Rays manager Kevin Cash named Chris Archer his Opening Day starter on April 6 against the Orioles at Tropicana Field, per Tampa Tribune.
Archer will be replacing the injured Alex Cobb, who is not expected to be ready for the start of the season due to forearm tendinitis. Cash revealed that he's not ready to publicly announce the next two starters in his rotation.
Archer, 26, went 10-9 with a 3.33 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and 173:72 K:BB ratio over 32 starts (194 2/3 innings). This will be his first career Opening Day start in the majors. Archer, who has made an Opening Day start at Triple-A in 2013, has downplayed his assigned role, per MLB.com.
"Maybe that's why I wouldn't treat it differently. Because it's just a baseball game. it's the first one of the year, but the first one's no more or less important than the last one," Archer said.