MLB Player News

Alexander is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Rockies in Denver.

Alexander made his first two appearances of the season out of the Milwaukee bullpen but was needed for a start last week in the wake of Aaron Civale's (hamstring) move to the injured list. The Brewers have since placed Nestor Cortes (elbow) on the IL and have acquired Quinn Priester to address their dwindling starting depth, but Alexander looks like he'll be sticking in the rotation for now over Elvin Rodriguez, who will presumably head to the bullpen this week after yielding 11 earned runs in nine innings over his two starts. Alexander earned a second turn through the rotation after striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings last Friday in a win over the Reds, but he'll get a tougher draw Wednesday while pitching at altitude in hitter-friendly Coors Field.

The Cubs recalled Roberts from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

He'll be joining the big club as a replacement on the 26-man active roster for left-hander Justin Steele (elbow), who was placed on the 15-day injured list. Roberts will likely work in middle relief for Chicago after getting off to a strong start to the season at Iowa, with whom he struck out seven batters while walking none over three scoreless innings between his two appearances.

Pagan worked a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Giants.

The veteran righty needed only seven pitches (six strikes) to get the job done. Pagan hasn't been a full-time closer since 2019, when he collected 20 saves for the Rays. but he's getting a chance to handle that job while Alexis Diaz (hamstring) gets healthy and tries to get his mechanics back in sync. Through his first five appearances this season, Pagan has a 0.00 ERA and 3:1 K:BB and has allowed only one hit. Tony Santillan, who recorded the final out of Monday's combined shutout after Hunter Greene fired 8.2 innings, has the only other save so far in 2025 for Cincinnati.

Martinez struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Orioles.

A.J. Puk collected the hold in the eighth before turning things over to Martinez, who plunked Tyler O'Neill with a pitch but was otherwise untouchable. Martinez has a 0.00 ERA and 7:0 K:BB through 4.2 innings while sharing closing duties with Puk.

Puk allowed one hit and struck out one over one inning to earn a hold in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Orioles.

Puk worked around a hit and a stolen base to record his second hold of the season. He entered the eighth inning with two lefties due up and served as the bridge to Justin Martinez, who recorded the save. It was the second straight save situation where Puk worked the eighth and Martinez the ninth. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo still hasn't named a closer and appears to be calling on the lefty Puk or righty Martinez depending on the matchups.

Maton picked up a two-out save in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Pirates, allowing a hit and striking out a batter in a scoreless appearance.

Ryan Helsley threw 37 pitches Sunday in a blown save attempt, so Maton was called upon to shut the door after JoJo Romero let the Pirates back in it with two runs in the ninth. Maton allowed an RBI double to Joey Bart to make it a two-run game and bring the tying run up to the plate, but he was able to retire Tommy Pham for the win. Maton has now tossed 5.1 scoreless innings with a 7:1 K:BB while picking up his sixth career save in the early going this year.

Peralta struck out one batter in a perfect inning against the Athletics on Tuesday.

Peralta needed just nine pitches to set the A's down in order, and eight of those offerings were strikes. The veteran lefty has yet to give up a run over 6.1 innings this season, and he's yielded just one hit while posting a 4:1 K:BB. Peralta has entered in the seventh inning or later in each of his seven appearances, and while he has just one hold to date, he's also recorded a pair of wins. Robert Suarez has a stranglehold on the Padres' closer role, but Peralta could have some utility in fantasy leagues that count holds if he continues to pitch well and receive late-game opportunities.

Birdsong threw three scoreless innings during Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Reds, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two.

Birdsong threw 25 of his 39 pitches for strikes during his third appearance of the season. The 23-year-old gave up a double to begin the ninth frame, but he kept his composure and retired Cincinnati's next three hitters. Manager Bob Melvin said postgame, "The velocity's been there out of the bullpen as well, all his pitches working -- he just looks like he's really confident," according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Birdsong has recorded a 0.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 6:3 K:BB over seven innings so far this season.

Hodge (1-0) blew the save but picked up the win Tuesday against Texas, giving up one run on two hits and no walks while striking out three in 1.1 innings.

Working with a 6-5 lead, Hodge fanned Wyatt Langford in the seventh inning but blew the save after a Josh Jung triple scored a game-tying run in the eighth frame. The Cubs then scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to get Hodge off the hook, and Ryan Pressly worked around two singles to put the game away in the ninth frame. Although Pressly has converted each of his three save chances to open the year, he's allowed six walks and 11 hits over seven innings. However, Hodge has also been shaky, having failed to convert both of his save opportunities and logging a 1.43 WHIP across his seven frames of work.

Matsui allowed one run on two hits with a strikeout in an inning Tuesday against Athletics. He has a 1.80 ERA with nine strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Matsui is working in middle relief but could be used in higher-leverage roles if he can continue his high strikeout totals and limit his walks. After striking out 12 batters per nine innings during his 10-year career in Japan, Matsui's K rate dipped after moving to the States. His 26.8 percent strikeout rate during the regular season last year was still above league average, but Matsui's 10.5 percent walk rate likely prevented possible ascension to higher-leverage work.