MLB Player News

Weaver earned the save against the Rays on Friday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.

Weaver came in for the ninth inning to preserve a three-run lead, and he did so with ease. He needed only 11 pitches (nine strikes) to close things out and finished the frame with back-to-back punchouts. Weaver has yet to yield a run over his 13 outings this season and has a 16:5 K:BB across 15 innings. He's taken over as the Yankees' go-to closer due to Devin Williams' poor start the season.

Kittredge (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen on Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Kittredge has progressed swiftly after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during spring training. He will need several rehab outings before joining the Orioles' active roster, but the veteran reliever should be back before the end of May if all goes well.

The Royals transferred Marsh (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Friday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Luke Maile. Marsh re-started a throwing program last week after being shut down for a bit, but he will need several weeks to ramp up, so the move to the 60-day IL doesn't alter his timetable.

The Guardians selected Festa's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

The Guardians acquired Festa via trade earlier this week and have now added him to their big-league bullpen. Festa has been dominant at the Triple-A level this season, tossing 14.2 scoreless innings with a 20:7 K:BB.

The Astros reinstated Abreu from the paternity list Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old Abreu spent 48 hours away from the team but is back to assume his role as the team's top setup man. Through 13 innings of work this season, Abreu has a 2.08 ERA and an 18:8 K:BB.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Thursday that Sewald's recovery from a shoulder strain is "going to be a while," MLB.com reports.

That sounds like Sewald will require more than the 15-day minimum. He was lifted from a game earlier this week after facing two batters. Sewald had a good start to the season but had a troublesome five-game stretch (12.27 ERA) leading up to his placement on the IL.

Angels manager Ron Washington described Joyce as "moving along, slowly" in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation, per MLB.com.

Joyce has been on the injured list since April 11 due to the shoulder injury. Though the right-hander is technically eligible to be activated, it doesn't appear that he's close to a return. Joyce put up a 6.23 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 4.1 innings prior to getting hurt, but all three of the runs he allowed came in his final appearance before landing on the IL, and he notably experienced diminished velocity in that outing.

Loaisiga (elbow) has made two appearances with Single-A Tampa but isn't expected to be activated from the injured list for "a few weeks," per MLB.com.

Loaisiga has excelled so far in his pair of rehab outings, posting a 4:0 K:BB and allowing just one hit over two scoreless innings. However, he hasn't pitched in a major-league game since last April, so he won't be rushed back into big-league action. The Yankees will likely move Loaisiga's rehab stint up to Double-A or Triple-A in the near future and want him to pitch on back-to-back days before they consider activating him from the injured list.

Garcia secured the save after throwing a clean ninth inning in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Closer Jeff Hoffman tossed two innings in Wednesday's win over Boston, so it was Garcia who got the call to preserve the victory. Nine of the right-hander's 12 pitches landed for strikes, making it a fairly easy second save of the year Thursday. Garcia extended his scoreless streak to 14 innings to go with an 18:4 K:BB to open the season, and he'll remain a candidate for the occasional save opportunity in the event that Hoffman is unavailable.

Slaten (0-2) was charged with the loss and a blown save in Thursday's 4-2 defeat to the Blue Jays, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk with no strikeouts in one inning.

One game after giving up the game-ending run, albeit one that was unearned in extra innings, Slaten's showing Thursday was far less excusable. The right-hander gave up a go-ahead three-run home run to Vladimir Guerrero in the eighth inning, taking his first blown save of the season. Slaten now holds a 5.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 9:5 K:BB over 11.1 innings this season, though he's been charged with an earned run in just two of his 13 outings.