10 Canadians crack MLB Opening Day rosters
Photo: Baseball Canada
July 23, 2020
By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
OTTAWA- The 60-game regular season sprint for Major League Baseball’s 30 clubs begins today with a pair of games before the remainder teams begin play on Friday.
Primed for his first-ever Opening Day start, Calgary’s Mike Soroka, a product of the Junior National Team program, is set to become the youngest opening day starter in Atlanta Braves’ history when he toes the rubber on Friday afternoon in New York against the Mets.
Former National League Most Valuable Player Joey Votto is set to embark on his 14th big league campaign when his Cincinnati Reds host the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening.
Soroka and Votto head-up a list of 10 Canadians on opening day MLB rosters that includes British Columbia natives Tyler O’Neill (Cardinals), James Paxton (Yankees), Nick Pivetta (Phillies) and Rowan Wick (Cubs), Ontario products Josh Naylor (Padres), Cal Quantrill (Padres) and Jordan Romano (Blue Jays), while Abraham Toro (Astros) represents the province of Québec.
Six Canadians appeared on active opening day rosters in 2019 while eleven in total appeared in at least one big league game during the regular season. A modern-day record 26 Canadians appeared in the big leagues in 2011.
A notable absence from this year’s list is Montréal-native Russell Martin who completed his 14th big league season in 2019 but is not signed with a big league team for the current season.
Montréal-born, Dominican Republic-raised Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set to begin his second MLB season as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.