A pair of veteran pitchers will debut for new teams Thursday when the Boston Red Sox host the Baltimore Orioles in an Opening Day matchup.

Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber is set for his first home start at Fenway Park, having joined the Red Sox in the offseason — as his fifth team in as many seasons and third straight within the American League East alone.

Kluber, 36, was 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA in 31 starts for Tampa Bay last season. The right-hander sported a 3.53 ERA and won four of his seven starts as a Fenway visitor and is 6-4 in 16 career starts against Baltimore.

“Plenty of guys in this clubhouse could’ve taken the ball on Opening Day,” Kluber said. “The way I look at it is, regardless if you pitch the first day, the fifth day, it really only matters that first time through the order and then everything kind of gets messed up anyways. … I’ve done it (five times) before, and I try to make it as normal as possible.”

Kluber will oppose 35-year-old Baltimore righty Kyle Gibson, who went 10-8 with a 5.05 ERA in 31 starts in helping Philadelphia to the National League pennant in 2022.

In addition to Kluber and returning a healthy Chris Sale, Boston added several key pieces in the likes of World Baseball Classic champion Masataka Yoshida, veteran infielder Justin Turner, outfielder Adam Duvall and reliever Kenley Jansen.

After finishing 2022 in the division cellar at 78-84, the Red Sox currently have 10 players on the 40-man roster who were not previously in the organization.

Despite losing star shortstop Xander Bogaerts to San Diego, the roster gained 6.1 WAR over this offseason, tied for the fifth-largest improvement in MLB, according to FanGraphs.

“What I like is that we have veteran guys. They don’t care what happened here last year or in ’18 (a year after a World Series championship),” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe. “Each one of them, they have reasons to prove people wrong. … This group knows what we can do, but the world doesn’t.”

The re-signing of Rafael Devers was surely the team’s biggest offseason move. The 26-year-old third baseman, whose 246 extra-base hits since 2019 lead the majors, signed a 10-year extension in January.

At 83-79, Baltimore finished directly above Boston in the division and remains built around young stars like catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson, who rose through the game’s No. 1 farm system, according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings.

The organizational depth was evidenced by No. 2 prospect Grayson Rodriguez being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday after the pitcher seemingly emerged as a favorite to make the team early in spring training.

“We’re more talented than ever before since I’ve been here,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde said. “Even the guys that don’t break with us, upper-level minor league guys, there’s a lot of excitement about the talent that we have.”

Other Baltimore newcomers include left-handed starter Cole Irvin, infielder Adam Frazier and catcher James McCann.

Gibson, who has a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 career innings at Fenway, was the Opening Day starter for Texas during a 2021 season in which he was an All-Star.

“Hopefully, (with) that first time that I’ve done it, you can get some of the extra nerves out, but I have a little bit of anxiety and nerves every start,” Gibson said. “So you figure out how to use that and you figure out how to use that adrenaline in the right way.”

–Field Level Media

For a few weeks during the offseason, an awkward possibility existed of Aaron Judge wearing the uniform of the San Francisco Giants and lining up along the visiting baseline while getting introduced to fans at Yankee Stadium.

Instead, Judge re-signed with the New York Yankees, and the slugger will be officially introduced as the 16th captain in team history Thursday afternoon in New York’s home opener against the Giants.

After hitting 62 homers to break Roger Maris’ single-season American League home run record, Judge spent a little over a month in free agency and the Giants were among the teams vying for his services. The Giants made such an effort to lure the California native that they reportedly offered him a $360 million contract.

After a phone call from managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, Judge was retained by the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million deal. And when Judge’s new contract was official, the Yankees also named him as the team’s first captain since Derek Jeter retired following the 2014 season.

Judge will take the field with a shortstop drawing comparisons to Jeter when top prospect Anthony Volpe makes his major league debut. Sportsbooks consider Volpe a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year and is expected to bat ninth after officially being told Sunday he was making the Opening Day roster.

