Astros' Cristian Javier: Lining up for Friday start

Javier is likely to start Friday against the White Sox in the Astros' second game of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Framber Valdez is expected to start on Opening Day, though that has yet to officially be announced. Javier appears to be next in line, and he shouldn't have any problems pitching deep into the game after throwing 5.2 innings Saturday against the Nationals in his Grapefruit League finale. He will enter the season looking to back his breakout 2022 campaign, during which he posted a 2.54 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 148.2 innings.