MLB Player News

McCullers (forearm) could be ready to throw as soon as next week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers remains shut down with a forearm issue that dates back to last year's postseason. The fact that he's on the 10-day injured list rather than the 60-day injured list may indicate that the Astros expect him back before the end of May, though an exact timetable has not yet been provided by the team.

Gray pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four in a 4-3 loss Saturday against Seattle.

Gray was removed after 76 pitches with the Twins trailing 2-1. After making only one start in the spring, it's no surprise that Gray did not make it through five innings. The 32-year-old averaged just over five innings per start in the last two seasons and probably won't be relied upon to pitch late into games anytime soon. His next start will likely come next weekend in Boston.

Gilbert struck out seven in five innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk in a 4-3 win Saturday in Minnesota. He did not factor in the decision.

The lone run against Gilbert came from a Luis Arraez solo homer in the first. After pitching around trouble in the second, he retired the final 10 batters he faced. The lanky right-hander left the game with a 2-1 lead. A two-run home run by Byron Buxton off Andres Munoz in the eighth kept Gilbert from earning the victory. The former top prospect finished strong in his rookie season but had trouble with the long ball all year. If he's able to limit home runs, he should impress in his sophomore campaign.

Mize (0-1) allowed four runs on seven hits across five innings to take the loss Saturday against the White Sox. He struck out two and didn't have any walks.

Mize struggled against a tough Chicago lineup, with a two-run bomb by Yasmani Grandal in the sixth inning the final blow before the righty got pulled. The 24-year-old had a solid 2021 campaign and followed that up with a good spring, so better days should be ahead, especially in easier matchups. Mize lines up to face the Royals on Thursday in his next scheduled start.

Cease (1-0) picked up the win after tossing five innings, surrendering one run on two hits and three walks while striking out eight in Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Tigers.

Cease was extremely effective in his season debut, limiting the Tigers to just five baserunners while whiffing eight batters. The 26-year-old was pulled after he allowed a single to Austin Meadows to open the sixth inning and Meadows later scored on a Jeimer Candelario double off Reynaldo Lopez, proving to be the only blemish on Cease's performance. After producing a respectable 3.91 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with an electric 12.3 K/9 over 32 starts with the White Sox in 2021, he'll look to take another step up here in 2022.

Rasmussen tossed four innings of two-run ball on three hits and a walk while striking out three in Saturday's win over the Orioles. He did not factor into the decision.

All the damage against the right-hander in this one came off the bat of Ryan Mountcastle, who launched a first-pitch slider over the wall for a two-run shot in the third inning. Rasmussen failed to pitch five innings in the contest, leaving after the fourth inning at 64 pitches. It was a strong season debut for the 26-year-old who produced a 4-1 record with a 2.84 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 35 appearances and 10 starts between the Brewers and Rays last season.

Keuchel is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Mariners in Chicago.

Keuchel found himself outside of Chicago's streamlined ALDS rotation last fall, but he'll open the 2022 season in a starting role, taking the hill for the White Sox's fifth game. After compiling a 5.28 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 5.0 K-BB% across 162 frames in 2021 and now heading into his age-34 campaign, Keuchel's fantasy outlook is bleak, even though he may have more job security than anticipated early on in the season with Lance Lynn (knee) likely out until at least late May. Even in his prime years, Keuchel was a below-average source of strikeouts, so his best hope for gaining mixed-league fantasy relevance will likely come from lowering his walk rate (8.2 percent in 2021, 7.2 percent career) and banking on his groundball-happy approach yielding better luck on balls in play (.307 BABIP in 2021, .293 career).

Lyles (0-1) took the loss after he pitched five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two in Saturday's defeat against the Rays.

The 31-year-old pitched a clean first inning, but struggled over the next two frames, surrendering all five runs over that span. Lyles struggled to keep the Rays off the basepaths, allowing 10 batters to reach base. Coming off a 2021 campaign in which he compiled a 5.15 ERA and 1.39 WHIP while starting 30 games with the Rangers, the left-hander failed to start off the 2022 season on the right foot. He is projected to be back on the mound Wednesday at home versus the Brewers.

Blackburn is scheduled to make his first start of the season Monday in Tampa Bay.

Blackburn will be included in the Athletics' season-opening rotation less on merit than by virtue of being one of the few available starting options on the 40-man roster with James Kaprielian (shoulder) and Brent Honeywell (elbow) on the injured list and Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt having been traded away this spring. The 28-year-old Blackburn owns a 5.74 ERA and a minuscule 12.8 percent strikeout rate over 138 career big-league frames, and he didn't demonstrate any improvement in his 8.2 Cactus League innings this spring (9.35 ERA, 11.9 K%). Even with a two-start week on tap -- his second turn comes April 16 in Toronto -- Blackburn doesn't look like a usable fantasy option outside of AL-only leagues.

Manager Aaron Boone is hopeful that Severino will be able to throw 65-70 pitches during Saturday's start against the Yankees, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Severino was delayed in spring training due to arm soreness, and he likely won't be able to handle his full workload during his first start of the regular season. In spite of his earlier issue, he checked out fine at the end of camp and should be able to increase his pitch count following Saturday's outing.