While the plans have yet to be finalized, it appears Rays starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi will move up from fourth to third in the rotation due to Drew Smyly's shoulder injury, per The Tampa Tribune. If that happens, Odorizzi would start the third game of the season against the Orioles instead of the fourth game against the Marlins.
“I have a lot of days between now and then that we can change the schedule. It’s not going to be that big of a deal,” Odorizzi said. “Realistically, regardless of Drew being down for a few weeks or not, I was still putting lofty goals for myself to go out and be better than I was last year. I think there’s plenty of room for improvement from last year to this year. Him being down doesn’t change the way I need to think about myself.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself at the beginning of the season last year and we all saw how that went. So I think that year of building and learning has really helped me turn a corner and going into this year I feel like a whole different type of person just going through a whole season. Coming back, knowing I have my spot, hair down a little bit, relax and at the same time I want to do a lot better than last year.”