University of North Carolina Athletics
Seven Tar Heels On MLB Opening Day Rosters
April 6, 2015 | Baseball
Seattle Gold Glove third baseman and American League All-Star Kyle Seager headlines a group of seven former North Carolina baseball players on 2015 Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. Seager, who signed a seven-year contract extension in November, will be joined in the Mariners starting lineup by former teammate Dustin Ackley. Ackley is expected to be Seattle's starting left fielder in 2015.
Another pair of Tar Heels will play key roles in the AL West as Chris Iannetta returns as the starting catcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Now in his fourth season with the club, Iannetta will be joined by right-hander Mike Morin. Morin, who set the UNC single-season saves record with 19 in 2012, has become one of the top setup men in the AL.
Back east, three Tar Heels will call New York home in 2015. Adam Warren, who won 32 games in four seasons in Chapel Hill, was recently named the fifth starter for the New York Yankees. He will be joined in the Bronx by Andrew Miller, who was acquired by the Yankees in the offseason after an outstanding 2014 campaign with the Red Sox and Orioles. The lefty starter-turned-reliever signed a four-year deal with the Yankees.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated game of the first week of 2015 will come Wednesday, when Matt Harvey makes his return to the New York Mets rotation after missing the 2014 season following Tommy John surgery. Harvey, who finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting and started the 2013 MLB All-Star Game in his first full season, is expected to start against the Washington Nationals in the Mets' third game of the year.
Tim Federowicz, who was traded to San Diego in the offseason, will start the season on the 60-day disabled list after having knee surgery in March.
In addition to the seven former Tar Heels who will take the field this week, 1985 first-round draft pick Walt Weiss is set to begin his third season as the manager of the Colorado Rockies.
Eighteen more Carolina products are expected to start the season in Minor League Baseball, including former big leagers Alex White (Houston) and Rob Wooten (Milwaukee). For a complete listing of Tar Heels in pro baseball, click here.
