on a mission” when it came to his defense. It started over the offseason, when Ramos reached out to new bench coach Jayce Tingler and outfield coordinator Shane Robinson. Ramos was taking fly balls long before his fellow position players arrived in Arizona.

“Mentally was the main part, because I was making it seem like it was harder than what it was,” Ramos said. “Physically, I’ve got the gift. It’s just about not making the easy part harder.”

Ramos connected with new center fielder Harrison Bader, who taught him better technique when he feels the need to backpedal. He worked on his angles and jumps with Tingler and Robinson, who hit live fungos rather than using a machine. Now, Ramos said he feels like a “complete player.”

He’s more than that. Ramos is the streak breaker.

Since Bonds, the Giants’ Opening Day left fielders have been as follows:

2008: Dave Roberts

2009: Fred Lewis

2010: Mark DeRosa

2011: Pat Burrell

2012: Aubrey Huff

2013: Andres Torres

2014: Michael Morse

2015: Nori Aoki

2016: Angel Pagan

2017: Jarrett Parker

2018: Hunter Pence

2019: Connor Joe

2020: Alex Dickerson

2021: Austin Slater

2022: Joc Pederson

2023: Blake Sabol

2024: Michael Conforto

2025: Heliot Ramos

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The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants hit Oracle Park to begin the 2026 season Wednesday, March 25, and I’ve a pair of home run MLB picks for the opener.

My top Yankees vs. Giants predictions call for New York superstar Jazz Chisholm and San Fran shortstop Willy Adames to leave the yard tonight.

Yankees vs Giants home run picks for March 25

Pick	Odds
Jazz Chisholm	+800
Willy Adames	+600

Yankees home run pick

Jazz Chisholm (+800)

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm posted an impressive .360 wOBA and .267 ISO against righties last season, in addition to 26 of his 31 home runs coming against right-handed arms.

While Chisholm is just 3-for-13 and without an extra-base hit against San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb, that’s overpriced into these long odds.

Giants home run pick

Willy Adames (+600)

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames hit 10 of his 30 homers with a rock-solid .226 ISO against left-handed pitchers last season, and he’s also gone 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles against New York Yankees starter Max Fried.

How to watch Yankees vs Giants and game info

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

SAN FRANCISCO — Jared Oliva is 30 years old and hasn’t played in a big-league game since 2021, but that’s set to change after the Giants included the speedy outfielder on their Opening Day roster.

Buster Posey and the Giants opted for Oliva over 24-year-old outfield prospect Luis Matos, who was designated for assignment Wednesday ahead of San Francisco’s season opener against the Yankees.

“With a lot of hard conversations the last few days, that one was one that stood out as a real bright spot,” Posey said of Oliva, “to be able tell him he was on the team.”

Oliva, who led the Cactus League with 14 stolen bases, will serve as a pinch runner and the second backup outfielder alongside Jerar Encarnacion. Since appearing in 26 games for the Pirates between 2021 and 2022, Oliva spent three seasons in the minor leagues for three different teams.

“Honestly, pretty emotional,” Oliva said. “It’s been a lot of hard times. It’s been very tough. A lot of times looking at yourself in the mirror and feeling like you’re going against the current sometimes.”

The Giants chose to go with Oliva, a career .179 hitter, and Encarnacion, a slugger signed out of the Mexican League in 2024, over Matos, a onetime top prospect who was out of options.

“The Matos one was hard. Been a Giant for a while now. … He’s shown flashes of being a really good big leaguer,” Posey said. “Ultimately [we] felt like carrying Oliva with what he can do on the basepaths, defensively, is a weapon for us. … With Jerar, the hope is to have some power.”

There weren’t too many other surprises — or decisions left to be made — as the Giants finalized their Opening Day roster after top prospect Bryce Eldridge was optioned last week.

Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac won the backup catcher job over Eric Haase after putting together a strong spring at the plate. The Giants would have to offer him back to the Athletics if he wasn’t on the 26-man roster. Blake Sabol, in 2022, was the last Rule 5 pick to make the Giants’ roster out of spring training.

“I really wanted to see which player stood out the most, and both played well,” Posey said. “Daniel, I think the most important part, carried himself well defensively and swung the bat well also.”

Haase was released, leaving the Giants with only one other catcher in the minor leagues who has played the position at the major-league level, 30-year-old Logan Porter, who will be joined by Jesus Rodriguez and Diego Cartaya at Triple-A Sacramento.

The Giants had indicated that they wanted to carry three left-handers in their bullpen and made good on those intentions with Ryan Borucki, Matt Gage and Erik Miller.

Borucki, who worked with pitching coach Justin Meccage with the Pirates, was signed to a major-league deal this week after being cut by the White Sox. Joey Lucchesi, who was also brought into camp late, was granted his release and signed a major-league deal with the Angels.

Despite two days off over the first five days of the season, the Giants went with a 13-man pitching staff rather than using the favorable schedule to carry Matos or another position player into the season.

Ryan Walker and Miller are expected to split closing duties in a bullpen that also includes long men JT Brubaker and Keaton Winn, with Jose Butto, Caleb Kilian and Gage providing middle relief.

Spencer Bivens and Tristan Beck, who both had roles in prior year’s bullpens, were optioned to Triple-A.

“The Beck and Bivens decisions were tough,” Posey said. “Guys that have played roles with us (and) this year are certainly going to help us at some point. We’re confident of that. Excited for guys like Kilian to get an opportunity. The pickup we had with Borucki gives us a third lefty out of the bullpen. Brubaker’s a guy that’s going to give us length. He’s been there and done that before.”

Kilian, a former Giants prospect, made the team as a non-roster invitee after flashing a heater in the upper 90s and posting a 0.96 ERA in eight spring appearances.

Fellow reliever Reiver Sanmartin, who suffered a hip flexor strain in a World Baseball Classic exhibition, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create room on the 40-man roster.

Left-hander Sam Hentges (right knee surgery/left shoulder surgery) and right-hander Joel Peguero (left hamstring strain) will start the year on the 15-day IL.

SF Giants Opening Day roster

Pitchers (13): LHP Ryan Borucki, RHP JT Brubaker, RHP José Buttó, LHP Matt Gage, RHP Adrian Houser, RHP Caleb Kilian, RHP Tyler Mahle, LHP Erik Miller, LHP Robbie Ray, RHP Landen Roupp, RHP Ryan Walker, RHP Logan Webb, RHP Keaton Winn

Catchers (2): Patrick Bailey, Daniel Susac  

Infielders (6): Willy Adames, Luis Arraez, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers, Christian Koss, Casey Schmitt

Outfielders (5): Harrison Bader, Jerar Encarnacion, Jung Hoo Lee, Jared Oliva, Heliot Ramos

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