MLB Player News

Gil (0-1) took the loss Monday against the Blue Jays, allowing three runs on three hits and seven walks over five innings. He struck out six.

Gil struggled to find the strike zone Monday night in Toronto, walking seven batters, equaling a career-high previously set on Sept. 8, 2021, also against the Blue Jays. However, the 25-year-old still flashed his strikeout prowess, punching out six batters and generating 16 whiffs. Gil looks to bounce back in his next start, scheduled against the Rays at home.

Scherzer (back) threw 25 pitches of live batting practice Monday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Initial evaluations pegged Scherzer to return in June, but the pitcher says he's now eying an early May return. "We're not ready to say a date, but we're looking at early May in being able to come back," Scherzer said. The next step is throwing 40 pitches Friday, and a first rehab start could come as early as next week.

Olson (0-2) allowed just one run on six hits across 6.1 innings but took the loss Monday against the Rangers. He walked one and struck out eight.

Olson was sharp but Michael Lorenzen and three Texas relievers were better, blanking the Tigers for a 1-0 victory. For Olson, it was at least a step in the right direction after allowing six runs over 4.1 innings in his last start. Outside of that rough outing, the righty has allowed just one earned run across 12 innings this season, giving him a solid 3.86 ERA overall. He had a 3.99 ERA over 103.2 innings as a rookie last year, so he may be able to sustain his current form. Olson will look to carry some momentum into his next scheduled start, which is penciled in for Saturday against the Twins.

Crawford didn't not factor into the decision, allowing two hits and striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings during Monday's loss to the Guardians.

Crawford did more than enough to earn the win, but he left with the game still scoreless as the Red Sox bats also couldn't muster anything against Cleveland starter Xzavion Curry. It was the third time in four starts that Crawford did not allow an earned run and he's now allowed only one earned run over 21.1 innings this season. Crawford now sports a miniscule 0.42 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with 24 strikeouts against eight walks but despite those impressive numbers remains winless on the season. His next opportunity to pick up his first win is tentatively slated to come this weekend on the road against the surprising Pirates.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Monday that Flexen will remain in the rotation for now but will "at some point" pitch out of the bullpen, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.

Flexen has permitted 13 runs with a 7:6 K:BB over 13.1 innings in his three starts this season. The White Sox will keep him in the rotation for the time being more out of necessity, but it sounds like he might be headed for a long relief role once Mike Clevinger is ready.

Verlander (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday, and if all goes well, he's expected to be reinstated from the 15-day injured list to make his first start of the season this weekend in Washington, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Verlander gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over four innings in his second minor-league rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi this past weekend. While his results weren't encouraging, Verlander more importantly built up to 77 pitches and reported no setbacks coming out of the rehab outing. He'll link back up with the Astros this week and will have his bullpen session monitored by the coaching and training staffs, but assuming he checks out fine, he should be on track to start Friday's series opener versus the Nationals.

Rodriguez will start Friday against the Padres, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Rodriguez impressed in his major-league debut Saturday against the Rockies, allowing run run with six strikeouts over 3.2 innings. While the right-hander will stick in the Blue Jays' rotation for now, the team will surely need to curtail his workload eventually. Rodriguez didn't pitch at all in 2023 and was used as a reliever in Japan in 2022.

Valdez (elbow) played some light catch Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

He had been slated to play catch Tuesday, but evidently the decision was made to move it up a day. Valdez is on the injured list with left elbow inflammation but is hopeful that he can return when first eligible April 23. It's possible, though he certainly has more work to do first before he can reach that goal.

The White Sox selected Nastrini's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Nastrini is set to make his major-league debut Monday against the Royals. The 24-year-old posted a 7.71 ERA in two starts with Charlotte, although that came with a 13:3 K:BB across seven innings. Nastrini was also impacted by an illness in his first start with Charlotte before pitching better his next time out, allowing three runs (two earned) with an 8:1 K:BB in four frames. He got his pitch count to 78 in that outing, so he should be get for 90 or so Monday.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Means (forearm) will make another rehab start during the upcoming week, Danielle Allentuck of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Means made the third start of his rehab assignment this past Thursday with Triple-A Norfolk, striking out three over three innings while allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. The lefty tossed 61 pitches (35 strikes) in the start, so he may need only one or two more outings in the minors before getting cleared to return from the 15-day injured list. Once activated, Means will most likely join the rotation as a replacement for Cole Irvin, as the two southpaws' pitching schedules are currently aligned.