MLB Player News
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Edwin Uceta RP | TB
Rays' Edwin Uceta: Rehab assignment begins
Uceta (shoulder) began a rehab assignment with Double-A Montgomery on Tuesday, allowing one hit and no walks with one strikeout in a scoreless inning.
Uceta, who opened the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement, took a big step forward in his recovery Tuesday. The Rays will presumably want to see the right-hander make it through a handful of rehab outings before they consider reinstating him from the IL, but a return for Uceta in mid-April appears to be on the table. Tampa Bay has a bit of a carousel forming at closer, and the expectation is that Uceta will join the open competition for save chances upon his season debut.
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Justin Topa RP | MIN
Twins' Justin Topa: Collects first save of 2026
Topa earned the save in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Tigers, allowing one walk and no hits in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.
Eric Orze was given the initial save opportunity but was pulled after yielding an RBI double to Kevin McGonigle. With Cole Sands and Taylor Rogers already deployed earlier in the game, the Twins turned to Topa, who proceeded to seal the win for Minnesota after getting two of the next three batters to ground out. Topa is one of three Twins pitchers to record a save this season, but there doesn't appear to be a clear-cut favorite for the closing job in Minnesota as of yet.
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Jake Junis RP | TEX
Rangers' Jakob Junis: Collects another save
Junis earned the save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Mariners, when he allowed two hits with no strikeouts over a scoreless ninth inning.
For the second straight game, Junis was called to the mound to close out the game for the Rangers. He gave up back-to-back singles to open the ninth inning but needed just six pitches to get the next three batters out. Junis and Tyler Alexander each have two saves this season, but while Alexander's both came when Robert Garcia and Chris Martin were unavailable, Junis was deployed ahead of Martin on Tuesday. The back of the Texas bullpen remains muddled for the time being.
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Justin Slaten RP | BOS
Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Dealing with sore oblique
Slaten was unavailable for Tuesday's game against the Brewers due to oblique soreness, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
The team has labeled Slaten as day-to-day, so his injury doesn't seem to be too severe. The 28-year-old is off to a strong start this season after striking out five batters over 3.1 shutout innings, picking up holds in two of his four appearances.
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Grant Knipp RP | SEA
Mariners' Grant Knipp: Targeting June debut
Knipp (elbow) is tentatively slated to return to game action in June, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
Knipp underwent Tommy John surgery in early 2025 after dealing with elbow inflammation in spring training. The 24-year-old righty has yet to make his pro debut after being selected in the sixth round of the 2024 draft.
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Josh Fleming RP | TOR
Blue Jays' Josh Fleming: Pushed off 40-man roster
The Blue Jays designated Fleming for assignment Tuesday.
Toronto will continue to churn the final spot in its bullpen, as Fleming was dropped from the 40-man roster just one day after long reliever Austin Voth was DFA'd to clear a spot for him. The veteran lefty was unlikely to be available for at least a couple of days after he worked in long relief in his Blue Jays debut during Monday's 14-2 loss to the Dodgers, covering three innings while yielding four earned runs on six hits and two walks.
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Cody Ponce RP | TOR
Blue Jays' Cody Ponce: Set to undergo ACL surgery
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Tuesday that Ponce will undergo surgery to repair a torn right ACL, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Ponce suffered the injury just over a week ago but had been evaluating his options. The timeline for his recovery from the operation is six months, effectively ending his first season with the Blue Jays after just one abbreviated start. Ponce has a good chance to be ready for the beginning of next season as long as he's able to check off all the necessary boxes during his lengthy rehab process.
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Joel Kuhnel RP | ATH
Athletics' Joel Kuhnel: Officially called up
The Athletics selected Kuhnel's contract from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The right-hander delivered two scoreless outings for Las Vegas and will replace Luis Morales on the Athletics' active roster. Kuhnel last pitched in the majors in 2024, when he made 10 regular-season appearances between the Rays and Astros and gave up five earned runs with a 5:0 K:BB over 10 innings.
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Robert Garcia RP | TEX
Rangers' Robert Garcia: Used in eighth inning
Garcia retired the side in order in the eighth inning and earned a hold in a 2-1 win over the Mariners on Monday.
The left-handed Garcia, who is part of a committee of closers, entered the eighth inning with a string of lefties due up. He worked a 1-2-3 inning to record his second hold of the season. Jakob Junis followed him in the ninth inning to record his first save. Garcia has a 2.25 ERA through five outings, having allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits and four walks while striking out three over four innings.
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Lucas Erceg RP | KC
Royals' Lucas Erceg: Picks up third save
Erceg earned the save Monday against the Guardians, working a clean ninth inning with one strikeout.
It was the first three up, three down inning for Erceg on the season, retiring the Guardians in order to earn his third save of the year. With Carlos Estevez (foot) on the injured list, the 30-year-old has been thrust into closing duties and has been a perfect 3-for-3 on save opportunities. If Erceg continues to have success, it's possible that he could take over closer duties on a full-time basis even when Estevez comes back.