MLB Player News

Martinez earned the save after throwing a scoreless ninth inning on one hit Friday against the Nationals. He struck out one.

It was the first save of the season for Martinez, who is now up to 3.2 scoreless frames to open the campaign. The hard-throwing right-hander has split time between the eighth and ninth innings over his four appearances, so it appears manager Torey Lovullo prefers to mix and match his closers based on the matchups. The Arizona closing situation has been something close to an even split for ninth-inning work thus far, with A.J. Puk seeing similar usage to Martinez across his four appearances.

Romano picked up the save after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning Friday against the Dodgers. He struck out two.

After walking Mookie Betts and watching him steal second, Romano served up a two-run homer to Tommy Edman to allow Los Angeles to make it a one-run game. Romano later got a pinch-hitting Max Muncy to chase a high fastball, and J.T. Realmuto caught Chris Taylor stealing to end the game and help the right-hander escape from trouble. Romano seems to be behind Jose Alvarado for saves in the Philadelphia bullpen, and he's given up four runs in four innings to begin the season.

Pressly secured the save in Friday's 3-1 win against the Padres, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Pressly labored through the ninth frame, throwing only 17 of his 33 pitches for strikes, but he managed to escape with his third save in as many chances. While he's ultimately done his job so far, the 36-year-old owns an unimpressive 5.40 ERA, 2.60 WHIP and 2:5 K:BB through five innings in 2025.

Tinoco (back) threw a bullpen session Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

A back strain sent Tinoco to the injured list Sunday, but he is now back to throwing off a mound just a few days later. His progress is a good sign that he may be able to return when eligible April 12, though the Marlins haven't committed to that date just yet.

The Nationals could start Lord against the Diamondbacks on Sunday if he's not needed out of the bullpen Friday or Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The right-hander made Washington's Opening Day roster and has given up two runs (one earned) in three relief appearances, but he could be called upon to start with Michael Soroka (biceps) landing on the injured list Friday. Lord split most of last season between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and he finished 2024 with a 2.43 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 135:49 K:BB across 129.2 innings.

Assad (oblique) will throw two innings in an extended spring training game Friday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

He's expected to make an additional appearance in extended spring training after that before heading out on a formal rehab assignment. That would seem to point to Assad being at least a couple weeks away from rejoining the Cubs. Ben Brown is currently holding down the No. 5 spot in Chicago's rotation.

Alexander will be the Brewers' starting pitcher in Friday's game against the Reds, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Alexander's most recent of two relief appearances this season came Sunday, when he threw 47 pitches over 2.1 innings. While it won't be a traditional opener assignment, he will not be handling a full starter's workload Friday.

Nelson allowed one hit while striking out two over 2.1 scoreless innings in Thursday's 9-7 loss to the Yankees.

Nelson gave Arizona some length after the Yankees battered starter Merrill Kelly for nine runs in 3.2 innings. The long reliever was able to keep New York in check and dropped his ERA from 21.60 to 9.00. Nelson had a rough first appearance Opening Day (four runs, 1.2 innings) and sat on that for a week before Thursday's ERA correction. The right-hander was a key member of the Diamondbacks' rotation in 2024 and remains capable of being stretched out if needed as a starter.

Phillips (shoulder) allowed a run on a hit and a walk over one inning while striking out one batter in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Phillips kicked off a minor-league rehab stint after being slow-played during spring training as he rehabs from a torn muscle in his rotator cuff. The righty reliever reached 94 mph on the radar gun with his fastball Thursday and completed one inning of work. It's not yet clear how long Phillips will spend with Oklahoma City, but he could be ready to make his regular-season debut with the big club in mid-to-late April.

Payamps picked up the save after throwing a clean ninth inning Thursday against the Reds. He struck out one.

With closer Trevor Megill having worked each of the past two days, Payamps got the call to preserve a narrow 1-0 lead in the ninth inning and made quick work of Cincinnati on just 11 pitches (nine strikes). It was the first save of the year for Payamps, who got back on track Thursday after yielding five runs in his first three frames of the campaign. The right-hander is likely to remain a setup man for the Brewers throughout 2025, but he appears to be the next man up for ninth-inning work on occasions when Megill is unavailable.