MLB Player News

The Nationals recalled Bird from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Bird will join the Washington bullpen as a replacement for left-hander Carson Palmquist, who was optioned to Triple-A following Saturday's 8-2 win. The Nationals are treating Sunday's series finale as a bullpen game, so Bird could be called upon to cover an inning or two once opening pitcher Brad Lord exits the contest. Acquired from the Yankees on Monday in a five-player trade, Bird will be making his Nationals debut when he gets into a game.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that Martinez (elbow) will shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Reno during the upcoming week, MLB.com reports.

Martinez made the first two appearances of his rehab assignment with Single-A Visalia on Tuesday and Friday, striking out three batters over two no-hit innings between the outings. The right-hander will likely continue his rehab assignment for at least one more week, but if he continues to excel during his time at Reno, he could step into a prominent role in the Arizona bullpen upon his return from the 60-day injured list. Arizona is currently taking a committee approach to the closer position after Paul Sewald was removed from the role in late July.

Miller earned a save against Houston on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one batter over one inning.

Miller had a two-run lead to work with when he entered in the ninth inning, and he quickly brought the tying run to the plate when he hit the first batter of the frame (Christian Walker). The All-Star closer moved Walker to second with a wild pitch and surrendered a two-out RBI single to Yandy Diaz but retired LaMonte Wade on a groundout to finish off the save. The earned run Miller gave up ended a 12-outing scoreless stretch and is just his fifth allowed run of the campaign through 49.1 frames, resulting in a sterling 0.91 ERA. He's converted 29 of 30 save opportunities and has registered a dominant 91:16 K:BB.

Dreyer allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Dreyer's first save conversion of the year, and it came after the Dodgers reclaimed the lead following closer Edwin Diaz's second blown save in as many days. Over his last 20 games, Dreyer has covered 17 innings while allowing just three runs with a 22:7 K:BB. He's been steady with a 2.87 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 54:13 K:BB through 47 innings this season, adding seven holds and two blown saves while not seeing a lot of high-leverage usage. The left-handed Dreyer may continue to be used as a matchup specialist, but there's at least a hint of uncertainty in the bullpen hierarchy given Diaz's struggles since returning from an elbow injury.

Diaz (2-1) allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over one inning to take a blown save while earning the win in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks.

Diaz was able to keep the ball in the yard this time, but he allowed back-to-back triples to Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll to yield the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dodgers retook the lead in the 10th, and Jack Dreyer converted the save to give Diaz the win. At this point, it's getting tough to have any confidence in Diaz -- he's blown consecutive save chances and has been scored upon in four of five outings since returning from elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts hasn't given any indication of a change to the closer role yet, but it's safe to assume Diaz won't be asked to pitch a third straight day should a save chance arise Sunday.

Romano allowed one run on two hits while striking out one batter over one inning against the Cardinals on Saturday to notch a save.

Romano got the call from the bullpen in the ninth inning with the Rockies up three runs. He needed the cushion, as the veteran reliever allowed a pair of singles to give up a run. However, Romano was able to strike out Cesar Prieto to finish off the save. Though it wasn't smooth, Romano's ability to convert the save should be a sigh of relief for his fantasy managers after he blew a save opportunity in his last appearance Aug. 4 versus Tampa Bay. He appears to have a pretty firm grasp on Colorado's closer role, converting six of seven save chances since joining the big-league roster July 4.

Alvarado was charged with a blown save Saturday against Toronto, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. He struck out one.

With the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning, Alvarado was unable to bridge the gap to the ninth frame ahead of closer Jhoan Duran on Saturday. It's been a major struggle for the left-hander as a setup man in 2026, as he's worked to a 5.77 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 56:19 K:BB with 10 holds over 43.2 innings.

Megill secured the save against the Twins on Saturday, throwing a clean ninth inning with no strikeouts.

Megill nearly retired the side on a minimal workload, needing a mere four pitches to record the game's final three outs. The hard-throwing right-hander has cemented himself as Milwaukee's closer, last blowing a save June 5 in Colorado. Through 44.1 innings, Megill sports a 2.64 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 51:11 K:BB with 21 saves in 23 attempts.

Lord will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher Sunday in a bullpen game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Lord made his return from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and tossed a scoreless inning of relief later that day against the Phillies, but he'll now be called upon to make his second start of the season. Washington has a permanent opening in its rotation after recently designating Zack Littell for assignment, but it's unclear if Lord will be gradually built up for a starting role or if the Nationals will turn to a Triple-A starter such as Luis Perales or Jackson Kent to fill the void. At least for Sunday's contest, expect Lord to be operating with a restricted workload after having not worked longer than three innings in any of his 28 appearances on the season.

The Rockies reinstated Castano (pectoral) from the injured list Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Castano has been on the injured list since late June due to a pectoral strain. He began playing in rehab games last Saturday and has since allowed four runs on four hits and two walks over 2.1 innings. Now fully healthy, the 27-year-old will remain in Triple-A for the time being but could return to the majors later in the year as bullpen depth.