MLB Player News

The Padres optioned Jacob to Triple-A El Paso on Friday.

He's clearing out to make room on the roster for Matt Waldron (lower body), who will start Friday's game versus the Angels after being activated from the injured list. Jacob had just been recalled earlier this week and turned in a scoreless outing in his lone appearance out of the bullpen.

The Cubs placed Palencia on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left oblique strain.

It's unclear when Palencia -- who hasn't pitched since Sunday -- was hurt, but the injury will knock him out at least for the next couple weeks and likely longer. The Cubs are also currently without Hunter Harvey (triceps) and Phil Maton (knee), so their late-inning bullpen depth is thin. Caleb Thielbar could be the next man up for saves, with Ben Brown also an option.

Morejon secured a hold Thursday, working 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts in a 5-2 win over the Mariners.

Morejon has had a bumpy start to the season after his All-Star campaign in 2025, when he pitched in 75 games and had career-best marks in ERA (2.08) and WHIP (0.90). The southpaw came into the season as the set-up guy for dominant closer Mason Miller and has three holds in eight appearances so far, but Morejon allowed at least one run in four of his first six outings. San Diego seems to still have faith in him, however, given he's been used in high-leverage situations each of his past two games.

Ramirez allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two in the seventh inning of Thursday's 8-7 extra-inning loss to Washington.

Ramirez was charged with a blown save, allowing the go-ahead run at the time due to a wild pitch to give the Nationals a 7-6 lead. The 30-year-old has appeared in nine games for Pittsburgh, recording a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings. The right-hander has posted at least two strikeouts in seven of his nine relief outings, working more than one inning five times and picking up two wins and a hold.

The Pirates recalled Sanders from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

It's unclear at this time what the corresponding roster move will be. Sanders has yielded two runs with an 11:7 K:BB over six frames with Indianapolis. The 29-year-old got a cup of coffee with the Pirates last season, allowing six runs with a 4:5 K:BB in 6.2 innings.

Mejia didn't factor in the decision Thursday against the Astros, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two in two-thirds of an inning.

Working as the opener ahead of Chase Dollander, Mejia couldn't even get out of the first inning after allowing RBI singles to Yordan Alvarez and Joey Loperfido. Mejia opened April with three consecutive scoreless outings, but the wheels have fallen off lately as he's allowed five runs across 2.0 innings over his last three appearances. On the season, Mejia's ERA has ballooned to 7.00 with a 2.00 WHIP over eight appearances and nine innings.

Vodnik secured his second save of the season Thursday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the Astros and allowing one walk with zero hits or strikeouts.

The right-hander has converted his last two save chances, but perhaps more importantly, he's now on a roll of six straight outings in which he hasn't allowed an earned run. Vodnik isn't overpowering hitters, as he owns a 4:4 K:BB in 7.0 innings during his scoreless streak, but he's getting the job done. Should he stumble in the closing role, Jimmy Herget or Jaden Hill could be the next men up in the ninth inning.

Miller pitched a scoreless inning and struck out the side Thursday against the Mariners to earn his sixth save of the season.

Miller has yet to allow a run this season, and dating back to the 2025 campaign, he's now thrown 30.2 consecutive scoreless innings, sitting three shy of Cia Meredith's franchise record. The right-hander's allowed just one hit in 9.1 innings in 2026 and has struck out 10 of the last 12 batters he's faced. Miller's last blown save came Aug. 5 of last season, when he worked the eighth inning in front of Robert Suarez. His last blown ninth-inning chance came on June 19, while he was still with the A's.

Zerpa earned the save Thursday against the Blue Jays, allowing one hit over a scoreless ninth inning.

Zerpa entered the ninth with a one-run lead and had to navigate around a leadoff single to Vladimir Guerrero, but he settled in to secure his second save of the season. Despite the clean inning, the southpaw's overall numbers remain inflated from a rough outing last week in which he allowed four runs, leaving him with a 5.40 ERA across 10 innings.

Ribalta earned the save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless 10th inning.

The right-hander worked around the automatic runner as well as a leadoff single, striking out Bryan Reynolds and then inducing a game-ending double play from Jake Mangum. Despite the admirable performance, Ribalta was the sixth pitcher to come out of the bullpen, and the Nationals didn't have many other options in the 10th. Still, the 28-year-old has quality stuff with a mid-90s fastball and a changeup that produced a 40.4 percent whiff rate in 2025, and if he continues to improve his control he could emerge as a high-leverage option. After walking 21 batters in 33.1 innings across three levels last year, Ribalta has issued only one free pass in 7.1 innings between Triple-A and the majors to begin 2026.