MLB Player News

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki was noncommittal Thursday when asked whether Romano was still his closer, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Romano suffered his second straight blown save Wednesday against the Yankees and has allowed five runs while recording a total of just one out in his last two appearances. The righty hadn't allowed a hit or a run in his six outings prior to that, going 4-for-4 in save chances over that stretch. Suzuki said that Romano is "still going to be in those high-leverage spots," but he stopped short of backing the 32-year-old as his closer. If Suzuki does go in a different direction, Drew Pomeranz or Chase Silseth are options. The Angels also have former closer Ben Joyce (shoulder) and Kirby Yates (knee) nearing a rehab assignments.

Suter will be the Angels' starting pitcher for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Suter has been deployed mainly as a long reliever the last several seasons, but he covered 3.2 innings in his most recent appearance and will be on four days' rest Thursday, so he could cover 4-to-5 frames against the Yankees if things go well. The lefty has pitching exceptionally for the Angels this season, collecting a 2.08 ERA and 13:4 K:BB over 13 innings.

Rogers (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over an inning.

Rogers had opened the season with a streak of eight scoreless appearances, but he was tagged with both runs in the eighth -- an RBI single from William Contreras and an RBI groundout from Brice Turang. Even though this was far from being Rogers' best outing, he still has a 0.93 ERA across his first 9.2 innings over nine appearances this season. He should remain a trustworthy arm out of the Blue Jays' pen as long as he can continue to limit the damage like he's done in the past, but his 5:4 K:BB is a bit concerning from a fantasy perspective.

Scholtens (1-0) earned the win in relief against the White Sox on Wednesday, pitching five innings of one-run ball while allowing one hit and two walks. He struck out three.

Scholtens entered the game after Cole Sulser allowed four baserunners in the first two innings. The right-hander cruised through the seventh inning, allowing just three baserunners in the process and tossing 46 of his 77 pitches for strikes. Scholtens has yet to allow a run in his first two outings of the season, giving up five hits and three walks while striking out seven in 9.2 innings.

Sulser didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the White Sox, pitching two scoreless innings as the opener, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out one.

Sulser allowed four baserunners in his two innings, but he didn't allow a single run -- that's already a step in the right direction considering his recent performances. He had given up at least a run in five of his six previous outings this season, and as a bullpen arm that's nowhere near pitching in high-leverage situations, he doesn't carry much fantasy upside -- especially since he owns a 4.91 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP across 11.0 innings over his first seven appearances in 2026.

Kay is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Jordan Leasure in Thursday's home game against the Rays.

The White Sox have made liberal use of openers through their first 19 games, using Grant Taylor in that capacity on four occasions and now Leasure in what will be his second career start and first of 2026. The arrangement should prove to be a favorable one for Kay, who will have a better chance at qualifying for a win as a bulk reliever than as a starter and will likely enter the game facing the bottom half of the Tampa Bay lineup. Through his first three outings (two starts) of the season, Kay has gone 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11:8 K:BB in 14.2 innings.

Latz retired all three batters faced in a scoreless eighth inning of Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Latz didn't allow a hit or run for the sixth time in eight appearances. Batters were 0-for-29 against him to start the season before Max Muncy took him deep April 10, and they're just 3-for-35 overall off the left-hander. Latz competed for a rotation spot during spring training but struggled, giving up 14 earned runs over 15.2 innings, and eventually began 2026 in the bullpen. He's not yet part of the group that's been given save opportunities, but Latz has emerged as a trusted late-inning arm for manager Skip Schumaker.

Hader (biceps) threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday and said afterward that it was akin to his first live BP of spring training, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McTaggart notes Hader was sitting 91-to-93 mph with his fastball during the live session, and he says given Hader's quotes about where he is in his recovery the southpaw is "perhaps about a month away from returning, without any setbacks." Hader, who is working his way back slowly from a bout of left biceps tendinitis, added, "I'm feeling good, feeling strong. I got through it throwing relatively hard and commanded the baseball in the zone, commanded the slider, getting good whiffs on it. Ideally, that's what you want." Meanwhile, Bryan Abreu has struggled in the ninth inning for the Astros this season, opening the door for Enyel De Los Santos to earn a couple saves in recent days.

De Los Santos earned the save with a perfect ninth inning in a 3-1 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday. He struck out two.

The 30-year-old right-hander has now earned saves on consecutive days for Houston, career saves No. 4 and 5, as De Los Santos appears to be entering the closer mix in the absence of Josh Hader (biceps) and in light of Bryan Abreu's struggles this season. Abreu pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday's victory, setting up the save chance for De Los Santos after Bryan King did as much Tuesday. De Los Santos' fastball velocity is down a couple ticks to around 94 mph this season, but it seems to be by design since he's cut his walk rate by more than half in the early going, an improvement that has helped fuel a 1.35 ERA and 0.75 WHIP through six appearances and 6.2 innings so far in 2026.

Kuhnel struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers.

The right-hander got the call in the eighth inning after Mark Leiter gave up a three-run home run to Jake Burger to make it a one-run game. This was Kuhnel's third save of the season, good for the team lead over Leiter. There has been a stark difference in their performances: Kuhnel has tossed 4.2 scoreless innings so far, while Leiter has a 9.00 ERA through eight frames. The 31-year-old Kuhnel has added a 3:0 K:BB and has given up just one hit. The Athletics' bullpen is functioning as a committee currently, but Kuhnel looks to be a slight favorite for saves as long as he continues to pitch well. Hogan Harris and Scott Barlow are also in the mix for late-inning work.