MLB Player News

Weathers (1-0) allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk while striking out three across two innings of relief, earning the win over the Rangers on Saturday.

Weathers has notched himself a win and a save in his first two major-league appearances. His only blemish Saturday came from a solo shot at the hands of Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the fifth inning. The 21-year-old is likely going to be a future starter, but he is currently making a name for himself in the pen.

Smith earned the save against Philadelphia on Saturday, pitching a perfect inning and notching one strikeout.

Smith had yielded an earned run in each of his prior two outings, but he had no trouble against the Phillies on Saturday, breezing through the ninth inning on 10 pitches (seven strikes). The southpaw has two saves on the season along with a 5:2 K:BB across three frames.

Hoffman (1-1) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out two over 4.1 innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

After inducing 13 swinging strikes on 77 pitches in a win over the Cardinals in his Reds debut, Hoffman managed just seven swinging strikes on 82 pitches Saturday. Two of the three runs charged to Hoffman crossed the plate after he exited the game, but the right-hander had issues with command during his time on the mound, as evidenced by the fact he had more walks than strikeouts. If Jose De Leon has a better outing Sunday, Cincinnati could opt to keep De Leon in the rotation over Hoffman with Sonny Gray (back) due to return next week.

Rogers allowed a hit and struck out one over one inning to earn a hold in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rockies.

Rogers worked the eighth inning and only allowed a leadoff single to Trevor Story before retiring the next three batters. The 30-year-old Rogers is already up to three holds with a 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and four strikeouts across 4.2 innings. It hasn't all been smooth -- he's also been charged with two blown saves in five outings. The right-hander is likely to continue working as a setup man to Jake McGee.

Jansen did not receive the save opportunity Friday in the Dodgers' home opener versus Washington because he had pitched twice in the previous three days, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Corey Knebel was summoned in the ninth inning Friday with the Dodgers holding onto a one-run lead. That opportunity would typically go to Jansen, but manager Dave Roberts made it clear that the veteran closer wasn't passed over for performance reasons, explaining "He's [Jansen's] in the same bucket as all our pitchers, as far as workload." Though Knebel converted the save and Jansen has been shaky so far this season, it's probably premature to to expect a change in the ninth-inning role. However, it seems likely that Jansen won't be taxed early in the campaign, potentially opening save opportunities for Knebel, Blake Treinen and Victor Gonzalez.

De Leon will start Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but he is at risk of getting bumped to the bullpen with Sonny Gray returning next week, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

De Leon pitched well against the Pirates in his last time out, but part of the Reds' decision might come down to who is more capable of pitching in relief, with the Reds not planning on moving to a six-man rotation. The decision essentially comes down to either De Leon or Jeff Hoffman.

Montero blew a save Saturday after giving up one run on two walks with one strikeout during the eighth inning against the Twins.

The 30-year-old entered for the eighth inning but threw only 10 of 22 pitches for strikes, as he also hit a batter and allowed a run to score via a wild pitch. Montero is now 1-for-3 in save chances and has given up two runs on one hit with a 7:2 K:BB across 4.1 innings this season.

Graterol (not injury related) threw a 15-pitch simulated inning Saturday, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said "everything looked good" as the right-hander threw both his fastball and slider during the session. Roberts declined to provide an official return timeline, but Graterol could join the active roster in the near future.

Kittredge (2-0) picked up the win Saturday, giving up one hit and one walk over 1.2 scoreless innings of relief while striking out one in a 4-0 victory over the Yankees.

After Chris Archer (forearm) was forced from the game in the third inning, the Rays' bullpen took over and finished off the combined shutout, with Kittredge getting credit for the win as the first man on the mound after Archer. Tampa Bay hasn't yet resorted to its patented openers-and-bulk-relievers formula on a consistent basis this year, but if it does, Kittredge would be one of the bullpen arms likely to benefit from the relief wins generated.

Diaz gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning during Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Marlins.

Brought in to start the ninth inning with the Mets down 1-0, Diaz wasn't able to keep the game close after getting tagged for a leadoff double by Starling Marte. His line could have been even worse, but the Mets caught a break when Jesus Aguilar was called out on a fielder's choice at second base when on replay Jeff McNeil appeared to have lifted his foot off the bag early. Diaz's spot as closer isn't in jeopardy at the moment, but memories of his disastrous 2019 are still fresh enough that another bad outing or two could push manager Luis Rojas to consider other options in the ninth.