MLB Player News

The Royals optioned Cruz to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.

Cruz has struggled with consistency since being recalled to the big leagues at the beginning of the month, allowing eight earned runs over five innings despite going unscored upon in three of his five appearances. He'll aim to right the ship in the minors; meanwhile, Eli Morgan will come up from Omaha to fill the vacancy in Kansas City's bullpen.

The Royals recalled Morgan from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.

Morgan came up from Triple-A as the 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Brewers, during which he gave up a hit and a walk while striking out five batters over three shutout innings. He'll now return to Kansas City alongside Mitch Spence to give the Royals a couple of fresh bullpen arms, replacing Luinder Avila and Steven Cruz.

The Rays optioned Scholtens to Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

The 32-year-old righty was recalled from Triple-A on Wednesday to give Tampa Bay an extra bullpen arm while Drew Rasmussen was away on paternity leave. Scholtens delivered a strong performance with the Rays, firing 4.2 shutout innings against the Cubs on Wednesday, but his stint in the majors will last just 24 hours, suggesting that Rasmussen will rejoin the team to start against the Yankees on Friday.

The Athletics optioned Kelly to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

Kelly has allowed three runs with a 4:4 K:BB in his first 4.1 innings this season. He'll look to get reset at Las Vegas and earn another chance later this summer.

Funderburk walked one and hit one batter while not allowing a hit or a run in two-thirds of an inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 8-6 win over the Tigers.

Funderburk made things interesting, but he managed to get the job done for his first save of the season. The Twins utilized Justin Topa and Cole Sands earlier in the contest, and Taylor Rogers may have been unavailable after pitching three times in the previous four days, leaving the bullpen short staffed. This was a fifth straight scoreless outing for Funderburk, who has pitched three hitless innings while issuing four walks in that span. He has a 3.18 ERA and 6:6 K:BB over 5.2 innings while adding a 1-1 record and three holds so far in 2026. While he may continue to see some high-leverage work, his early performance suggests his pitching will cause some stress. Funderburk is the fourth Twins pitcher to log a save this season, leaving no clarity to who will handle the bulk of the closing duties.

Kuhnel struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Yankees.

This was Kuhnel's second appearance of the season, and he was trusted with a one-run lead that the Athletics had earned in the top of the ninth inning. He got the job done on 12 pitches (eight strikes), finishing with a strikeout of Ryan McMahon. Mark Leiter had the Athletics' first save of the campaign, but he also leads the team with two blown saves, one of which was Tuesday. Scott Barlow and Hogan Harris were both utilized earlier in the game Wednesday while the score was tied at 2-2. The closer job could very well be up for grabs, but it's unclear if Kuhnel will be a serious contender for ninth-inning duties. With most of the Athletics' relievers getting hit hard early in the campaign, simply pitching at an average level could help Kuhnel at least secure high-leverage work.

Uceta's (shoulder) minor-league rehab assignment is expected to transfer to Triple-A Durham next week, per MLB.com.

The Rays are planning for Uceta to make more than just a couple of rehab appearances in order to simulate spring training. The right-hander, who's working his way back from a right shoulder impingement that cropped up in February, had his first outing with Double-A Montgomery on Tuesday and is set for two more appearances there before moving up to the Triple-A level. The hope initially was that Uceta would have a chance to join Tampa Bay in mid-April and battle for save opportunities, but now it sounds like his season debut is likelier to come later in the month.

Garcia walked two and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his first career save in a 5-3 win over the White Sox.

With Ryan Helsley having pitched Monday and Tuesday, the Orioles closer was given a breather while other members of the bullpen stepped up. After Grant Wolfram handled the seventh and Anthony Nunez the eighth, Garcia got the call in the ninth and managed to get the job done despite throwing only 10 of his 22 pitches for strikes. Garcia is establishing himself as a high-leverage option for manager Craig Albernaz, producing a win, two holds and a save in his first six appearances with a 0.53 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB in 5.2 scoreless and hitless innings.

Hoffman earned the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Dodgers got the tying and go-ahead runs on base against Hoffman with one out in the ninth. However, the right-hander bounced back to strike out Freddie Freeman before coaxing a game-ending flyout off the bat of Max Muncy to log his second save in three chances this year. Hoffman has appeared in seven games overall this season, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out 15 over 6.2 innings.

Festa walked one and struck out one in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief Wednesday to record his first save of the season in a 10-2 win over the Royals.

The right-hander got the final out of the eighth inning with the Guardians ahead 5-2, then watched his offense erupt for five more runs in the bottom of the frame, eliminating the need for closer Cade Smith to work the ninth. Festa has had a bumpy beginning to the season, getting tagged for runs in two of his five appearances, but Wednesday's usage was encouraging, even before he backed into the save. Through six innings, he sports a 6.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 5:1 K:BB.