MLB Player News

Baker notched the save Monday against the Guardians, allowing two hits and one walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two.

The right-hander did allow the possible tying and go-ahead runs to get into scoring position, but he was able to get two clutch strikeouts to finish off Cleveland. With Edwin Uceta (shoulder) out for at least another month and Griffin Jax quickly falling out of favor as the Rays' closer, Baker is solidifying his grip as Tampa Bay's primary ninth-inning option. Through 11.1 frames, Baker owns a 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB while converting seven of his nine save chances.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Cleavinger (calf) is on track to rejoin the active roster "closer to the weekend," Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Cleavinger has already made four rehab appearances with Triple-A Durham but has been shaky, yielding four runs with a 4:5 K:BB. The Rays want him to have a couple more rehab outings to sharpen things up before activating the reliever this weekend. Cleavinger has been out since late March with right calf tightness.

The Blue Jays recalled Lee from Triple-A Buffalo on Monday.

Lee will join the Blue Jays for the first time this season after failing to win a spot in the Toronto bullpen coming out of spring training. Over nine appearances at Triple-A this season, the right-hander permitted just two earned runs over 13.2 innings, though he dealt with plenty of traffic on the bases (11 hits, nine walks).

Alexander went one inning allowing no runs on two hits in a 2-1 loss to the Athletics on Sunday.

Once again Alexander pitched a scoreless frame, marking the 12th appearance he has done so to date. The 31-year-old has allowed just one earned run, in tune to his 0.63 ERA, through his first 14.1 innings pitched. The left-hander has been the most efficient and utilized asset out of the Rangers bullpen through 28 games.

Yarbrough pitched a perfect inning while striking out two batters in a 7-4 loss to Houston on Sunday.

Yarbrough entered the game in the eighth inning, striking out both Christian Walker and Cam Smith en route to a scoreless inning. Prior to the series against Houston, the 34-year-old had struggled in his previous two appearances, allowing a combined five earned runs over 3.1 innings pitched. The left-hander has not seen much volume, appearing in only seven games through the first month of the season for New York.

Bazardo got his first win of the season Sunday when he pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout in the 3-2 win over the Cardinals.

Bazardo was a revelation out of the bullpen for the Mariners last season ending the year with 73 appearances and a 2.52 ERA and a 82:27 K:BB over 78.2 frames. The right-hander already has appeared in 13 games so far in 2026 despite a bullpen that boasts a lot of big names such as Anthony Munoz and Gabe Speier. So far, Bazardo has been thrown into high-leverage situations accumulating three holds and a win and a loss this season.

Herrin allowed no runs in one inning and tallied a strikeout in the 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Herrin has been used in a mostly low-leverage reliever role in his 10 appearances so far out of the Guardians bullpen as one of the two consistent lefties. The 29-year-old appeared in 75 regular-season games in 2024, but that went down to 54 regular-season games in 2025 while his ERA shot up to 4.85 from 1.92 and his WHIP to 1.57 from 0.92. Walks are still a problem in the small sample size that Herrin has shown this season, as he's thrown four in 6.2 innings after compiling a difficult 6.3 BB/9 last season.

Lopez allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks over one-plus inning out of the bullpen in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Rangers. He struck out one.

With his turn in the rotation set to be skipped during the Athletics' upcoming three-game series against the Royals, Lopez was deployed out of the bullpen Sunday and produced mixed results. The southpaw entered in the fifth inning and tossed a scoreless frame, but allowed a run and multiple baserunners without recording an out in the sixth inning, leaving Justin Sterner to work out of the jam. Lopez has been disappointing to begin 2026, posting a 5.84 ERA and 1.95 WHIP with a 2-1 record across 24.2 innings. He's tentatively lined up to re-enter the rotation next weekend against the Guardians, though his next start remains unconfirmed.

Sterner (1-2) earned the win in Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Rangers. He allowed a hit and no walks while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

Entering for Jacob Lopez after he failed to record an out in the sixth inning, Sterner worked out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve a one-run lead that the Athletics held the rest of the way. With starter J.T. Ginn (shoulder) exiting after 3.1 innings and Joel Kuhnel and Lopez combining to provide limited length and effectiveness, the official scorer awarded Sterner the win, his first of the season. Since allowing four runs in a blown save against the Rangers on April 16, the 29-year-old has turned in five scoreless innings and owns a 3.07 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with an 18:5 K:BB across 14.2 innings in 2026.

Yates (knee) has made three minor-league rehab outings since April 17, giving up a combined seven runs on seven hits while posting a 5:1 K:BB over three innings.

Yates' rehab appearances have been spread out, as he's had at least two days off between each outing. The veteran reliever has given up at least one run in each of his one-inning appearances and has served up two homers across his three frames. It's not clear how long the Angels plan to keep Yates on his rehab assignment, and his struggles may not be helping his cause for rejoining the big-league roster in short order. After Jordan Romano was designated for assignment Sunday, the Angels' closer situation is extremely murky, and Yates is a clear candidate to take on the role given his 98 career regular-season saves. However, the club may want to see Yates put together some better outings before feeling comfortable handing him the ball in the ninth inning of close contests.