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The Texas Rangers’ Opening Day starting pitcher for the 2020 season will be Lance Lynn, manager Chris Woodward announced today. Opening Day is expected to be July 23 or July 24. As official schedules have not been released, we do not know at this point who Lynn’s opponent will be, or whether he will be pitching at home or on the road.
Lynn was signed in the 2018-19 offseason to a 3 year, $30 million deal that was decried and derided by fans and outsiders alike. Nonetheless, he put up a 3.67 ERA in 208.1 IP over 33 starts for the Rangers in 2019, good for a 7.5 bWAR that was 2nd in the American League behind only teammate Mike Minor. Lynn finished 5th in the American League Cy Young balloting in 2019, behind Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton and Shane Bieber.
This will be the first time Lynn has started on Opening Day. Presumably, Mike Minor and Corey Kluber will follow Lynn in some combination, then Kyle Gibson (unless he opts out of playing due to being considered high-risk medically because he suffers from ulcerative colitis) and Jordan Lyles.