MLB Player News

Sandoval will start for the Angels against Cleveland on Monday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The southpaw will take the ball as a starter for the first time in 2021 with Alex Cobb still battling a blister issue. Andrew Heaney and Shohei Ohtani will follow Sandoval on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Sandoval's longest outing in the majors this year is 3.1 innings, so it's unlikely that he'll factor into the decision Monday.

Whitlock was activated from the COVID-19 injured list Sunday.

The Rule 5 pick was feeling the effects from the coronavirus vaccine, but he's ready to roll a day later. Colten Brewer was optioned to make room on the roster. Whitlock secured his first career save earlier in the week, adding to the stellar body of work he's putting together (1.77 ERA, 0.98 WHIP). It looks like the Red Sox found themselves a diamond in the rough.

Odorizzi (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

After completing a 35-pitch live batting practice session Wednesday, Odorizzi is ready to return to game action. It's not clear how many pitches he will throw against Round Rock on Monday. Regardless, if he makes it through unscathed, Odorizzi could theoretically return as soon as next weekend to take the spot vacated by Jose Urquidy (shoulder). Kent Emanuel would be another candidate for that opening, if the Astros feel they don't want to rush things with Odorizzi.

Urquidy (shoulder) was moved to the 10-day injured list Sunday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Urquidy had already been ruled out for next week's series against the A's, so this move seemed almost inevitable. The Astros will give Urquidy time for his shoulder inflammation to subside after he left Wednesday's start with discomfort. Enoli Paredes (side) was activated in a corresponding move, though Paredes is not a candidate to replace Urquidy in the rotation as anything more than an opener.

Urena (lower leg) is not expected to miss a start, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

It seemed like Urena was fine after he was struck in the leg by a line drive Saturday -- he was seen celebrating with his teammates after the walkoff win -- and manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Sunday that Urena will remain on schedule. Urena has worked around a lot of traffic on the basepaths (1.45 WHP) to a decent ERA (4.22) so far. He lines up to face the Royals in Kansas City in his next start.

Arihara (finger) is likely to throw a bullpen session Sunday, Sam Blum of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Arihara has been on the injured list since May 9 due to an issue with the middle finger of his throwing hand. The Rangers have not announced a replacement for Arihara, whose next turn is due Wednesday against the Yankees.

German (3-2) picked up the win in Saturday's 8-2 victory over the Orioles, allowing one run on four hits and two walks over six innings while striking out six.

The Yankees handed him a 3-0 lead before he even set foot on the mound in Baltimore, and German kept the O's off the board until his final inning of work. The right-hander fired 53 of 80 pitches for strikes in his second straight quality start and fourth of the year, and he'll take a 3.62 ERA and 37:8 K:BB through 37.1 innings into his next outing.

Dunning (2-3) was tagged with the loss Saturday against the Astros after allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning three across four innings.

Dunning was coming off a dominant performance the last time out with 10 strikeouts, but he was unable to repeat that outing and fanned only three this time -- his second-worst mark of the season in that category. Dunning has now allowed four or more runs in three of his last five appearances. His next start is scheduled for next week at home against the Yankees.

Garcia (1-3) earned the win Saturday against the Rangers by allowing one run on five hits and two walks while fanning five across five innings.

Garcia has yet to pitch six complete innings this season, but he has allowed just one run in three of his last five appearances. He owns a 4.20 ERA across 15 innings in three starts this month. His next start is scheduled for next week against the Athletics on the road.

Irvin gave up one run on five hits and two walks across 6.2 innings during Saturday's 5-4 loss at Minnesota. He had two strikeouts and didn't factor in the decision.

The left-hander surrendered a run during the first inning but otherwise blanked the Twins to deliver his fourth straight quality start, though the bullpen surrendered four runs during the eighth inning to squander the victory. Irvin has pitched well in 2021 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 39:8 K:BB over 48.2 innings.