MLB Player News

Martin (elbow) threw 35 pitches in the bullpen Saturday, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Martin is tentatively scheduled for a rehab game Wednesday and could rejoin the Red Sox next weekend. The right-hander has been out since July 4 due to elbow inflammation.

Yates gave up two hits and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday to record his 20th save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Red Sox.

It's the first time since April 21 that Yates has worked more than one inning to notch a save, but the veteran right-hander hasn't seemed to care how many outs he needs to get the job done. He has yet to blow a save in 2024, and after four injury-plagued years he's managed to re-discover the form that saw him lead the majors with 41 saves in 2019 while earning NL Cy Young Award votes. Yates' 1.13 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 35.5 percent strikeout rate this season are also comparable to his 1.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 41.6 percent K rate from 2019.

Atlanta optioned Lee to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

The left-hander has been an effective bullpen piece for Atlanta this season with a 2.06 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 47:14 K:BB across 43.2 innings, but he'll be the odd man out Sunday to create roster space for the return of Max Fried (forearm), who was activated from the injured list ahead of his start Sunday against the Marlins. It should only be a matter of time before Lee is back in the big leagues.

Bednar recorded his 20th save of the season in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks, giving up one run on two hits and one walk over one inning. He struck out two.

Entrusted with a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning, Bednar fanned the first two batters he faced before a Geraldo Perdomo double kicked off an Arizona rally that saw Alek Thomas come to the plate as the potential winning run, only to fly out. Bednar has been charged with a run in five of his last 10 appearances, but he's still converted all seven of his save chances during that stretch -- in fact, the right-hander hasn't blown a save since April 9.

Bigge will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Sunday's game in Houston, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After being acquired from the Cubs last Sunday as part of the three-player deal that sent Isaac Paredes to Chicago, Bigge was added to the Rays' 26-man active roster two days later. He's already turned in a pair of scoreless frames for Tampa Bay and has now given up just one earned run while striking out seven over his first 5.1 big-league innings, and he was dominant at the Triple-A level before that, accruing an 0.68 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB in 13.1 innings for the Cubs' affiliate in Iowa. Sunday will mark Bigge's first career start, but he's unlikely to cover more than inning or two before turning to game over to lefty Tyler Alexander, who is expected to operate as a bulk reliever.

Pagan (lat) struck out one over one scoreless inning in his rehab appearance for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.

Pagan kicked off a rehab assignment Saturday and is expected to make three to five more appearances in the minors before being activated. He landed on the 15-day injured list in June then was transferred to the 60-day IL a few weeks later. Pagan is eligible to be activated Aug. 8.

Foley (3-3) allowed two unearned runs on one hit across two innings of relief to earn the win in extra innings Saturday against the Royals. He struck out one.

Foley didn't enter the contest until the top of the 10th inning, when he allowed the automatic runner on second base to score following a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly. He allowed the automatic runner to score again in the 11th, but the Tigers scored twice in the bottom half to give the righty the win. Foley has ceded some ninth-inning work to other relievers, though he's still clearly trusted in high-leverage spots and remains the team's top closer. He leads the Tigers by a wide margin with 15 saves this season.

Sewald walked one and struck out one over a scoreless inning in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh.

Sewald made his first appearance since manager Torey Lovullo removed him from the closer's role. He did a slightly better job of finding the strike zone -- eight of 15 pitches for strikes -- after throwing just nine strikes over 24 offerings Wednesday. It was that appearance which triggered the decision to strip him of the title as Arizona's closer. As Lovullo explained it, Sewald had a mechanical issue that impacted his ability to throw strikes, which suggests he could regain ninth-inning duties if he's able to correct the problem.

McArthur (4-5) blew the save and took the loss Saturday, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning in a 6-5 extra-innings loss to the Tigers.

The Kansas City bullpen had a disastrous day, as Hunter Harvey and Kris Bubic blew leads in the ninth and 10th innings, respectively, before McArthur finished the job by surrendering a walk-off single to Wenceel Perez in the bottom of the 11th. The big takeaway was manager Matt Quatraro's reluctance to use McArthur in a save situation, and with good reason -- since the beginning of July, the right-hander has an 8.71 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 5:2 K:BB in 10.1 innings, and he's blown two of his last three save opportunities including Saturday. Harvey's usage in the ninth could mark him as the next man up to get a chance to close for the Royals, but Lucas Erceg might also be in the mix after he picked up a hold with a perfect eighth inning. McArthur hasn't officially been removed from the role, but his job security seems to be hanging by a thread.

Neris (8-4) allowed one run on one hit across an inning of work to take the loss Saturday against the Cardinals.

Tasked with keeping the game 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning, Neris allowed a leadoff triple to Tommy Pham followed by a sacrifice fly to quickly give St. Louis the lead. For Neris, it was just the second time he's allowed a run over his last 14 appearances, and he has a 1.35 ERA during that span. The veteran's recent strong play should keep him locked in as Chicago's regular closer despite Saturday's hiccup in a non-save situation.