The Yankees are unveiling Judge as captain and Volpe’s debut after getting swept in the American League Championship Series by the Houston Astros, when Judge made the final out. It ended a season where the Yankees dominated most of the first half and won 99 games to win their first division title since 2019.

“That’s why we play this game. We play to win, we play to be on top,” Judge said. “When you play in New York, that’s the one and only goal.”

After losing out on Judge, San Francisco hopes the additions of Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger can help them rebound from a disappointing follow-up to their 107-win campaign. The Giants went 81-81 and scored 716 runs last year, down from the 804 they scored in 2021.

“I think it’s going to be fun,” San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said. “We tried to sign (Judge), but he’s the opposition now. I think, if anything, it provides a little extra motivation for us.”

Conforto signed a two-year, $36 million deal after missing last season recovering from right shoulder surgery. Conforto experienced mixed results in seven seasons with the Mets and hit .232 with 14 homers and 55 RBIs in 2021.

Haniger signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with the Giants banking on similar production from his 39-homer season in 2021. Unlike Conforto, Haniger will likely miss the series against New York with a Grade 1 oblique strain that was diagnosed March 11.

Gerrit Cole will make his fourth straight Opening Day start for the Yankees. Cole pitched well in the postseason after going 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA in a regular season, where he led the majors with 257 strikeouts but also allowed an AL-worst 33 homers.

Cole is 5-1 with a 3.15 ERA in seven career starts against the Giants.

Logan Webb will start a season opener for the second straight season. Last year, Webb followed up an 11-3 showing in 2021 by going 15-9 with a 2.90 ERA while throwing a career-high 192 1/3 innings.

Webb heads into his first career start against the Yankees after going 4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in his final five starts of 2022.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Braves have won the past five NL East titles and posted 101 victories last year. Their goal as they embark on a new season: more of the same.

The Washington Nationals want pretty much nothing to do with the recent past, but a new season brings renewed excitement.

The Braves and Nationals open their 2023 schedules Thursday afternoon in Washington.

Having standouts Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies healthy could be a boost for the Braves. Austin Riley emerged as one of the game’s top hitters, hitting .288 over the past two seasons combined with 71 home runs and 72 doubles and was inked to a 10-year extension last August.

There are new twists for the Braves, perhaps with shortstop Dansby Swanson’s departure. Orlando Arcia, who previously played for Milwaukee before parts of two seasons with the Braves, will man that spot in the infield to begin the season.

“He has been an everyday shortstop on a division-winning team,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Arcia’s time with the Brewers.

The tandem behind the plate is slightly different for Atlanta as well, with the addition of catcher Sean Murphy to pair with veteran Travis d’Arnaud.

“You need depth,” Snitker said. “I feel good about the depth that we have in the organization.”

The Nationals have secured their depth in a different manner. Out of playoff contention in the three years since winning the 2019 World Series, they’ve dealt away some of their established players to secure younger prospects.

It’s unclear how soon there will be a payoff.

“We’re young, but we can compete,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “That’s going to be the message. Losing 100 games is not acceptable.”

The Nationals were a majors-worst 55-107 last season, a whopping 46 games behind the Braves in the NL East.

Utility player Joey Meneses made unexpected headlines late last season for the Nationals, with a .324 batting average, 13 home runs and 34 RBIs in 56 games, but it’s unclear if he can repeat that. The Nationals are counting on new first baseman Dominic Smith.

Upgrading defensively has been a priority for the Nationals, but they need to shore up their lineup across the board. That could mean finding a spot for Meneses if his offense continues to warrant a place in the lineup.

“We love his bat in the lineup,” Martinez said. “Whether it’s DH, whether it’s giving (Smith) a day off at first or playing in left field, he’s going to do all three.”

