MLB Player News

Keuchel will start Monday against Cleveland after Carlos Rodon was scratched due to an upset stomach, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.

It's unclear how deep Keuchel will be able to pitch in Monday's contest, as he wasn't scheduled to pitch for a couple more days and may have had his rhythm thrown off by the late switch. He won't be pitching on short rest, however, as his previous outing came Wednesday against the Mariners.

Rodon was scratched from his scheduled start Monday against Cleveland due to an upset stomach, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rodon looked quite good in his first outing of the year, striking out nine in five scoreless innings against the Mariners. He'll have to wait at least a few more days to follow that up. The White Sox have yet to announce when he'll next take the mound. Dallas Keuchel starts in his place Monday.

Schmidt (elbow) received a cortisone injection Monday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Schmidt will be out of action for quite a while, as he landed on the 60-day injured list with an elbow strain in late March. The team is optimistic that he'll be able to begin throwing later this week or sometime next week following the shot, but he'll still need to go through a lengthy recovery process before returning to game action.

Wacha entered Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Yankees in the third inning and allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks over four frames. He struck out five and did not factor into the decision.

Wacha allowed the Yankees to begin their comeback by serving up a two-run home run to Gio Urshela shortly after entering in the third inning, and as evidenced by his final line, he struggled with control overall. The right-hander's first two regular-season appearances have bore zero resemblance to his excellent spring, as Wacha career-long issues with location have surfaced in the form of five walks over his first nine innings, during which he's also already surrendered 11 hits. He'll look to bounce back in what will likely be a conventional start his next turn through the rotation, potentially Friday night on the road against the Yankees.

The Astros recalled Odorizzi from their alternate site ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Tigers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Because Odorizzi's start to the season was delayed due to conditioning reasons rather than an injury, the Astros optioned him to the alternate site rather than stashing him on the IL. With Odorizzi having now completed his buildup program, he'll be making his 2021 and Astros debut Tuesday, taking the rotation spot previously occupied by Cristian Javier. Astros manager Dusty Baker hasn't specified what restrictions Odorizzi might have in his debut, but fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if he's capped at around 80-to-90 pitches.

Perez won't make his scheduled start against the Twins on Monday after the game was postponed due to safety concerns, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Perez was slated to make his second start of the season against his former team Monday. It's not yet clear whether Perez will start Tuesday's game against the Twins if the contest is played.

The Blue Jays activated Ray (elbow) from the 10-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Monday against the Yankees.

Ray was able to complete a 63-pitch simulated game last week without issue, allowing him to clear the final hurdle in his recovery from a bruised left elbow. The Blue Jays likely won't ask the southpaw to work much beyond 80 pitches in his 2021 debut, so the expected workload limitation coupled with the tough matchup against the Yankees doesn't make Ray the most appealing streaming option. He'll line up for a second start of the week Saturday in Kansas City.

Kopech struck out three over 2.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Royals.

Kopech breezed through Kansas City's batters, retiring seven straight on 26 pitches. He's handled the transition to relief with aplomb, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out 11 and retiring 19 of 22 batters faced over 6.1 innings. The right-hander's made three appearances, all spaced out and allowing rest to handle the rigors of multiple innings. Kopech's thrown no fewer than two innings each of his three outings.

Urena (0-2) allowed two runs on three hits and five walks while fanning four across 4.2 innings in Sunday's loss against Cleveland.

Urena struggled in his first start of the season, and things didn't change Sunday. Even though he limited the damage to just two runs, the control issues plagued him once again. He now owns a 9:9 K:BB over his first 7.2 innings of the campaign.

Montgomery gave up four runs on five hits and two walks while fanning four across five innings Sunday against the Rays. He didn't factor into the decision.

Montgomery gave up two-run shots in consecutive innings -- Mike Zunino went deep in the second and Randy Arozarena did the same thing in the third -- but looked solid the rest of the way without being spectacular. He will have a chance at delivering improved results against Tampa Bay in his next start scheduled for April 16.