Cease has more confidence in his changeup this season and seems committed to broadening his arsenal, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander has been essentially a two-pitch pitcher during his big-league career, throwing his two-seam fastball and slider over 40 percent of the time last season with the Padres, but in his first outing for the Blue Jays on Saturday, neither pitch reached that mark while his knuckle curve, two-seamer, changeup and sweeper all sat with usage rates between 7.8 percent and 10.0 percent. The changeup was especially impressive, as he's firmed it up a bit to give it more velocity and arm-side run but less vertical drop. The result was eight whiffs on eight changeups that averaged 83.7 mph, as batters sold out to try and meet his usual high-90s heat. "I'm going to keep fine-tuning it," Cease said. "Trying to find a little more consistency with command, but I like where it's at." With batters having more to think about than ever before when facing Cease, he struck out 12 batters in 5.1 innings -- setting a franchise record for Ks in a Blue Jays debut in the process.

Strider (oblique) may not miss much more than the minimum amount of time, Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com reports.

During an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sunday, Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos described Strider's oblique strain as "mild", and not as bad as the issue that cost Sean Murphy the first two months of 2024. "I think it will be sooner rather than later that you see [Strider] back," Anthopoulos said. The right-hander is first eligible to come off the IL on April 6, but it's not yet clear if he'll be ready by then. Strider himself missed about a month of action late in 2022 with an oblique issue.

Wheeler (shoulder) struck out three and scattered two hits and one walk over three scoreless frames in a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Heading into the rehab start, the Phillies had planned for Wheeler to cover three innings or 50 pitches. The right-hander was even more economical than the Phillies had hoped, needing only 38 pitches to record nine outs in what was his first official game since Aug. 15, 2025. After undergoing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September, Wheeler has had a fairly seamless recovery thus far and appears on track to return from the 15-day injured list around mid-April. He'll continue to build up his innings and pitch count in his next rehab start, which is set to come Friday versus Triple-A Durham.

Atlanta selected Perez's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

The veteran left-hander is a good bet to start Tuesday's game against the Athletics, though Jose Suarez is also an option. Perez put together a nice Grapefruit League showing with a 2.84 ERA and 10:3 K:BB over 12.2 innings. He could hold down a spot in Atlanta's rotation until Spencer Strider (oblique) is ready to go.

Cecconi said Sunday that he woke up feeling under the weather, which resulted in diminished velocity, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Sunday's results were discouraging after Cecconi's preseason work suggested a pitcher about to take the next level. "I gave everything I had. Just all my velocities were down," Cecconi said. "Still, I think I executed pretty well. I think they got a few runs on some executed pitches and a few that weren't." His four-seamer averaged 92.3 mph, down two ticks from 94.3 it registered in 2025. In addition to reduced velocity, the right-hander also walked three and hit two batters. Cecconi will look to rebound this coming weekend against the Cubs.

Cecconi (0-1) took the loss Sunday against the Mariners, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five.

The right-hander managed to make it through three scoreless innings to begin his outing, but the Mariners throttled him for six runs across the fourth and fifth frames. Three of the hits he allowed went for extra bases, though Cecconi was at least able to stretch out to 93 pitches in his first start of the campaign. Cecconi has a difficult assignment slated for next weekend versus the Cubs, which might limit his streaming appeal.

Hancock (1-0) earned the win Sunday against the Guardians, allowing no runs on no hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out nine.

Hancock is taking Bryce Miller's (oblique) place in Seattle's starting rotation for the time being, and the former filled in admirably during his first turn through the rotation. Hancock set a career high in strikeouts Sunday, completely silencing the Cleveland bats in the hit column. The right-hander should be able to remain a starter for the Mariners for at least the next few weeks, and he figures to be a popular fantasy pickup ahead of his next scheduled start against the division-rival Angels.

Imai did not factor into the decision in the Astros' 9-7 win over the Angels on Sunday. He allowed four runs on three hits and four walks while striking out four across 2.2 innings.

Imai looked poised over the first two innings of his MLB debut, striking out four of the first eight batters he faced. However, things unravelled in the third, when he ran up his pitch count and yielded four runs in the frame before being pulled. Imai struggled with his control, with only 36 of his 74 pitches resulting in strikes (48.6 percent). It might take some time for him to adjust to his new surroundings after spending nine years with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, but the expectations will still be high given the three-year, $54 million contract that he signed with Houston during the offseason. Imai will look for a better result in his next start, which is tentatively slated for next weekend on the road against the Athletics.

Kochanowicz did not factor into the decision for Sunday's 9-7 loss to the Astros. He allowed six runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks while striking out three across four innings.

Kochanowicz put the Halos in a hole early after giving up four runs in the second inning. The Angels gave the 25-year-old right-hander plenty of run support, but he was unable to record an out in the fifth and was tagged with another run after being pulled. Kochanowicz generated 11 whiffs on 94 pitches but tossed only 55 strikes, and it probably wasn't the start he was hoping for after beating out Alek Manoah (finger) for the fifth spot in the Angels' rotation at the end of training camp. Kochanowicz is tentatively slated to start next weekend at home against the Mariners.

Rodriguez (shoulder) has been playing catch and doing strengthening exercises but has yet to throw a bullpen session, per MLB.com.

Rodriguez began the season on the IL (retroactive to March 22) due to right shoulder inflammation. The Angels have been adamant that he's not dealing with a major injury, but the fact Rodriguez hasn't yet progressed to throwing bullpens may mean he's leaning toward not being ready to return when immediately eligible. Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson are getting opportunities to be part of the rotation early in the campaign.