MLB Player News

Javier allowed one run on six hits over five innings in Sunday's intrasquad game, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. He threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Javier may still be in the mix for the rotation but has probably sealed a spot on the staff to start the season with Sunday's effort. Houston manager Dusty Baker has yet to name a fifth starter, though Framber Valdez appears to the likely choice. "It will probably go down to the wire," Baker said. "We don't want to commit right now. We don't want the guys to stop working or get down. We've talked about it, but we can't say right now." Javier, who has two games worth of experience above Double-A, could land on the active roster considering how thin the Astros bullpen has become due to injuries.

Nicasio was reassigned to the Rangers' alternate training site Sunday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Nicasio worked through back tightness during spring training but appeared to be healthy this summer. He was able to pitch in intrasquad competition, but he'll play at the team's alternate training site to start the regular season. Even if he reaches the majors at some point this season, the 33-year-old is unlikely to play a significant role.

Odorizzi was held out of Sunday's intrasquad game due to mild upper back stiffness, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Odorizzi was able to play long toss Sunday, but the team will push him back at least one day while he deals with a minor back issue. Manager Rocco Baldelli didn't sound too concerned about the issue, but with Opening Day scheduled for Friday, it's unclear whether the right-hander will face any limitations to begin the year.

Manager Rick Renteria confirmed Sunday that Giolito will be the team's Opening Day starter, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Giolito made his final appearance of camp Saturday, and Renteria made the unsurprising announcement Sunday that the 26-year-old will take the mound in the season opener. Giolito pitched in a career-high 176.2 innings last year, finishing with a 3.41 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

Means felt better Sunday and got treatment on his arm, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

He is still day-to-day and there has not been a decision made with regards to whether he will be able to start on Opening Day, as previously planned. Means was scratched from Sunday's exhibition start with arm fatigue.

Gonzales, the Mariners' Opening Day starter, was impressive over his four-inning start in Saturday's intrasquad game, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports. "I feel ready to go, my body feels strong," said Gonzales following his outing.

The southpaw allowed two runs on five hits and a wild pitch while recording three strikeouts, but he arguably performed even better than the line indicates. Drayer reports the first run was partly manufactured by a Mallex Smith popup bunt, with the speedy outfielder subsequently advancing on Gonzales' errant offering. Gonzales also didn't allow much hard contact outside of a double he surrendered to Evan White, and he was efficient enough to reach his 50-pitch limit across four frames instead of three. It remains to be seen how long Gonzales will be allowed to go Opening Day against the Astros, but with manager Scott Servais planning a six-man rotation, it's likely his workload will be relatively abbreviated.

Rodriguez was hit pretty hard by COVID-19, experiencing a headache and a fever while he had the virus, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez said he had never been that sick in his life. He has been going through workouts since July 8 in an effort to get ready for the season, so there seems to be a decent chance he could start one of the first five games of the campaign, but that is still to be determined. The Red Sox have yet to officially activate Rodriguez from the COVID-19 injured list even though he rejoined the team at summer camp this weekend.

Manager Charlie Montoyo announced Sunday that Anderson (oblique) will begin the season on the injured list, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The team indicated shortly after the right-hander suffered the oblique strain last week that he was unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, so it's not a surprise he's heading to the IL. Anderson continues to throw long toss and is progressing toward mound work, per Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca, but he has no official timeline for his return. Trent Thornton receives some stability in the rotation thanks to the news, while Ryan Borucki, Anthony Kay and Nate Pearson are in the mix for the No. 5 spot.

Ryu will be starting Opening Day against the Rays on Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The 33-year-old inked a four-year, $80 million deal with the Blue Jays in December, so it's no surprise he'll be opening Toronto's season on the mound. Ryu threw 80 pitches over five innings during Saturday's intrasquad game, so he shouldn't face any significant workload restrictions early in the campaign.

Odorizzi is no longer starting Sunday's intrasquad game as previously scheduled.

The team made no announcement regarding the change, so it's unclear if Odorizzi is dealing with some sort of injury or if his throwing schedule has changed. The 30-year-old was already built up to 79 pitches early last week and shouldn't face any limitations early in the season, assuming Sunday's news doesn't impact his availability.