MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Gallegos (back) is available to pitch out of the bullpen Monday against Atlanta, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.

Gallegos was unavailable for the weekend series against the Blue Jays due to a back issue, but he's evidently recovered enough to be used Monday, if needed. The 31-year-old is slated to serve as Ryan Helsley's primary setup man and could see the occasional save chance.

The Yankees selected Hamilton's contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday.

Hamilton didn't quite make the Opening Day roster but has earned a quick promotion. He tossed nine scoreless innings this spring and will be used in middle relief by the Bronx Bombers.

The White Sox announced Monday that Hendriks began his last round of chemotherapy to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Though a timetable for the closer's return isn't yet clear, the White Sox didn't place Hendriks on the 60-day injured list prior to Opening Day, creating hope that he could be back before the end of May. Reynaldo Lopez has notched the team's lone save so far in the early going.

Lopez allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one across one inning in Sunday's 6-3 win against the Astros. He did not factor into the decision.

Lopez entered the game in the ninth inning with the White Sox up by five runs. He struggled with his control by walking the first two batters he faced before allowing a pair of singles to account for the damage. Lopez appears to be the preferred option to close out games in Chicago, but he has now allowed three earned runs across his first two innings of work.

Leclerc was not used in a save situation in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Phillies.

After a couple of blowout wins, the Rangers were presented with the first save opportunity of the season Sunday, and it was Will Smith who closed the door on Philadelphia. Leclerc had plenty of rest after throwing 21 pitches in Thursday's season opener. Both pitchers are expected to pitch the ninth inning, but Leclerc was the first in line to close games coming out of camp. Texas manager Bruce Bochy may have opted for the lefty Smith because left-handed hitters were due up in the ninth or because he had yet to pitch this season.

Smith retired all three batters faced to pick up the save in Sunday's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.

Smith got the call for the first save situation presented to the Rangers. Jose Leclerc exited spring training as the presumptive closer, but he was bypassed in favor of Smith, who was a late addition to the roster this spring. Leclerc was well rested, having thrown 21 pitches Thursday.

Hader tossed a scoreless inning without allowing a hit or walk and earned the save during Sunday's 3-1 win over the Rockies. He struck out one.

Hader tossed his second scoreless inning and earned his first save of the season. He has three strikeouts over his first two appearances and looks sharp to start 2023 after a rocky 2022 campaign.

Chafin (1-0) allowed one walk and struck out two over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning, picking up the win in Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Dodgers.

Chafin's work bridged the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth innings in his second late-game appearance in as many outings. After he earned the save Friday, Chafin gave way to Scott McGough on Sunday.

McGough struck out one over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to save Sunday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

McGough dispatched the two hitters he faced on nine pitches to record the first save of his MLB career. He'd been a closer in Japan the last two seasons, and the Diamondbacks rolled the dice in bringing him back stateside. The right-hander impressed in the Cactus League, putting him in the mix to save games.

De Los Santos (1-0) struck out one in a perfect inning Sunday versus the Mariners, earning the extra-inning win.

De Los Santos worked the ninth inning of a 5-5 game, which was his third appearance of the young season. He's picked up a 3:1 K:BB over 2.2 hitless innings so far. The right-hander was mostly limited to middle-relief assignments in 2022, but he excelled in that role with a 3.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 53.1 innings. He's unlikely to challenge for many saves with Emmanuel Clase, Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak in the high-leverage mix, but De Los Santos could be part of the bridge to get to the late innings.