MLB Player News

Kay is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Jordan Leasure in Thursday's home game against the Rays.

The White Sox have made liberal use of openers through their first 19 games, using Grant Taylor in that capacity on four occasions and now Leasure in what will be his second career start and first of 2026. The arrangement should prove to be a favorable one for Kay, who will have a better chance at qualifying for a win as a bulk reliever than as a starter and will likely enter the game facing the bottom half of the Tampa Bay lineup. Through his first three outings (two starts) of the season, Kay has gone 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11:8 K:BB in 14.2 innings.

Mejia is listed as the Rockies' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Astros.

The 25-year-old righty will be making his first MLB start Thursday, but because he hasn't covered more than two innings in any of his appearances during the regular season or spring training, he's unlikely to work more than once through the batting order before exiting the game. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer confirmed that Chase Dollander will work in bulk relief behind Mejia on Thursday, per Eli Whitney of BlakeStreetBanter.com.

Latz retired all three batters faced in a scoreless eighth inning of Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Latz didn't allow a hit or run for the sixth time in eight appearances. Batters were 0-for-29 against him to start the season before Max Muncy took him deep April 10, and they're just 3-for-35 overall off the left-hander. Latz competed for a rotation spot during spring training but struggled, giving up 14 earned runs over 15.2 innings, and eventually began 2026 in the bullpen. He's not yet part of the group that's been given save opportunities, but Latz has emerged as a trusted late-inning arm for manager Skip Schumaker.

Hader (biceps) threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday and said afterward that it was akin to his first live BP of spring training, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McTaggart notes Hader was sitting 91-to-93 mph with his fastball during the live session, and he says given Hader's quotes about where he is in his recovery the southpaw is "perhaps about a month away from returning, without any setbacks." Hader, who is working his way back slowly from a bout of left biceps tendinitis, added, "I'm feeling good, feeling strong. I got through it throwing relatively hard and commanded the baseball in the zone, commanded the slider, getting good whiffs on it. Ideally, that's what you want." Meanwhile, Bryan Abreu has struggled in the ninth inning for the Astros this season, opening the door for Enyel De Los Santos to earn a couple saves in recent days.

De Los Santos earned the save with a perfect ninth inning in a 3-1 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday. He struck out two.

The 30-year-old right-hander has now earned saves on consecutive days for Houston, career saves No. 4 and 5, as De Los Santos appears to be entering the closer mix in the absence of Josh Hader (biceps) and in light of Bryan Abreu's struggles this season. Abreu pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday's victory, setting up the save chance for De Los Santos after Bryan King did as much Tuesday. De Los Santos' fastball velocity is down a couple ticks to around 94 mph this season, but it seems to be by design since he's cut his walk rate by more than half in the early going, an improvement that has helped fuel a 1.35 ERA and 0.75 WHIP through six appearances and 6.2 innings so far in 2026.

Imanaga (1-1) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out 11 over six innings in Wednesday's victory over the Phillies.

Imanaga gave up a leadoff homer to Trea Turner on just the second pitch of the game, but he was nearly untouchable the rest of the way. The left-hander settled in and went on to record multiple strikeouts in five separate innings, overpowering Philadelphia's lineup. His 11 punchouts tied a career high, and he generated an eye-popping 26 whiffs in one of the most dominant starts of his career. Imanaga has looked absolutely fantastic over his last two outings, striking out 20 while allowing just one run across 12 innings. Chicago's ace is slated to face Philadelphia again in his next start, this time back at Wrigley Field.

Holmes (2-2) allowed two runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batsman while striking out four over five innings, taking the loss Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

Hyeseong Kim clubbed a two-run home run off Holmes in the second inning, and the Mets weren't able to even the score while the right-hander was in the game. Holmes threw 63 of 88 pitches for strikes and appeared to have no lingering concerns after leaving his last start due to a tight left hamstring. The 33-year-old has maintained a 1.96 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB over 23 innings across four starts this season. He had moderate trouble with walks last year and will need to keep that in check to avoid having his ratios blow up. Holmes is projected to next take the mound at home versus the Twins.

Vasquez allowed four runs on five hits and four walks while striking out six over four innings in a no-decision Wednesday versus the Mariners.

Vasquez hadn't allowed more than a single run in any of his first three starts, but the Mariners got to him early Wednesday. Dominic Canzone hit a two-run double in the second inning and Brendan Donovan added a two-run single in the fourth. This was an inefficient showing for Vasquez, who threw just 45 of 85 pitches for strikes. Even with the shaky work in this outing, he's at a 2.49 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 25:8 K:BB across 21.2 innings through his first four outings this year. He's tentatively lined up to make his next start at Colorado.

Kuhnel struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers.

The right-hander got the call in the eighth inning after Mark Leiter gave up a three-run home run to Jake Burger to make it a one-run game. This was Kuhnel's third save of the season, good for the team lead over Leiter. There has been a stark difference in their performances: Kuhnel has tossed 4.2 scoreless innings so far, while Leiter has a 9.00 ERA through eight frames. The 31-year-old Kuhnel has added a 3:0 K:BB and has given up just one hit. The Athletics' bullpen is functioning as a committee currently, but Kuhnel looks to be a slight favorite for saves as long as he continues to pitch well. Hogan Harris and Scott Barlow are also in the mix for late-inning work.

Cleavinger (calf) is scheduled to face hitters in live batting practice Thursday, per MLB.com.

The left-hander is working his way back from right calf tightness, and the expectation is that he'll be able to rejoin Tampa Bay's bullpen at some point in mid-to-late April. Cleavinger has given up two runs on three hits and four walks over 2.1 innings to begin the year, so it's possible the Rays will ease him back into the high-leverage mix once he's cleared to return.