MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Phillips (personal) will rejoin the team in Pittsburgh in advance of the team's three-game series with the Pirates, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Phillips was placed on the paternity list Thursday and has already spent the maximum three games away from the Dodgers. The right-hander should return to a high-leverage role and handle the bulk of the available save chances once he's formally reinstated from the paternity list.

Padres manager Bob Melvin confirmed prior to Saturday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks that Martinez will shift to the bullpen following Joe Musgrove's (toe/shoulder) return from the 15-day injured list, Bill Center of MLB.com reports. "We'll have Nick ready in the bullpen pretty quick, too. The very earliest is [Sunday]," Melvin said.

Even though Martinez lowered his ERA and WHIP to 4.01 and 1.22, respectively, after tossing seven scoreless frames and allowing just five baserunners in a win over Atlanta on Wednesday, the return of Musgrove means that the Friars won't have room in the rotation for Martinez or Ryan Weathers, who had also excelled through his first three starts of the campaign. While it's possible the Padres expand their rotation back to six men at some point and look to Martinez to fill the opening, the team will get by with a five-man setup for now with two off days on tap during the upcoming week. Martinez brought some value in a relief role in 2022 -- he accrued a 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 15.6 K-BB% while notching eight saves in 54 innings -- but most of those save chances came when the Padres' bullpen situation was more fluid and/or while Josh Hader battled command issues. Hader has righted the ship thus far in 2023 and has re-emerged as one of the game's elite closers, so Martinez doesn't look like he'll offer much more than ratio stabilization in his impending return to the bullpen.

Weathers recorded his first hold of the season after striking out one and allowing one hit over a scoreless seventh inning out of the bullpen in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

With Joe Musgrove (toe/shoulder) returning from the 15-day injured list and working five innings in his season debut, Weathers moved into a relief role despite turning in a 2.81 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over his first three starts of the campaign. Though the southpaw is just 23 years old and would be deserving of a spot in nearly any other team's rotation, Weathers will have to settle for bullpen work while the Padres have all of their key starters at full strength. Due to a pair of off days during the upcoming week, the Friars will move from a six-man rotation to a five-man setup, so Nick Martinez is also in line to join Weathers in the bullpen.

Vest tossed two scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts in Saturday's loss to the Orioles.

Vest was recalled from Triple-A Toledo earlier in the day and immediately looked comfortable in the MLB bullpen. The righty posted a 4.00 ERA with a 63:22 K:BB over 63 innings last season for the Tigers, so it was a bit of a surprise that he didn't make the Opening Day roster despite some struggles in spring training. He could stick around now, however, with Detroit lacking in established bullpen options.

Tate (forearm) said Sunday that he'll need to make 5-to-6 minor-league rehab appearances before he's able to return from the 15-day injured list, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports.

Tate is set to begin his rehab assignment Tuesday with Single-A Aberdeen. In addition to making five or six appearances before being activated, Tate added that he'll need to pitch on consecutive days for the Orioles to feel comfortable about his availability out of the big-league bullpen. He should have a chance to return from the IL in early May if he experiences no setbacks in his recovery from a right flexor strain.

Sborz allowed one run on one hit and struck out four over two innings in Saturday's 18-3 win over the Athletics.

He was also part of a rarity, getting an at-bat against a position player -- he struck out looking against Oakland third baseman Jace Peterson. If it's a blowout, Sborz is likely to make an appearance. He entered Saturday with Texas leading by 14. Since coming off the injured list April 14, the right-hander has made four appearances, all in mop-up situations with the Rangers winning or losing by a significant margin.

The Phillies recalled Marte from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Marte will provide the Phillies with a fresh arm out of the bullpen for Sunday's series finale with the Rockies while Cristopher Sanchez returns to Lehigh Valley after making a spot start for Philadelphia in Saturday's 4-3 loss. Over 41 career appearances in the big leagues, the 28-year-old Marte owns a 6.43 ERA and 1.59 WHIP across 49 frames.

The Twins optioned Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

After starter Kenta Maeda lasted just two innings in Friday's 3-2 loss to Washington in the series opener while battling an ankle injury, the Twins summoned Woods Richardson from Triple-A on Saturday to give a fresh arm to an overtaxed bullpen. The 22-year-old right-hander ended up serving as an innings eater in relief in the Twins' 10-4 loss Saturday, covering 4.2 frames and striking out five but giving up five earned runs on seven hits and three walks. Woods Richardson will head back to St. Paul a day later with the Twins needing to open up a roster spot for Sunday's starter, Bailey Ober, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Nelson allowed one hit and struck out two over one scoreless inning in Saturday's 5-3 loss to San Diego.

Nelson was charged with a blown save, but he was presented with the challenge of getting out of starter Merrill Kelly's none-out, bases loaded jam in the sixth inning. After the first two batters he faced struck out, Ha-Seong Kim's single on a ball hit with a .170 XBA found its way to the outfield to plate two runs. Nelson has pitched well out of the bullpen and earned the high-leverage chance. Even when the left-hander was tagged with Thursday's loss, it was due to two unearned runs thanks to a Nick Ahmed error. Nelson has a 0.93 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and three walks over 9.2 innings.

Puk walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his fourth save of the season in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the Guardians.

After the Marlins took the matinee 6-1. The nightcap proved to be a tighter affair, but Puk was able to preserve a 3-2 victory. Since being scored upon in his Miami debut, the southpaw reliever has reeled off seven straight appearances without allowing an earned run to lock down the closer role, and on the season Puk sports a 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB through nine innings.