MLB Player News

Arizona placed Melancon (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list Thursday.

The veteran reliever was given a platelet-rich plasma injection in mid-March in hopes of speeding along his recovery. However, Melancon's absence could end up being measured in months, not weeks.

Raley struck out two in a perfect eighth inning during an Opening Day win over the Marlins to record his first hold of the season.

The Mets' bullpen survived its first test without Edwin Diaz (knee) and passed with flying colors, as Raley, Drew Smith and David Robertson combined to strike out six batters over three scoreless innings in relief of Max Scherzer. Raley was already ticketed for a high-leverage role in his first season with the team as the top lefty in the New York 'pen. He could find his way into a few more save chances in Diaz's absence, although Robertson will likely see the bulk of the ninth-inning work out of the gate.

Smith gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning to record his first hold of the season in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

It was a strong start to the season for the right-hander, who fired 10 of 16 pitches for strikes in relief of Max Scherzer. Smith isn't expected to be one of the arms called upon for closing duties to help replace Edwin Diaz (knee), but he should be able to blow past last year's career-high 14 holds with increased high-leverage usage.

Minter walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Thursday's during a 7-2 win over the Nationals.

Atlanta was only up 4-2 heading into the top of the ninth but tacked on three more runs in its half of the frame, erasing the save situation for Minter. It's still reassuring that he was the clear choice to close out of the game for manager Brian Snitker, but with Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) hoping to return in mid-April, there may be only a handful of save opportunities for Minter before he gets bumped back to a setup role.

Luetge (1-0) picked up the win Opening Day against the Nationals, allowing one run on two hits over one inning of relief.

The southpaw replaced Max Fried (hamstring) in the fourth inning with Atlanta ahead 4-1, and the Nats never came close to tying the score. Luetge is expected to begin the season in middle relief -- even with Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) on the shelf, A.J. Minter and potentially Dylan Lee are still ahead of Luetge on the depth chart from the left side. Atlanta's offense is potent enough that Luetge could vulture some wins, something the 36-year-old did eight times over the last two seasons with the Yankees.

Thompson gave up one hit and struck out three over two scoreless innings of relief in an Opening Day loss to Atlanta.

The 25-year-old righty entered the game in the sixth inning with the Nationals down 4-2 and fanned Austin Riley and Michael Harris to keep things close for the home squad. Thompson's role is fairly undefined to begin the season -- starter Patrick Corbin couldn't complete four innings Thursday, taxing the Washington bullpen right out of the gate -- but if he keeps getting the job done, he could work his way into a high-leverage role.

Sulser allowed two runs on two hits and one walk over one inning in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Sulser was brought in after Los Angeles chased starter Zac Gallen with two outs in the fifth inning. Pitching roles in the Diamondbacks' bullpen remains somewhat of mystery, but it looks like Sulser could serve in a middle-relief role for now.

Robertson picked up the save in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Marlins. He struck out two in a perfect inning of work.

Manager Buck Showalter said earlier this week that he would not name a closer going into the 2023 season, but he acknowledged Robertson's experience and leaned on that experience in the Mets' first save chance of the new season. Robertson, who now has 158 career saves, got the job done on 16 pitches, nailing down the win for Max Scherzer. Garrett Cooper and Jazz Chisholm went down swinging against Robertson before Jorge Soler flew out to right field to end the game.

Farmer picked up the loss on Opening Day to the Pirates, allowing a run on a walk in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie.

Farmer walked the leadoff hitter, allowed a stolen base, and that runner subsequently scored on a sacrifice fly. He'll likely get future opportunities to get games to Alexis Diaz in the ninth, despite failing to do so on Thursday.

Cruz walked three batters and threw a wild pitch while recording just one out in relief of Hunter Greene in Thursday's Opening Day loss to the Pirates.

Cruz's control problems allowed both of the runners he inherited from Greene to score, and contributed to the Reds walking a cumulative nine batters over the course of the game.