MLB Player News

Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Rodriguez will head back to Triple-A after being called up Saturday, pitching two scoreless innings while allowing one hit and walk with a strikeout in Sunday's 11-4 win over the Phillies. His return to Gwinnett opens a roster spot for Michael Soroka, who is set to make his season debut with Atlanta on Monday.

Boxberger (forearm) will play catch again Monday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Tests on Boxberger's right forearm came back negative for structural damage and he's slowly ramping things back up with a game of catch for the second day in a row. He'll progress to the mound and will probably need a rehab appearance or two before rejoining the Cubs' bullpen.

Helsley (3-4) blew the save and took the loss Sunday against the Guardians, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks over two-thirds of an inning. He didn't record a strikeout.

Helsley pitched 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday en route to a win and was called upon Sunday to secure the save, as Giovanny Gallegos was likely unavailable after appearing five times over the past nine days. Helsley struggled with the top of Cleveland's order and blew his first save since April 25. The right-hander already has four blown saves this season, which ties his mark from last year. Despite the poor outing, Helsley has been strong in May, posting a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16:6 K:BB over 11 appearances (13.0 innings).

Diaz struck out the side and allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Sunday against the Cubs to secure his 12th save of the season.

Diaz was summoned to protect a three-run lead and required 23 pitches to work around a one-out base knock from Dansby Swanson. The 26-year-old has racked up multiple strikeouts in three straight outings and has done so in seven of his 10 appearances in May. He's allowed just one run over 11.2 innings and has piled up eight saves this month alone. Diaz now sits at a 1.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 40:10 K:BB over 20.2 innings and is starting to assert himself as one of the more dominant relivers in baseball right now.

The Rockies are expected to reinstate Lamet (back) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and have him start that night in Arizona, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

After making the third start of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Lamet returned to Colorado on Sunday and was spotted throwing on the field. The right-hander stretched out to 63 pitches in his final start with Albuquerque and looks poised to provide aid to a Colorado rotation that has been plagued by injury and poor performance throughout the season. Though Lamet has largely operated as a reliever in the majors for the past two and a half seasons, he delivered a 3.78 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 21.4 K-BB% across 56 starts with San Diego from 2017 through 2021. The 30-year-old right-hander could make for an interesting speculative pickup in deeper leagues, especially after he dazzled over his three-start rehab assignment (0.84 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 11:1 K:BB in 10.2 innings).

Covey (0-1) allowed seven runs (five earned) on six hits Sunday. He recorded two outs and took a loss against Atlanta.

It was a nightmare outing for Covey as he was taken deep twice and coughed up seven total runs without making it out of the first inning. He gave up just three runs over nine innings in his first two MLB outings this season, but Sunday's meltdown shot his ERA up to 7.45. It's unclear if the Phillies will give the 31-year-old righty another turn in the rotation.

Chargois allowed two hits and a walk in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Angels.

Regular closer Dylan Floro had pitched three straight days and was likely unavailable Sunday, while Tanner Scott recorded four outs for a hold against the middle of the Angels' order. Chargois looked far from dominant, but a double play helped him out, and he got Mike Trout to pop up with two runners in scoring position to end the game. Chargois had allowed three runs over his previous 2.2 innings. He's at a 2.79 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB through 9.2 innings over 11 appearances, and he's added two holds in addition to his first save of the year. Chargois is unlikely to be in the long-term picture for saves.

Castro allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning against Boston on Sunday. He struck out two and picked up a save.

Castro coughed up a single but still closed out the 4-2 win with ease. He's converted five of his six save chances this season, including four straight dating back to May 12. During that span, Castro has fired 8.1 shutout frames, lowering his season ERA to 2.22 with a 22:8 K:BB.

The Pirates recalled Bolton from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

He'll give Pittsburgh a fresh arm out of the bullpen after the Pirates needed four relievers to cover the final six innings of Saturday's 5-0 loss after starter Vince Velasquez recorded just six outs before departing with right elbow discomfort. The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list to create room on the 26-man active roster for Bolton, who gave up three earned runs and struck out five in six innings across his prior three appearances out of the big-league bullpen this season.

Kimbrel struck out two but gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning Saturday to record his seventh save of the season in a 2-1 win over Atlanta.

After Zack Wheeler fired eight scoreless frames, Kimbrel was entrusted to close out the combined shutout, but instead his full-count fastball to Sean Murphy caught too much of the inner half of the plate and got driven over the left-field wall. It's the fifth long ball Kimbrel has served up in 20 innings, leaving him with a 5.85 ERA, but he also sports a 32:11 K:BB and has yet to blow a save chance this season. The 35-year-old righty will likely return to a secondary role in the Phillies' closer committee when Jose Alvarado (elbow) gets healthy.