MLB Player News

Cease allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over two innings in Monday's game against the Athletics, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Cease is "the other guy" acquired in the Jose Quintana trade, which also netted the White Sox the more heralded Eloy Jimenez. With Jimenez sidelined by a sore knee, it's Cease taking on a higher profile this spring. He hasn't allowed a run in 3.1 innings while striking out five. On Monday, he threw his fastball (95-98 mph), curveball and mixed in a developing changeup and slider. The White Sox view him as a starter, but they understand his current repertoire can play out of the bullpen. Cease figures to open the 2018 season in the rotation at High-A Winston-Salem.

Heaney fired three shutout innings Monday, allowing two hits and striking out five in a spring win over the Reds.

Heaney underwent minor shoulder surgery this offseason, so his stellar start to spring training (no runs allowed over five innings) should ease his fantasy owners' thoughts regarding his shoulder health heading into Opening Day. That said, staying healthy has been easier said than done for the southpaw, as he's reached the 100-inning mark just once during his four-year career. The 26-year-old's 7.06 ERA in five starts last year should be dismissed as he was coming off of Tommy John surgery. The 3.49 ERA he posted in his largest sample size of action in 2015 is closer to what fantasy owners can expect from Heaney -- with a little bit of upside -- if he can stay healthy this season.

Hamels will pitch on a normal schedule throughout the 2018 season, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports.

Hamels made it known that he didn't want any part of a six-man starting rotation. Since voicing his concerns Saturday, the Rangers have announced that Hamels, Doug Fister and Matt Moore will all pitch on a normal schedule, with opportunities to start every fifth game for the Rangers.

Rodon (shoulder) threw nearly as hard as he can during a throwing session Sunday, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rodon has been playing catch nearly every day during spring training, but opted to ramp up the intensity during a flat-ground throwing session from 120 feet. The left-hander came away from the throwing session enthused and is looking to get on a mound and throw bullpen sessions by the end of the month.

Perez (elbow) is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Perez has yet to pitch in a spring game while he recovers from an elbow injury. If all goes well Wednesday, he could pitch in a "B" game March 12, which would likely put him on track to avoid the disabled list when the regular season kicks off.

Keuchel will not be Houston's Opening Day starter for the first time in four seasons, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager A.J. Hinch announced that Justin Verlander will kick off the regular season Mar. 29 against the Rangers with Keuchel following him the next day. Hinch said he could have gone with either pitcher, but deferred to Verlander, who was 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in an Astros uniform last year and was the healthier pitcher entering training camp. "J.V.'s got a long pedigree, he's done a lot in the game, he's pitched very well as an Astro," said the manager. The left-handed Keuchel, who was brought along slowly this spring after injuring his foot during the offseason, made his spring debut Monday, firing 1.2 innings against Miami.

Clevinger is expected to open the season as Cleveland's fifth starter, Alyson Footer of MLB.com reports.

Clevinger put together his best outing of the spring Monday against the Dodgers. He pitched three shutout innings, striking out six and allowing just one baserunner, which came via a walk. Clevinger was efficient as well, as he needed just 25 pitches to get through those three innings. With Danny Salazar (shoulder) progressing through his rehab slowly, Cleveland's current plan is for Clevinger to open the year in the rotation. He appeared in 27 games last season, 21 of which were starts, logging a 2.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 114 innings as a starter at the big-league level.

Manager A.J. Hinch announced Monday that Verlander will start for the Astros on Opening Day, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Verlander will get the ball over Dallas Keuchel, who has toed the rubber for Houston on Opening Day in each of the previous three seasons. The 35-year-old will look to pick up where he left off in his first full season in Houston; he went 5-0 while posting a 1.06 ERA and 43:5 K:BB across 34 innings after being acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline last year.

Montas (1-0) allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks over 2.1 innings in Sunday's 12-4 Cactus League win over the Padres. He also recorded three strikeouts.

The hard-throwing former reliever was touched up by Eric Hosmer for a two-run shot in the third, the latter's first round tripper in a Padres uniform. Some of the control problems that often plagued Montas during his 32-inning stint in 2017 also resurfaced, following an exhibition debut against the Indians last Tuesday in which he'd refrained from issuing any free passes. Early returns on the Athletics' experiment to stretch out the 24-year-old this spring are mixed, as he's now allowed four earned runs on seven hits and Sunday's three walks over 4.1 innings across two trips to the mound.

Paxton allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and one walk over 1.2 innings in Sunday's 10-7 Cactus League win over the Rangers.

As his final line implies, Paxton was in trouble early and often, surrendering a solo home run to Robinson Chirinos and a three-run blast to Ryan Rua in the second, with the latter round tripper knocking him out of the contest. Greg Johns of MLB.com reports that Paxton felt his fastball lacked its usual explosion, although he added that he wasn't experiencing any arm trouble. The location issues that the southpaw endured Sunday were in sharp contrast to his first outing, a two-inning, one-hit, one-walk scoreless effort against the Padres on Feb. 27. He'll look to bounce back in a likely Friday start against the Giants.