MLB Player News

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.

Gallegos struck out two and allowed one hit in a scoreless inning during Tuesday's 4-1 loss to Atlanta.

Gallegos' season debut was delayed by a mild back injury that kept him from pitching against the Blue Jays in the opening series. He looked solid in his debut, throwing 10 of his 14 pitches for strikes in the ninth inning. He dialed up four swinging strikes during his debut. Gallegos should be in the mix for high-leverage work, potentially even earning some matchup-based save chances if Ryan Helsley is deployed in key situations earlier than the ninth inning going forward.

Jameson picked up the save Tuesday against San Diego. He allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over two innings.

He lost the battle for the final rotation spot to Ryne Nelson, but Jameson is having a great opening week regardless as he grabbed his first win of 2023 on Friday and now has his first career save to go with it. The back end of the Arizona bullpen has been shaky early on and Jameson, a top 10 prospect in the organization, could quickly emerge as a go-to option in high leverage. He could also stretch back out into a starter's role at some point.

Minter picked up the save with a scoreless ninth inning to close out Tuesday's 4-1 victory over St. Louis. He had one strikeout and didn't allow a baserunner.

Minter needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order and secure his first save of the season. The left-hander is coming off a dominant 2022 campaign during which he had a 2.06 ERA and 94:15 K:BB across 70 innings, and he should continue to operate as Atlanta's fill-in closer until Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) is able to return from the injured list.