MLB Player News

Ribalta earned the save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless 10th inning.

The right-hander worked around the automatic runner as well as a leadoff single, striking out Bryan Reynolds and then inducing a game-ending double play from Jake Mangum. Despite the admirable performance, Ribalta was the sixth pitcher to come out of the bullpen, and the Nationals didn't have many other options in the 10th. Still, the 28-year-old has quality stuff with a mid-90s fastball and a changeup that produced a 40.4 percent whiff rate in 2025, and if he continues to improve his control he could emerge as a high-leverage option. After walking 21 batters in 33.1 innings across three levels last year, Ribalta has issued only one free pass in 7.1 innings between Triple-A and the majors to begin 2026.

Beeter (1-0) earned the win but blew the save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out one in the ninth inning.

Given a 7-6 lead, Beeter struggled to find the plate and tossed just 19 of 32 pitches for strikes, allowing the game-tying run on a bases-loaded infield single by Brandon Lowe. It was the second blown save of the season for the 27-year-old right-hander, but Beeter was able to wiggle out of the jam with no further damage, and the Nationals bailed him out by taking the lead in the top of the 10th. Beeter will need to clean up his control issues if he's going to remain in the ninth-inning picture, as he has more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven) in 9.1 innings so far on the season.

Seabold (1-0) allowed a solo home run across 1.1 innings but managed to secure the win Thursday against the Royals. He struck out two.

The game finished 10-9 in favor of Detroit, so Seabold wasn't the only pitcher to give up some hard-hit balls, but he did a good job of limiting the damage to just one run to secure his first 2026 win. The righty has been effective this year with a 2.08 ERA and nine strikeouts across 8.2 innings. He's mostly worked in middle relief, though Seabold could earn a higher-leverage role if he continues to pitch well out of the bullpen.

Miller picked up the save Thursday against the Reds, tossing a scoreless ninth inning with a walk and three strikeouts.

Miller has a blown save on his ledger already this season, but he took advantage of his second chance to lock down a game Thursday. The 28-year-old issued a one-out walk to Matt McLain, but he struck out the other three batters he faced to earn the save. With 10 strikeouts in six innings, the 28-year-old has the stuff to be an effective late-inning option but needs to find the consistency. Even after Thursday's outing, he holds a 6.00 ERA and 1.83 WHIP this year. Miller is in the mix for saves as Ryan Walker has been utilized as a bit of a late-inning fireman rather than a traditional closer early this year.

The Astros have added Lambert to their taxi squad and appear poised to give him a start Friday against the Cardinals, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros have Lance McCullers starting Saturday and Mike Burrows on Sunday but currently have Friday's starter listed as TBA. Barring something unforeseen, that assignment will go to Lambert, who will need to be added to the 40-man roster. Lambert boasts a 1.84 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB over 14.2 innings at Triple-A Sugar Land and will be on six days' rest Friday. He last pitched in the majors in 2024 with the Rockies.

The Orioles recalled Foster from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Foster has given up seven earned runs in just six innings at Norfolk, but the Orioles will bring him up anyway to give their bullpen some extra depth. The 27-year-old will be making his MLB debut whenever he gets into a game.

The Brewers acquired Fernandez from the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Presumably, the Diamondbacks will receive cash considerations in return. Fernandez inked a minor-league contract with Arizona over the offseason, but he's been on the development list and has not pitched since the minor-league season began. The 29-year-old hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2022 and holds a career 5.17 ERA and 47:35 K:BB in 54 innings across parts of four major-league seasons.

The Cardinals outrighted Shuster to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Having been outrighted previously, Shuster has the ability to decline the assignment and become a free agent. For now, it appears he will stick around in the organization as swingman depth.

Silseth has "probably put himself in the best position for the opportunity" if Angels manager Kurt Suzuki removes Jordan Romano from the closer role, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Romano has blown back-to-back save opportunities and Suzuki was noncommittal Thursday when asked about his closer situation. Silseth has registered three holds this season, collecting a 2.84 ERA and 8:6 K:BB over 6.1 innings along the way. Drew Pomeranz paces the team with five holds and is also an option to replace Romano if a change is made, though he might pitch the ninth inning only if the opposition has lefties due up. A former starter, Silseth did a bit of closing last season at Triple-A Salt Lake, and he's posted a 3.03 ERA and 31:24 K:BB over 32.2 innings across 27 career relief appearances at the major-league level.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki was noncommittal Thursday when asked whether Romano was still his closer, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Romano suffered his second straight blown save Wednesday against the Yankees and has allowed five runs while recording a total of just one out in his last two appearances. The righty hadn't allowed a hit or a run in his six outings prior to that, going 4-for-4 in save chances over that stretch. Suzuki said that Romano is "still going to be in those high-leverage spots," but he stopped short of backing the 32-year-old as his closer. If Suzuki does go in a different direction, Drew Pomeranz or Chase Silseth are options. The Angels also have former closer Ben Joyce (shoulder) and Kirby Yates (knee) nearing a rehab assignments.