Left-hander Max Fried will be Atlanta’s starting pitcher on Opening Day for the third year in a row. He had a 14-7 record and 2.48 ERA last year despite a first-game loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Fried is 4-1 with a 5.70 ERA in games at Washington.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin (6-19, 6.31 ERA in 2022) will go to the mound for the Nationals. Those numbers from last season shouldn’t matter to him now.

“He has a lot of confidence,” Martinez said. “He knows he can do this. He has had success before. He wants to put everything in the last two years behind him.”

–Field Level Media

Darick Hall scored Cameron Cannon on a walk-off double to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on the final day of spring training Tuesday in Clearwater, Fla.

Hall also hit a go-ahead RBI single to cap a four-run fourth for the Phillies, but Karl Ellison tied it 5-5 in the seventh with an RBI double for the Blue Jays.

Edmundo Sosa hit two sacrifice flies for Philadelphia. Phillies starter Bailey Falter lasted just 1 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks without a strikeout.

Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run for the Blue Jays. Toronto starter Jose Berrios gave up four runs on three hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four.

Nationals 3, Yankees 0

Alex Call went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs and host Washington held New York to three hits in an exhibition win.

Nationals starter Trevor Williams gave up one hit and two walks over four spotless innings and MacKenzie Gore followed with four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings, also with a hit and two walks.

The Yankees mustered only three singles, though one came from Anthony Volpe, their No. 1 prospect who was named their Opening Day shortstop Sunday. Volpe also made a leaping grab in the field.

Braves 7, Red Sox 5

Orlando Arcia homered and Michael Harris II rang up three RBIs on a fielder’s choice and an infield single to lead visiting Atlanta past Boston in Fort Myers, Fla.

Ozzie Albies added an RBI double for the Braves. Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas and Connor Wong went yard for the Red Sox.

Braves starter Charlie Morton last just 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks.

Twins 7, Pirates 5

Anthony Prato hit an RBI triple and Seth Gray added a 415-foot three-run home run in the eighth inning to rally Minnesota past host Pittsburgh in Bradenton, Fla.

Canaan Smith-Njigba hit a three-run homer for the Pirates, finishing the spring with three homers and 14 RBIs.

Twins starter Tyler Mahle surrendered just one run on one hit through four innings while fanning three. Pirates starter Johan Oviedo struck out seven in five innings.

Rangers 5, Royals 3

Martin Perez and Jon Gray combined for 12 strikeouts and just five hits over nine innings as Texas edged Kansas City in Arlington, Texas.

Rangers starter Perez fanned five over the first five innings and Gray came on to strike out seven over the final four. Ezequiel Duran stole home for the Rangers, while Hunter Dozier and Michael Massey hit solo shots for the Royals.

Kansas City jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Texas responded with five unanswered runs before Jeison Guzman’s RBI single in the ninth forged the final score.

Brewers 8, Rockies 1

Luke Voit and Jesse Winker hit two-run home runs for visiting Milwaukee to blow past Colorado in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Brewers starter Freddy Peralta struck out five batters and yielded four hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings. Coco Montes’ sacrifice fly supplied the Rockies’ lone run.

Colorado starter Ryan Feltner was tagged for four runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed Voit and Winker’s home runs.

Cubs 8, White Sox 5

Luis Vazquez mashed a two-run home run to spark the host Cubs’ rally past the White Sox in Mesa, Ariz.

Owen Caissie followed Vazquez with a go-ahead two-run single. Romy Gonzalez hit his sixth homer of the spring for the White Sox and Andrew Vaughn added a solo shot.

Cubs starter Drew Smyly was roughed up, giving up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in four innings. The White Sox mustered just three hits of the Cubs’ relievers, though.

Diamondbacks 3, Guardians 1

Geraldo Perdomo had two RBIs on a bases-loaded walk and a go-ahead sacrifice fly for host Arizona to beat Cleveland in Phoenix.

Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson and five relievers combined to hold the Guardians to five hits while fanning nine without a walk.

Amed Rosario’s sac fly brought in the Guardians’ only run.

–Field Level Media