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Jake Odorizzi has back stiffness, regular-season debut could be pushed back

July 20, 2020 at 2:58PM
Twins catcher Mitch Garver and pitcher Jake Odorizzi
Minnesota Twins catcher Mitch Garver (8) and pitcher Jake Odorizzi (12) took the field for batting practice at Target Field. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Righthander Jake Odorizzi was scheduled to pitch in the intrasquad game Sunday but was scratched because of a sore back. Randy Dobnak started in his place.

"He's going to actually be pushed back at least a day, probably a couple of days," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He has some mild —I would call it upper-back tightness or stiffness. It's basically a day-to-day situation for us. Pretty sure we're going to be just fine going into the first full week of the season."

Odorizzi was in line to be the No. 2 starter in the rotation behind Opening Day pitcher Jose Berrios — although nothing has been made official. Odorizzi's next outing could be moved back to Tuesday, and he would still have a chance to start Saturday against the White Sox. If Odorizzi needs another day for the issue to clear up, the Twins might have to tweak their rotation accordingly.

"I can't tell you exactly as we sit here right now what day he's going to end up out there pitching, "Baldelli said, "but he did play long toss, he's doing all right, but we're going to treat it as a day-to-day spot with him and basically go from there."

Chacin released

Righthander Jhoulys Chacin has left camp after being released at his request.

Chacin signed a minor league contract with the Twins during the offseason and was brought to spring training as a non-roster invite. That deal included an opt out-clause that would allow Chacin to become a free agent and possibly hook on with another club.

Chacin last pitched Friday, giving up two runs over three innings on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Chacin likely saw that he was down the pecking order in the battle for a spot on the pitching staff.

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about the writer

about the writer

La Velle E. Neal III

Columnist

La Velle E. Neal III is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune who previously covered the Twins for more than 20 years.

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