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

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."

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.