MLB Player News

Karinchak (0-1) allowed three runs on a hit, a walk and a hit batsman in one-third of an inning, taking the loss Thursday versus the Mariners.

Karinchak was rattled early by a pitch-clock violation, and he then plunked Kolten Wong before Ty France took him deep in the eighth inning. After an uneven spring that saw Karinchak post a 12:5 K:BB and a 4.66 ERA over 9.2 innings, it's a little concerning to see him struggle in a high-leverage situation. The right-hander had a 2.08 ERA over 39 innings last season, but he also carried a 4.8 BB/9, which is something he'll need to get in check to continue to have success as a setup man. With the Guardians locking up Trevor Stephan on a four-year deal Wednesday, Karinchak's place as a setup man is far from guaranteed.

The Diamondbacks placed Mantiply on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation prior to Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Assuming Mantiply's shoulder issue is in fact nothing more significant than inflammation, he could be in store for a minimum-length stay on the shelf, or close to it. Since his placement on the IL is retroactive to March 27, he'll first be eligible for activation April 11.

Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Thursday's win over against Kansas City to earn his first hold of the season.

It was notable that Jax was used in the eighth inning ahead of Jhoan Duran in the ninth, while Pablo Lopez worked the seventh. Jax had a breakout season in 2022 after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB over 72.1 innings. It looks like he could be the main set-up man and rack up holds again, and possibly be in the mix for saves if manager Rocco Baldelli sticks to his previous matchup-based bullpen usage.

Graveman (1-0) allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win Thursday against the Astros.

Graveman was a candidate to serve as the White Sox's closer to begin the season, but he instead entered the game with the score knotted at 1-1 in the eighth frame. Reynaldo Lopez ultimately pitched the ninth inning to earn the save after Chicago grabbed the lead. It's unclear whether Lopez is locked into the closer role or if Graveman will also see some save opportunities in the absence of Liam Hendriks (illness).

Arizona placed Melancon (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list Thursday.

The veteran reliever was given a platelet-rich plasma injection in mid-March in hopes of speeding along his recovery. However, Melancon's absence could end up being measured in months, not weeks.

Garcia (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the eighth inning of Thursday's 10-9 victory over the Cardinals, getting charged with a blown save but picking up the win.

Few pitchers on either side fared well in the wild Opening Day contest, but it's noteworthy that Erik Swanson entered the game in fifth inning with the score tied 5-5 while Garcia got the nod in the eighth after the Jays had taken a brief 8-7 lead. If he remains the team's primary setup man in front of closer Jordan Romano, Garcia could top last year's career-high 22 holds, but he'll need to pitch better than he did Thursday to keep the spot.

Raley struck out two in a perfect eighth inning during an Opening Day win over the Marlins to record his first hold of the season.

The Mets' bullpen survived its first test without Edwin Diaz (knee) and passed with flying colors, as Raley, Drew Smith and David Robertson combined to strike out six batters over three scoreless innings in relief of Max Scherzer. Raley was already ticketed for a high-leverage role in his first season with the team as the top lefty in the New York 'pen. He could find his way into a few more save chances in Diaz's absence, although Robertson will likely see the bulk of the ninth-inning work out of the gate.

Smith gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning to record his first hold of the season in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

It was a strong start to the season for the right-hander, who fired 10 of 16 pitches for strikes in relief of Max Scherzer. Smith isn't expected to be one of the arms called upon for closing duties to help replace Edwin Diaz (knee), but he should be able to blow past last year's career-high 14 holds with increased high-leverage usage.

Munoz picked up the save in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Guardians. He allowed two hits and no walks or strikeouts in a scoreless frame.

Paul Sewald handled a scoreless top of the eighth inning with the game tied 0-0 and the 6-7-8 hitters in the Guardians' order due up. After the Mariners scored three times in the bottom of the frame they turned things over to Munoz, who pitched around a single and a double. It was a rare outing without a strikeout for the right-hander -- he had just 14 of those last season among 64 appearances -- but his velocity was fine as he maxed out at 100.6 mph. Seattle figures to give both Munoz and Sewald save opportunities, but if one of them stakes a claim to the full-time closer job, it'll probably be Munoz.

Minter walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Thursday's during a 7-2 win over the Nationals.

Atlanta was only up 4-2 heading into the top of the ninth but tacked on three more runs in its half of the frame, erasing the save situation for Minter. It's still reassuring that he was the clear choice to close out of the game for manager Brian Snitker, but with Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) hoping to return in mid-April, there may be only a handful of save opportunities for Minter before he gets bumped back to a setup role.