MLB Player News

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.

Alvarado earned the save in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Rockies, allowing a run on three hits and a walk while striking out three in the ninth inning.

Alvarado didn't make things easy in the ninth, allowing the first three batters to reach safely to start the frame. However, the left-hander would hold the Rockies to a lone run, logging consecutive strikeouts to strand the bases loaded. It's the first save of the year for Alvarado. He's expected to share closing duties with Jordan Romano, who was used in the eighth inning Thursday versus the top of Colorado's order. Alvarado logged 13 saves in 2024, pitching to a 4.09 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP and 63 strikeouts across 61.2 innings.

Walker (1-0) earned the win Thursday against the Rockies, allowing three hits and a walk over six shutout innings. He struck out four.

It was an excellent start to the year for Walker, who needed just 74 pitches to finish six innings. The veteran right-hander struggled to a 7.10 ERA in 83.2 innings last season, though he won the final spot in Philadelphia's opening-day rotation after Ranger Suarez (back) landed on the injured list. Walker certainly earned another turn after Thursday's outing -- he's currently lined up for a road matchup in Atlanta next week.

Birdsong threw two scoreless innings during Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Astros, allowing two hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Birdsong made his first appearance of 2025 and was the last member of the Opening Day roster to play this season. The right-handed reliever started the sixth frame and later got out of a two-out jam. He walked the first batter of the seventh inning before retiring the Astros' next three hitters, finishing with 26 pitches across two innings. Birdsong was neck-and-neck with Landen Roupp for the fifth-starter role in spring training before being moved to the bullpen. However, the Giants' early success has made it more difficult to utilize the 23-year-old Birdsong, who made 16 starts last season, registering a 4.75 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 88:43 K:BB over 72 innings.

Brazoban struck out one in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to record his first save of the season in Wednesday's extra-innings win over the Marlins.

The right-hander got the final two outs of the 11th inning on only seven pitches (five strikes) to collect the first save of his career. Mets closer Edwin Diaz has worked earlier in the game, as had top setup men A.J. Minter and Ryne Stanek, so Brazoban's usage doesn't suggest he's now a key high-leverage arm for New York. The 35-year-old has pitched well to begin the season, however -- through three appearances and five innings, Brazoban has a 0.00 ERA and 5:1 K:BB.

Faucher coughed up three runs on three hits in an inning of relief during Wednesday's extra-innings loss to the Mets.

The right-hander got the call in the eighth inning with the Marlins protecting a 4-1 lead, but Faucher served up a three-run blast to Pete Alonso to get charged with his first blown save of 2025. The usage alone suggests he's fallen behind Anthony Bender in the pecking order for closing duties, but the bullpen picture for Miami remains cloudy, especially with Jesus Tinoco (back) on the shelf. Over his first three appearances and three innings, Faucher has a 2:3 K:BB to go along with a 9.00 ERA.

Johnson gave up a hit and a walk over two-thirds of a scoreless inning to record his first hold of the season in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers. He struck out one.

Entering the game in the sixth inning to protect a 5-3 lead is a long way from the high-leverage usage Johnson was expected to see this season, but Atlanta was desperate to secure its first win of 2025. How the setup crew was deployed ended up being moot when closer Raisel Iglesias served up a walk-off homer to Shohei Ohtani. Johnson has been sharp in the early going, posting a 0.00 ERA and 4:1 K:BB through his first 2.2 innings, and once Atlanta gets off the shneid, holds should start to pile up for him.

Pan had Tommy John surgery in November and will miss the entire 2025 season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.

A 22-year-old righty whom the Phillies signed out of Taiwan in January of 2023, Pan only managed 63.2 innings in 2023 and 29.1 innings in 2024. He has big-time stuff when healthy, so there's a chance he could end up a high-leverage reliever if it doesn't work for him in the rotation. Pan had a 2.15 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 29.1 innings last year, primarily at High-A.

Thompson allowed two runs on two hits while striking out one over a third of an inning in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Thompson entered to start the ninth inning and close out a 4-0 lead, but he ran into early trouble and was removed after giving up a couple of singles. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo brought in one of his closers, the left-handed A.J. Puk, to face the mostly left-handed batters due up. The one righty in that string of batters, Anthony Volpe, took Puk deep for a three-run home run. Thompson was a reliable arm in a setup role for the Diamondbacks in 2024, primarily serving as a seventh- and eighth-inning bridge.