MLB Player News

Chapman (Achilles) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset on Friday.

Chapman has been on the injured list for a month but has now been cleared to return to game action at the Double-A level. He'll likely be able to rejoin the Yankees following a brief rehab assignment, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him activated early next week. Once Chapman is deemed fully healthy, it's certainly possible that Clay Holmes maintains a share of the closer role, as Holmes has converted 10 of his last 11 save chances while posting a 0.59 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in 15.1 innings over his last 14 appearances.

Taylor (back) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out over one scoreless inning for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Taylor ran into trouble during the inning. With one out, he allowed a single and a walk before a passed ball put runners on second and third. A fielder's choice nailed rehabbing White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez trying to score from third, and Taylor punched out Blake Rutherford looking to get out of the jam. This was Taylor's second rehab outing, and he appears on track to make his season debut for Boston before the end of the month.

Hudson (5-4) took the loss against Milwaukee on Thursday, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two batters in 4.1 innings.

Home runs were responsible for most of the damage against Hudson in the loss, as a three-run shot by Tyrone Taylor in the fourth inning and a solo blast by Willy Adames in the fifth largely did him in. The right-hander was somewhat fortunate that things didn't get further out of hand, as Milwaukee failed to capitalize on a no-out, bases-loaded situation in the third frame. Hudson also continued to struggle with his control, issuing multiple walks for the 11th time in 14 outings this season. His 3.72 ERA isn't terrible, but fantasy managers should be wary of his 1.35 WHIP and 35 walks, which are third-most in the majors.

Hader picked up a save against the Cardinals on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.

Hader's dominance has come to be expected at this point, so the impressive two-strikeout perfect inning feels merely run-of-the-mill. In fact, the left-hander has struck out multiple batters in five of his past seven outings -- each of which has been exactly one inning in length. Hader has left no doubt about his status as the league's best closer, tying for the MLB lead with 21 saves while posting a minuscule 0.83 ERA and 0.60 WHIP along with an absurd 36:6 K:BB across 21.2 innings.

Thielbar earned a save over the Guardians on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.

Team saves leader Emilio Pagan wasn't used after throwing 41 pitches and allowing five runs over two innings during the previous two days, and Jhoan Duran -- who has four saves on the campaign -- was deployed against the top of Cleveland's order in the eighth frame. Minnesota thus turned to the southpaw Thielbar to face lefty Andres Gimenez with one out in the ninth, and the latter knocked a two-strike double to move into scoring position. Thielbar was able to bounce back, however, retiring the next two batters to pick up the first save of his big-league career. Despite striking out 33 batters over 25.1 innings this season, Thielbar's 6.04 ERA and 1.42 WHIP make it unlikely that he'll see many more ninth-inning chances moving forward.

Smeltzer (4-1) earned the win over Cleveland on Thursday, pitching six scoreless innings during which he gave up three hits and struck out three batters.

Smeltzer was pummeled for six earned runs over 4.1 frames in his worst outing of the season in his previous appearance, but he responded with one of his better performances of the campaign Thursday. This was the second time in 2022 that the left-hander tossed a scoreless outing, and he kept the ball in the park for the first time in his past four appearances. Smeltzer hasn't struck out many batters this season -- he has 22:11 K:BB over 44.1 innings -- but he has managed a solid 3.05 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while registering a 4-1 record.

Scott allowed one hit but struck out three across a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Rockies.

Scott allowed a one-out single but otherwise looked dominant to pick up his seventh save of the season. He has tallied each of Miami's last six saves and has allowed three earned runs -- all in one appearance -- across 8.2 innings as the closer. Scott's 16 walks across 28 total frames remain a concern, but his 45 strikeouts indicate he has the stuff to succeed in a ninth-inning role.

Lopez struck out both batters he faced to earn the save in Thursday's 4-0 win over the White Sox.

With a four-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning, manager Brandon Hyde left Dillon Tate in the game initially. Tate put two on with one out, and Lopez was summoned to escape the jam, doing so with strikeouts of Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn. This extended Lopez's scoreless streak to 9.1 innings in his last eight appearances, and he's given up just one unearned run in June. The closer is 12-for-14 in save chances this year with a 0.77 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 36:13 K:BB through 35 innings overall.

Jansen allowed a solo home run and struck out one to earn his 19th save of the season Thursday against the Giants.

Jansen entered the game with a two-run lead and retired the first two batters he faced without incident. He coughed up a solo home run to Joc Pederson but was still able to secure his 18th save of the season. Jansen has allowed only two earned runs across nine innings in June, also maintaining a 12:0 K:BB.

Pressly (1-2) allowed four runs on three hits and two walks in one-third of an inning, taking the loss and a blown save in Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Yankees.

Pressly walked the first two batters he faced, then served up a game-tying three-run home to Aaron Hicks. It didn't get better from there, as Pressly allowed two more singles, though Isiah Kiner-Falefa was caught stealing. Ryne Stanek fared no better, allowing a walkoff single from Aaron Judge, with the run going down as the fourth on Pressly's line. This poor outing ended a five-inning scoreless streak for the Astros' closer, who saw his ERA rise to 4.26 with a 1.37 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB through 19 innings overall. He's 14-for-17 in save chances, though he's likely built up enough trust to maintain the role after what's for now an isolated bad outing.