Kansas City Royals turn to veteran Zack Greinke as 2023 Opening Day starter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the third time in his career, Zack Greinke will pitch on Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium.

New Royals manager Matt Quatraro announced the decision to give Greinke the ball on Opening Day next Thursday against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium.

This will be the second consecutive Opening Day start for Greinke since he returned to the Royals and his seventh Opening Day start overall in his career.

Greinke returned to the Royals in March 2022 12 years after he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

He used his second stint with the club to post above average numbers in his age 38 season, starting 26 games posting a 3.68 ERA in 137 innings.

Greinke's ERA was 11 percent better than the league average pitcher last year, according to Baseball-Reference.

Greinke was a free agent after the 2022 season, but eventually re-signed with the Royals at the end of January.

The Opening Day starter was likely a decision between Greinke and Brady Singer.

Singer broke out in 2022, posting a career-best 3.23 ERA with a 24.7 strikeout percentage and a career-low five percent walk percentage in 27 games, 24 of them being starts.

Singer's 2022 season earned him an invite to participate with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

The overall pitching development for the Royals into the 2023 season will be a story line to keep an eye on.

The Royals made it a priority to improve a pitching staff that posted the fourth-worst ERA in 2022.

The team made improvements from both a staff and player standpoint, hiring Brian Sweeney as their new pitching coach, and adding experience with the signings of veteran pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Lyles, and Ryan Yarborough.

Greinke will start Opening Day against the Minnesota Twins, who have named Pablo Lopez their starter for Opening Day.

Lopez was acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins that sent AL batting champion Luis Arraez in the return.

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