MLB Player News

King is considered a strong candidate if the Yankees were to implement a sixth starter, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

King dazzled in his only outing this season, pitching six innings of scoreless, one-hit ball out of the bullpen April 4. He was subsequently sent to the team's alternate site, though he is traveling with the club as part of the taxi squad. King is very likely to get another opportunity to pitch in the majors relatively soon, whether in a relief or starting role. He's most likely to function as a long reliever, but the right-hander would be a viable candidate if the Yankees decided to go with a six-man rotation.

Hand recorded his first save of the season after tossing a scoreless inning Monday against the Cardinals. He gave up one hit and one walk while fanning two.

Hand tossed 16 of his 26 pitches for strikes and allowed two baserunners, but he got the job done either way en route to his first save of the campaign -- he closed the door by striking out Andrew Knizner with runners in first and second. Hand has now tossed two scoreless outings to begin the season.

Garcia and Michael King are considered options to fill a sixth-starter role if the Yankees opt to expand their rotation, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Garcia entered spring training as the favorite to win a rotation spot, but Domingo German's dominant performance in Grapefruit League play pushed Garcia out of a roster spot. However, the right-hander remains highly regarded in the organization and would be among the first names brought up if a rotation spot opens up. There's no indication that New York will be implementing a six-man rotation in the near future, so the situation is simply one to monitor for the time being.

Finnegan (1-0) earned the win off the bullpen Monday against the Cardinals. He gave up one run on one hit while striking out two across 1.1 innings.

Finnegan recorded the final out of the fifth inning and pitched the sixth while limiting the damage to just one run -- a two-out solo shot from Yadier Molina, who has been one of the best hitters in the National League in the first few days of the season. Finnegan has allowed two earned runs on 3.1 innings across four appearances this season, fanning five and walking just one.

Hader recorded his first save of the season with a scoreless outing Monday against the Cubs. He recorded a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

Hader was called upon when the Cubs scored two runs off Drew Rasmussen in the top of the ninth. However, he closed the door by recording the final two outs in dominant fashion, throwing five of his six pitches for strikes. The lefty reliever has yet to allow a run in three appearances this season, striking out six and walking one through 2.2 innings.

Hearn (0-1) took the loss Monday as the Rangers fell 1-0 to the Rays, giving up one run on one hit and two walks over three innings of relief. He struck out seven.

The southpaw was impressive as the second half of the Rangers' tandem Monday following four scoreless innings from Dane Dunning, but Hearn's only real mistake got taken deep by Willy Adames with two outs in the seventh inning for the game's only run. Hearn had a shaky start to the season and still holds a 5.40 ERA through 8.1 innings, but his 12:5 K:BB highlights his potential.

Chapman gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his first save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Randal Grichuk led off the ninth with a double, but Chapman let him get no further and needed only 12 pitches (nine strikes) to nail down the save. The southpaw has been absolutely filthy to begin the season, keeping a 0.00 ERA through four innings, and Cavan Biggio's flyout Monday was the first batter Chapman has set down on something other than a strikeout.

Clase (1-1) was charged with the loss Monday after allowing one unearned run on one hit and one walk in one-third of an inning.

First baseman Yu Chang fielded what looked like a potential double-play ball and hit the runner at second base with the throw, allowing the winning run to score for the White Sox. Clase created the traffic on the basepaths with an infield hit allowed and a free pass, but the fireballing righty has separated himself with his performance early and this shouldn't affect his standing in the bullpen hierarchy.

Alzolay (0-2) allowed three runs across 5.1 innings to take the loss Monday against the Brewers. He gave up three hits and a walk while striking out six.

Alzolay actually pitched pretty well, as he left the game up 1-0 in the sixth inning, but he also saddled the Chicago bullpen with a bases loaded situation. All three inherited runners scored on a double as soon as Alzolay exited, sending the righty to his second loss in as many appearances this season. Alzolay has a 6.10 ERA to go with that 0-2 mark, and the 26-year-old could certainly lose his rotation spot to Alec Mills at some point. For now, Alzolay is slated to start again Sunday against Atlanta.

Honeywell, who was optioned to the Rays' alternate training site Sunday after a successful big-league debut as an opener against the Yankees, will continue to build his arm up there over the next month, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Honeywell was masterful against New York's fearsome lineup while firing 21 pitches over two perfect frames, his first official regular-season game action of any type since 2017. The Rays have naturally been cautious in building Honeywell up since spring began after the 26-year-old endured four surgeries over the previous three years, and in another few weeks, he could conceivably be ready to handle a volume of 50-60 pitches.