MLB Player News

Chapman earned a save over Cleveland on Friday with a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two batters and allowed one hit.

Chapman was tagged with a leadoff double by Josh Naylor but still managed to lock down the 4-1 victory. The hard-throwing lefty has now converted all four of his save chances this season and has yet to allow a run through 6.1 innings. He's earned a save in three consecutive appearances, all coming in the last four days.

Barnes earned the save, tossing 0.1 innings in a 4-3 win Friday in Tampa.

Barnes was not called upon to start the ninth inning with the Red Sox winning 4-3 but came in with two outs and the bases loaded. He got Wander Franco to hit a hard ground ball and Trevor Story made an excellent play to record the final out. The righty served as Boston's closer for much of last year before losing his job near the end of the season. He had not appeared in any high-leverage situations in his first four appearances but managed to get the job done Friday.

Long fired two scoreless innings in Friday's win over Washington. He allowed two hits and struck out one batter.

Long coughed up two hits in the first inning but escaped the jam without allowing a run. The 6-foot-1 lefty has yet to give up a run this season while posting a 4:1 K:BB through 4.2 frames. He's currently lined up to take the mound at home against Oakland next week where he'll likely go deeper into the contest.

Junis (1-0) allowed three hits over five scoreless innings Friday, striking out four and earning a win over Washington.

Junis was promoted from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday and made his Giants debut out of the bullpen in Friday's victory. He allowed just one extra-base hit and was never in much danger during the dominant outing. Due to several injuries to the Giants' starting pitching group, Junis will likely stick around on the MLB roster and could find himself in the starting rotation next week.

Taylor (back) will make a rehab appearance this weekend with Triple-A Worcester, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old began his rehab assignment at Worcester last Sunday, but he's been unavailable the past few days after potentially being exposed to COVID-19. Manager Alex Cora previously indicated Taylor would require five or six rehab appearances, so he's unlikely to be activated until early May.

Kerr was called up from Triple-A El Paso on Friday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old was acquired by the Padres in November and missed out on the Opening Day roster, but he'll join the big-league club Friday with Pierce Johnson (elbow) landing on the injured list. Kerr split the 2021 campaign between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and he had a combined 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 60:16 K:BB across 39.2 innings.

Johnson was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with right elbow tendinitis, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Johnson has recorded five holds with a 4.50 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB over six innings this season, but he's now sidelined by an elbow injury. Ray Kerr was promoted from Triple-A El Paso to replace him in San Diego's bullpen.

Pearson (illness) will throw a live BP session Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Pearson threw 36 pitches during a throwing session Tuesday, and he'll fave live hitters Saturday. The Blue Jays intend to use the right-hander in a multi-inning role once he's cleared to return, so he'll likely require more time to build up before returning to game action.

Floro (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment at Low-A Jupiter on Friday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Floro threw 16 pitches in a simulated game Sunday, and he'll be cleared for game action in the minors less than a week later. It's not yet clear how many rehab appearances he'll make, but the minor-league outings should be the final step in his recovery process. The right-hander was viewed as a closing candidate prior to sustaining his shoulder injury, but the Marlins could ease him into action as a setup man once he's able to rejoin the major-league club.

Otto was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to start Friday against the Athletics.

Otto was already labeled Texas' probable starter for Friday's contest, and he's now officially joined the big-league roster. The 26-year-old made his major-league debut last season and had a 9.26 ERA across 23.1 innings, though he was off to a strong start at Triple-A this year with a 9:1 K:BB over seven scoreless innings.