April 4, 2016
Nashville, Tenn. — A program-best eight former Vanderbilt Commodores are on major league baseball Opening Day rosters led by All-Stars David Price and Sonny Gray, who get the starting nod for their respective teams today.
Price is set for his Boston Red Sox debut today at Cleveland, making his third Opening Day start in three years for three different teams. The lefty finished second in the Cy Young Award last season after going 18-5 with an American League leading 2.45 ERA with Detroit and Toronto. Price’s ninth MLB season will be with his fourth team.
Gray gets the ball for the second straight season tonight against the Chicago White Sox. The A’s ace finished third in the Cy Young Award last year going 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA to earn his first All-Star appearance. Gray begins his third year in the big leagues.
Pedro Alvarez joined the Baltimore Orioles over the offseason and now teams up with former Vandy teammate Ryan Flaherty for the O’s. The former All-Star, Alvarez hit 27 homers and drove in 77 RBI for Pittsburgh, where he spent the first six seasons of his MLB career. Flaherty begins his fifth year in the big leagues with the Orioles after playing in 91 games for the team last year.
Three former Commodores make their first career Opening Day rosters with Curt Casali, Caleb Cotham and Drew VerHagen all making the cut. Casali made his first Opening Day roster with Tampa Bay as the Rays opened their season yesterday against Toronto. The backstop played in 38 games for the Rays last season hitting 10 home runs before an injury cut his season short. Cotham makes his first Opening Day roster, breaking camp with Cincinnati after an offseason trade sent him to the Reds. The right-hander made his major league debut last season with the New York Yankees pitching in 12 games out of the bullpen. VerHagen breaks camp with Detroit as a member of the Tigers’ bullpen. The right-hander pitched in 20 games last season for the Tigers going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA.
Mike Minor inked a new deal with defending World Series champion Kansas City over the winter but opens the season on the disabled list for the third straight year.
Minor league baseball begins its season later this week with 30 more former Commodores scheduled to start their seasons.