MLB Player News

Underwood gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his first save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Red Sox.

The right-hander needed only five pitches to breeze through the frame, erasing a Justin Turner leadoff single with a double play. David Bednar is entrenched as the Pirates' closer and already has three saves this season, but two of then had come in the last two days. It looks like Underwood will be the next man up for now any time Bednar is unavailable, which could give him some deep-league fantasy appeal for GMs speculating on a potential Bednar trade.

Chavez recorded the final out of Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Cardinals to pick up his first save of the season.

A.J. Minter had pitched in the first two games of the series while Joe Jimenez has thrown 16 pitches the night before and may not be ready to work back-to-back days after offseason back surgery, so when Collin McHugh allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to create a save situation, it was Chavez who got the call to close things out. It's the 39-year-old right-hander's first save since 2019, and while he's capable of serving in a variety of roles in the Atlanta bullpen, he's unlikely to see consistent high-leverage work. Through four appearances this season, Chavez holds a 0.00 ERA over 3.2 innings with a hold and a 3:0 K:BB in addition to Wednesday's save.

Phillips retired two of the three batters he faced en route to notching his first save of the season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rockies.

With one out and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth, Phillips was summoned from the bullpen to put out the fire. Though he hit the first batter he faced to load the bases, Phillips coaxed a run-scoring sacrifice fly off the bat of Mike Moustakas and then induced a groundout by Charlie Blackmon to extinguish the threat. Phillips' save was the Dodgers' second of the season, and the first in a more traditional fashion after long reliever Andre Jackson picked up the team's first save by pitching three innings at the tail end of a 10-1 win over the Diamondbacks last weekend. Phillips looks like he'll be a part of a committee approach to closing situations, with Brusdar Graterol and Alex Vesia also being candidates to scoop up the occasional save chance.

Sousa was designated for assignment by the Reds on Wednesday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Sousa was the 40-man roster casualty when the Reds selected the contract of fellow relief pitcher Kevin Herget. The left-hander appeared in 25 games with White Sox in 2022, struggling to a 8.41 ERA and 1.72 WHIP with 12 strikeouts over 20.1 innings.

Kuhnel was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Kuhnel will head to Louisville after cracking the Reds' Opening Day roster last week. The right-hander appeared in Tuesday's loss to the Cubs, surrendering three runs on five hits and a walk over two frames. Considering the fact that he opened the season on the active roster, Kuhnel seems likely to get another shot in the majors before long. In his place, the Reds selected the contract of Kevin Herget.

The Reds selected Herget's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Herget will provide the Reds with some additional bullpen depth as the 32-year-old makes his way to a major-league roster for just the second time in his career. The right-hander appeared in three games with the Rays in 2022, producing a 7.71 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with four strikeouts over seven innings. To make room for him on both the 40-man roster and the active roster, Bennett Sousa was designated for assignment and Joel Kuhnel was optioned to Louisville on Wednesday.

Bednar struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his third save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Red Sox.

Masataka Yoshida reached on an error to lead off the frame, but Bednar shook it off and needed only 10 pitches to retire the next three batters, ending the night by fanning Enrique Hernandez. After notching 19 saves last season with a 32.9 percent strikeout rate, Bednar has delivered more of the same to begin 2023, firing three shutout innings with a 5:0 K:BB.

Kimbrel gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Yankees. He didn't strike out a batter.

Considering the Phillies hadn't won a game yet this season, manager Rob Thomson wasn't taking any chances with a four-run lead and brought in Kimbrel to finish things out. The veteran closer served up a solo shot to DJ LeMahieu and threw only 14 of his 23 pitches for strikes, but he eventually got the job done. Kimbrel has been scored upon in his first two appearances this season with a 1:3 K:BB, which isn't a great sign for the 34-year-old, but his usage Tuesday suggests he's still the top option for save chances in the Phillies' bullpen once they begin to create some. Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado and Gregory Soto are also in the high-leverage mix, however.

Strahm didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Yankees, giving up one hit and one walk over four scoreless innings while striking out three.

The southpaw didn't last long enough to qualify for the win, but Strahm pitched more than well enough to earn one, tossing 42 of 61 pitches for strikes before exiting. The 31-year-old is temporarily filling a rotation spot while Ranger Suarez (forearm) gets healthy, but with Suarez still at least a couple weeks away from joining the team, Strahm should get another couple turns and a chance to stretch out more. He could be an enticing streaming option next week, lining up for a potential two-step that includes a home start against the Marlins.

Finnegan (0-1) blew the save and took the loss Tuesday, recording only one out and surrendering five runs on five hits -- including three home runs -- and a walk as the Nationals fell 10-6 to the Rays.

Called upon to protect a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth inning, Finnegan instead got taken deep by Luke Raley, Josh Lowe and Yandy Diaz to get tagged with his first blown save of the season. Manager Dave Martinez had already suggested this spring Finnegan might not get every save chance for the Nats, but it'll probably take a couple more disasters before he's out of the closer mix for good. Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards figure to be the most likely alternatives in the ninth.