MLB Player News

Whitlock (oblique) played catch Saturday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Whitlock was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with what was described at the time as a low-grade strain. It's unclear if he'll require more than the 15 days or when Whitlock will advance to pitching off a mound.

Brown is being moved up in the rotation to start Sunday against the Nationals, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The right-hander was penciled in to start Tuesday against the Cubs but will instead face the Nationals since Cristian Javier was scratched due to neck discomfort. Brown delivered a quality start last Tuesday versus Atlanta, so he'll be on the typical four days rest and shouldn't have any limitations.

Pivetta (elbow) threw a bullpen session Saturday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

The next milestones for Pivetta are throwing an up-and-down session Thursday in Cleveland that will be followed by a live batting practice. After that, the team will decide if the right-hander needs a rehab assignment, although manager Alex Cora said he prefers the pitcher make at least one rehab start.

Javier was scratched from Sunday's start against the Nationals due to neck discomfort, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It's unclear when the injury first surfaced for Javier, but he won't be able to start Sunday as scheduled. Hunter Brown will be bumped up to start the series finale in Washington. The Astros have scheduled off days Monday and Friday this week, so the team can get by with four starters until May 4 versus the Mariners, if need be.

Gray struck out four over 1.2 scoreless relief innings in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Atlanta.

As the Rangers approached the end of the stretch that includes 17 games in 17 days, manager Bruce Bochy made note of the team's thin bullpen and a possible surprise entering Saturday's game, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. That surprise turned out to be Gray, a starter, pitching in relief. Gray is slated to start Tuesday, and Saturday lined up to be his in-between starts side session.

Castillo (1-4) earned the win Saturday, shutting out the Rockies over seven innings while allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out nine.

Castillo ran through the Rockies' lineup Saturday, retiring 11 of the first 12 batters he faced while never allowing a runner to reach second base over his seven innings of work. It marked the right-hander's second quality start in a row after giving up four earned runs in each of his first three outings to open the season. Castillo is certainly trending in the right direction following the rocky start and now sports an outstanding 31:3 K:BB in April (four starts).

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Saturday that Clevinger remains "on schedule" to join the big club at the beginning of May, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "Throwing the ball really good, he feels good, so he's on pace," Grifol said of Clevinger. "He's been in game action, yeah."

After he didn't sign a one-year deal with the White Sox until April 2 -- just under a week after the regular season began -- Clevinger has been going through his own version of spring training at the organization's complex in Arizona. The White Sox have yet to assign Clevinger to a minor-league affiliate for a rehab assignment, as it seems as though the organization is content to have him get ramped up in simulated games at extended spring training. More details regarding when Clevinger might be ready to make his White Sox debut could come during the upcoming week, but for now, the expectation remains that he'll be cleared to make his first start in the first or second week of May.

Lively is scheduled to start Tuesday's series opener with the Red Sox at Progressive Field.

Lively will be making his second turn through the Guardians rotation after he was effective in his MLB debut this past Wednesday in his return from a stint on the 15-day injured list while he recovered from a viral illness. While facing off against the same Boston team he'll face this week at Fenway Park, Lively struck out seven and gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk over five innings, though he took the loss after being on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel with Tanner Houck. Lively should have a spot in the Cleveland rotation until Gavin Williams (elbow) is ready to return from the 15-day IL, likely in the first or second week of May. Williams made a start at extended spring training Saturday and should head out on a rehab assignment this week, though he'll likely need at least two starts in the minors before being activated from the IL.

Eovaldi (1-2) allowed three runs on five hits and six walks over 5.1 innings in a loss to Atlanta on Saturday. He struck out six.

Eovaldi had a brutal second inning in which he failed to retire any of the first six batters he faced, giving way to three runs coming home for Atlanta in the frame. The right-hander didn't allow another hit from the third inning on, though he did issue three free passes over that stretch while also hitting Travis d'Arnaud with a pitch. The six walks marked a season high for Eovaldi, as he hadn't walked more than two batters in any other start coming in. He's now lost two of his first three decisions to open the season, allowing eight runs and eight walks over his last two outings.

Ragans (0-2) took the loss Saturday against the Orioles, allowing seven runs on nine hits over 1.2 innings while striking out four.

Ragans struck out three of the first four batters he faced in the contest before getting lit up for seven runs in the second inning. The lefty allowed eight hits in the frame before being relieved by Matt Sauer, marking the shortest outing of the season for Ragans after going at least five innings in each of his first four starts. He came into the contest with a 1.93 ERA but saw it jump to 4.32 following Saturday's loss.