MLB Player News

Uceta was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Thursday and optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Uceta was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Tuesday. The 25-year-old right-hander holds a career 6.27 ERA and 38:19 K:BB in 37.1 total innings at the MLB level.

McHugh was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right shoulder inflammation.

Jared Shuster has been recalled in a corresponding roster move and will likely get the start for Atlanta on Friday against the Padres. There is no estimated recovery timetable on McHugh, who had allowed one run through 3.2 innings of relief this year.

Manaea will start for the Giants on Saturday against the Royals, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Manaea came out of the bullpen in his first appearance of the season Monday against the White Sox and gave up three earned runs on two hits and two walks over two innings of work. Now he steps into a rotation spot, at least for the time being. Giants manager Gabe Kapler has been noncommittal about steadily deploying a six-man starting mix.

Floro (1-0) picked up the win in Wednesday's victory over the Twins, striking out one in a perfect eighth inning.

The score was tied 1-1 when Floro entered the game, but the Marlins piled on four runs in the bottom of the frame. The right-hander has a win and a hold in his first two appearances this season, and while he's a key part of the team's high-leverage mix, A.J. Puk appears to be the favorite for saves for now.

Ottavino (0-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Brewers, failing to record an out and serving up a walkoff home run to Garrett Mitchell in the bottom of the ninth inning.

With the score tied 6-6, Ottavino battled Mitchell to a full count before the outfielder turned on a slider that caught too much of the plate and drove it over the right-field wall. Ottavino had worked two clean innings in his first two appearances of the season, picking up a hold with a 2:0 K:BB, and while David Robertson remains the favorite for saves in the Mets' bullpen, he's not the only arm in the late-inning mix. Ottavino has a combined 43 holds and 14 saves over the last two seasons, and he figures to contribute in both categories in 2023.

Williams (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to get credit for the win in a 7-6 victory over the Mets.

Seeing his first action since April 1 as he was afforded some extra rest due to a bicep bruise, Williams shut down New York on only nine pitches (five strikes), putting him in the right place to get the win when Garrett Mitchell launched a walkoff homer. After recording a career-high 15 saves last season with Josh Hader shipped to the Padres, Williams and his Airbender changeup figure to shatter than mark in 2023.

Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to Brewers.

With the score tied 6-6 on the road, Mets manager Buck Showalter elected to turn to Robertson in the eighth rather than hold him back for a possible save situation. The move backfired when Adam Ottavino served up a walkoff homer to Garrett Mitchell after taking over in the ninth, but it's an indication that Robertson might see more general high-leverage usage rather than being used exclusively for save chances. Even so, the 37-year-old does have the Mets' only save so far in 2023, and he remains the favorite to lead the team in that category in the absence of Edwin Diaz (knee).

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.