MLB Player News

The Nationals optioned Salazar to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Salazar will give up his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Michael Soroka (biceps), who was reinstated from the injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Guardians. After securing his spot on the Opening Day roster coming out of spring training, Salazar collected two holds and allowed one earned run over six innings in his first six appearances of the season, but he's since tumbled down the bullpen hierarchy. He's given up runs in all but two of his subsequent 11 appearances and now holds a 9.77 ERA on the season.

Megill earned the save against the Astros on Tuesday, tossing a perfect ninth inning while picking up a strikeout.

Megill retired the side on just six pitches while ending with a three-pitch strikeout on Brendan Rodgers. Tuesday was his first time throwing a full inning without allowing a baserunner since April 1. He's allowed one run over his last seven appearances while converting all three of his save opportunities over that span.

Vargas allowed two hits and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Athletics.

The Mariners likely wanted to avoid turning to regular closer Andres Munoz after his 28-pitch outing Monday. Vargas had 34 pitches in Monday's game, but he had not pitched for five days before that appearance, and he was able to get the job done. Vargas has a 2.60 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB over 17.1 innings this season. He's not an established reliever in the majors yet, but the Mariners have given him some high-leverage looks. Vargas has earned four holds, a 1-1 record and a blown save over 13 appearances, though he's not a serious threat to Munoz's status as the closer.

Urena allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Tuesday.

Urena did fine, throwing 52 of 74 pitches for strikes in his Blue Jays debut. The right-hander has starting experience but has rarely been able to maintain a full-time gig in any team's rotation. He's allowed seven runs with a 5:2 K:BB over 7.1 innings between the Mets and the Blue Jays this season. Should Urena stick in the rotation for another start, he is tentatively scheduled for a road outing in Seattle this weekend.

Jansen was unavailable for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays due to an illness, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Jansen hasn't pitched since he collected his seventh save of the season Saturday. Manager Ron Washington said after Tuesday's game that the veteran reliever should be available out of the bullpen in Wednesday's contest, though that will ultimately depend on how the right-hander is feeling. Jansen owns a 5.79 ERA and 1.39 WHIP through 9.1 innings on the season, though all the runs scored against him came during a six-run barrage from the Tigers on Friday.

Iglesias (2-2) got the win Tuesday after tossing a perfect inning while striking out two against the Reds.

Iglesias was tasked with stranding the ghost runner in the 10th and did so with ease, retiring the side on just seven pitches. Atlanta went on to walk it off in the bottom of the frame, leaving Iglesias victorious. He's now posted four consecutive scoreless outings with an 8:0 K:BB over that span but sits tied for 15th with six saves thus far.

Finnegan recorded his 12th save of the season in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Guardians, giving up a run on two hits in the ninth inning without a walk or a strikeout.

There was drama right to the end of the matinee in a 10-9 win for the Nationals, as Finnegan gave up back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly before getting Brayan Rocchio to line out to left field to end the contest. It's only the fourth time in 15 appearances that Finnegan has been tagged for a run, and through 14.2 innings he sports a 3.07 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB while converting 12 of 14 save chances.

Pressly (2-2) was the pitcher of record in Tuesday's 14-5 loss to the Giants in 11 innings after allowing nine runs (eight earned) on five hits and one walk without recording an out.

Pressly was brought in for the 11th inning with the game tied 5-5, but things fell off the rails for the veteran closer. He was pummeled for four singles and one double and also put runners on base with a walk and a hit by pitch before he was mercifully lifted from the contest in favor of Caleb Thielbar, who recorded all three outs in the inning. Pressly didn't give up an earned run in any of his previous 10 outings, but after Tuesday's brutal appearance, his ERA rose from 2.08 to 7.62 and his WHIP increased from 1.46 to 1.92. Pressly's rough showing could also prompt manager Craig Counsell to go with Porter Hodge the next time a save situation arises.

Triple-A Columbus placed Bolton on its 7-day injured list Thursday due to an unspecified injury.

The Guardians optioned Bolton to Triple-A on April 29, but he never made an appearance for Columbus before being shut down with the unspecified injury. The reliever faces an uncertain timeline for a return to action.

Graceffo secured the save in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Pirates after throwing a clean ninth inning with no strikeouts.

With closer Ryan Helsley having worked three of the past four days for the Cardinals, it was Graceffo who notched his first save of the season to protect Tuesday's victory. The right-hander has a 6.30 ERA over four appearances (10 innings) this season, but he does sport a 1.29 ERA and 5:0 K:BB across his last seven innings of work. It's also worth noting setup man Phil Maton pitched in each of St. Louis' last two outings, so Graceffo will likely be hard-pressed to find save opportunities in the future.