MLB Player News

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that he was unsure if McCullers (forearm) would begin the year on the 60-day injured list, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros are going to have to make some roster moves in order to get both Cesar Salazar and Corey Julks on the Opening Day roster, as both are not currently on the 40-man at this point. McCullers is dealing with a low-grade strain and isn't expected to be ready until May at the earliest, and if the club believes it will be closer to June, it could put the right-hander on the 60-day IL to open space. Managers shouldn't expect to see McCullers making starts for Houston in the month of April.

Urquidy will start Saturday's game against the White Sox, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

As expected, Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier will get the ball for the first two games of the series, and Urquidy will start Saturday with Luis Garcia pitching the series finale against Chicago. The right-handed Urquidy finished 2022 with a 13-8 record, 3.94 ERA and 134 strikeouts over 164.1 innings with a 1.17 WHIP over 29 appearances. Urquidy won't miss enough bats to be a stalwart, but he should throw enough strikes while limiting hard contact to be a solid option for 2023.

Canning and Tucker Davidson are battling for a role as the Angels' sixth starter, Adrian Garro of MLB.com reports.

The two hurlers have been battling it out throughout the spring, and Canning has put up better numbers, posting a 1.32 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB over 13.2 innings versus Davidson's 5.19 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 20:4 K:BB across 17.1 frames. One thing working in Davidson's favor, however, is that he is out of minor-league options while Canning is not. Whichever pitcher wins the competition may not see action in a starting role right away, as Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Tuesday that the team is "going to take it day by day, but there's a possibility that sixth spot maybe we don't use it right off the bat ... and if we don't use him right off the bat, he's in the bullpen and provides length there," per Garro.

Brown (back) is on track to be part of the Astros' season-opening starting rotation, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brown was scratched from a scheduled Grapefruit League start last week after experiencing lower-back tightness while doing some agility drills in camp, but he made it through a bullpen session Sunday without issue and is slated to throw a simulated game Wednesday. The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 0.89 ERA with 22 strikeouts over his first 20.1 major-league innings last year, working mostly in relief. He holds considerable fantasy upside in 2023 with a relatively locked-in starting role for the defending World Series champs.

The Astros optioned Bielak to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The righty only appeared in five games last season but was moderately effective as a multi-inning reliever in 2021, posting a 4.50 ERA in 50 innings. Barring injury or serious struggles in Sugar Land, Bielak should join the Astros at some point in the regular season.

Sandoval tossed 79 pitches in a minor-league game Sunday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Sandoval spent time this spring pitching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, notably holding eventual champions Japan scoreless over 4.1 innings in a semifinal matchup. The southpaw appears to be pretty well ramped up for the regular season, as he followed his 79-pitch outing Sunday by doing some additional throwing in the bullpen. Sandoval is tentatively slated to start the Angels' second game of the campaign, April 1 in Oakland.

Gaddis is scheduled to start the Guardians' second game of the season Friday versus the Mariners in Seattle, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Gaddis appeared poised to open the season in a long-relief role, but he'll end up moving into Cleveland's rotation as a replacement for Triston McKenzie (shoulder), who could be sidelined for up to eight weeks. Gaddis has piled up a good number of strikeouts in the minors, but he's struggled against lefties and with keeping the ball in the yard. Fantasy managers should probably look in another direction.

Bubic will open the season as the Royals' No. 5 starter, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

A spot opened up with Daniel Lynch (shoulder) going down and Bubic was the obvious replacement to step in. The left-hander has been a disappointment at the major-league level, most recently posting a 5.58 ERA over 129 innings in 2022. He's not a desired fantasy target.

Gaddis is expected to move into the Guardians' rotation to replace the injured Triston McKenzie (shoulder), Mandy Bell and Jesus Cano of MLB.com report.

Gaddis had been projected for a bullpen role, but it should be a seamless transition since he's still stretched out from spring training. The right-hander pitched well during Cactus League play with a 2.77 ERA and 17:3 K:BB over 13 innings. Gaddis was much less successful in two spot starts for Cleveland in 2022 (18.41 ERA), but he struck out 158 across 121.1 frames between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. With McKenzie potentially sidelined for two months, Gaddis could get a long look in the rotation.

Sears has made the Athletics' Opening Day roster, but whether he'll serve as a starter or reliever is yet to be clarified, Ben Ross of MLB.com reports.

Both Sears and Adam Oller (illness) will open the regular season with the big club after each garnered experience as starters and relievers during their rookie 2022 campaigns. If the decision on which of the two will open in the rotation were to be based solely on last season's numbers, Sears would be the clear-cut choice -- his 6-3 record and 3.86 ERA was exponentially better than Oller's respective 2-8 and 6.30 figures in those categories. However, Sears was shakier this spring, posting an 0-1 mark and 5.19 ERA in 17.1 Cactus League frames. The revelation on who'll get the starting call may not come for several days, as the first turn in the rotation that would go to either Sears or Oller isn't slated to come until Tuesday, April 4.