MLB Player News

Balazovic will open the year back with Low-A Cedar Rapids, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.

This is a pretty surprising assignment, as Balazovic logged a 3.03 FIP, 1.17 WHIP, 23.6 K-BB% and 48.1 GB% in 61.2 innings at Low-A last year. A 6-foot-4 righty from Ontario, Balazovic can touch the upper-90s with his fastball and his slider and changeup should be at least average pitches. He has as much upside as any pitcher in the Twins' farm system other than Brusdar Graterol, and could have a breakout year, likely splitting time between Low-A and High-A.

Barnes (1-0) entered Wednesday's game in the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings in a 6-3 victory over Oakland.

Barnes was called on in a high-leverage spot and struck out Khris Davis with a nasty curveball. He went on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning and was the pitcher of record when Boston went ahead in the ninth. Manager Alex Cora will apparently use Barnes in non-save situations that the manager deems important, regardless of the inning. Ryan Brasier earned the save.

Brasier pitched a clean ninth inning to pick up the save in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Athletics.

Manager Alex Cora used Matt Barnes in the seventh inning of a tie game to get a big out against slugger Khris Davis, clearing the way for Brasier to pick up his first save after Boston went ahead in the top of the ninth. If Cora continues to use Barnes in high-leverage, non-save situations, Brasier will be in line for at least a handful of save opportunities in 2019.

Jimenez pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a walk and two strikeouts to earn a hold in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Yankees.

Jimenez now has a hold and a win this season, and he's held the opponent scoreless in three of his four appearances. However, he allowed three earned runs in his other appearance, which has his ERA inflated to 6.75. The 24-year-old should continue to serve as the setup man to closer Shane Greene, and figures to be next in line for save opportunities if Greene is traded at any point this season.

Farmer (1-0) retired two batters, both by strikeout, and earned the win in Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Detroit starter Matthew Boyd was brilliant, striking out 13 and allowing just one run through 6.1 innings, but the Tigers turned to Farmer to finish off the seventh inning with the score tied 1-1. He vultured the win when Detroit pulled ahead in the top of the eighth. After flopping as a starter at the MLB level in 2017, Farmer worked almost exclusively in relief last season, posting a 4.15 ERA and 57 strikeouts across 69.1 innings. The 28-year-old should continue working in middle relief for the Tigers, which gives him limited fantasy utility.

Sadzeck was added to the 25-man roster Wednesday and will join the team in Chicago prior to the start of a three-game series against the White Sox on Friday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Sadzeck was acquired in a trade with the Rangers on Monday, and with the Mariners looking to stock up on as many late-inning options as possible in the wake of Hunter Strickland's (lat) extended absence, he'll be thrust right into action. The 27-year-old's fastball consistently sits in the mid-to-high 90s. However, Sadzeck has also had trouble locating against big-league bats thus far, following up a 10.6 BB/9 in 13 appearances with the Rangers last season with eight walks over 8.1 Cactus League frames this spring.

Giles struck out both the batters he faced to earn his second save of the season Wednesday against the Orioles.

Giles was called into the game to record the final two outs after Daniel Hudson surrendered three earned runs to begin the ninth inning. Giles had no trouble sealing the win, needing just nine pitches to whiff both batters he faced. It was his fourth appearance of the season, and through 3.2 innings he has not allowed a run while striking out seven.

Loaisiga didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Tigers, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over four innings while striking out four.

The right-hander was effective while he was on the mound, but a limited pitch count -- he threw 70 pitches, 41 for strikes -- kept him from making a bigger impact. Loaisiga will make at least one more start while the Yankees wait for CC Sabathia (knee/chest) to rejoin the rotation, but if he has a restricted workload again, he'll be a largely unappealing fantasy option.

May (1-0) recorded the win in Wednesday's 7-6 victory over the Royals, allowing one hit in 1.2 innings of relief.

Entering the game to begin the eighth inning and the score tied 6-6, the right-hander pitched effectively but gave way to Blake Parker for a one-out save after the Twins took the lead in the top of the ninth. May seems to be manager Rocco Baldelli's top choice for a multi-inning high-leverage role, which could limit his save chances while getting him a few more wins over the course of the season.

Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the side, in a 1-0 loss to the Rockies on Wednesday.

Alvarado has been excellent to open the year. In four appearances, he's allowed only three baserunners and posted eight strikeouts with two saves in four innings. But in each of his last two outings, he pitched in the eighth inning. A couple games ago, Alvarado threw in the eighth during a lopsided win, and Wednesday, he took the mound in the eighth during a 0-0 game. It's not the ideal, traditional-closer usage, but Alvarado is pretty clearly the primary option for saves in Tampa Bay.