Blackburn will start the Athletics' first Cactus League game Thursday against the Mariners, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.
There's a decent chance the game gets rained out, but if it goes on as planned, Blackburn will toe the rubber first for Oakland. This is encouraging given that the right-hander missed the second half of the 2018 season due to elbow tendinitis. With his health woes seemingly behind him, Blackburn can focus on trying to win a major-league rotation spot. He would seems like a bit of a long shot given his 4.48 career ERA.