The first four names are locks, assuming they're healthy. Despite his recent travails, Sale remains the most proven pitcher on the staff. Kluber may no longer be a Cy Young candidate, but he's solid. Whitlock and Bello probably possess the best pure stuff on the staff. That leaves the final spot between Pivetta and veteran left-hander James Paxton. The former led the American League in starts last year. The latter had his return from Tommy John cut short by a lat injury.
Bloom has remade his bullpen, shifting from a reliance on stuff to command. In the last few months, he has said goodbye to Hirokazu Sawamura, Matt Barnes, Matt Strahm, Austin Davis, and Jake Diekman. With the exception of Strahm, they all posted obscene walk rates. Martin, meanwhile, led the league in that category last year, and he joins strike throwers like Schreiber, Bleier, and Brasier.
While there's a chance Houck starts -- especially given the ongoing injury concerns with Sale, Kluber, and even Whitlock -- he probably opens the season here. I'm giving the final spot to Crawford because I don't believe every starter will be healthy on opening day, and if Paxton isn't healthy enough to start, he won't be healthy enough to relieve, either.A non-roster guy often makes the cut out of camp, and there's a chance that Alfaro wrests away a starting job.
Alfaro has power -- he hit 18 homers for the Marlins in 2019 -- and has actually caught over 100 games twice. He recently signed a minor league deal and probably wouldn't be sniffing the roster in a normal year, but there's a real opportunity for him to make the team.
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