MESA, Ariz. - As soon as the A’s announced that Sonny Gray would open the season on the disabled list, it was clear that Kendall Graveman would be the Opening Night starter, and Thursday, manager Bob Melvin made it official.
“He’s up for it,” Melvin said. “I talked to him about it when Kendall went down and obviously he was concerned for his teammate but excited about the fact he was going to get his first Opening Day start.
“He’s on a mission to be one of those guys who pitches at the top of the rotation for many years to come.