When the 2026 MLB season kicks off, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be handing the ball to Merrill Kelly on Opening Day, as Kelly has been named the starting pitcher per MLB writer Steve Gilbert.
With Corbin Burnes sidelined following Tommy John surgery and unable to be available before Opening Day, Arizona needed certainty. While Zac Gallen remains talented, 2024 revealed struggles and stretches where his command wavered at the worst moments. Kelly, meanwhile, was surgical. Kelly was traded midseason to the Texas Rangers, and in 2025, he carried a 3.52 ERA with a 12-9 record. His splitter generated strikeouts against some of the best hitters in the league. This wasn’t smoke and mirrors. It was a repeatable command layered over veteran sequencing.
Fans in Phoenix wanted both arms back. They got them. But the Opening Day nod tells you what the organization sees right now: Kelly’s stuff is sharper. His floor is higher. His emotional steadiness sets the tone in a division that punishes hesitation. There’s psychological gravity to this decision. Gallen now pitches from a prove-it posture on a one-year deal. Burnes, when healthy, adds October-level upside. But Kelly will be the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation when the season begins.
For a club balancing long-term payroll planning with immediate NL West contention, this is the right risk allocation. Kelly gives Arizona competitive oxygen while others recalibrate. Opening Day isn’t about just reputation; it’s about reliability, and Kelly gives the Diamondbacks both.