MLB Player News

Baker picked up the save Thursday against the White Sox, allowing no hits and one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

That's now four saves already for Baker on the young campaign, which is his career-high total. The 31-year-old right-hander is establishing a rather strong grip on Tampa Bay's closer role, posting a 3.68 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB over 7.1 innings while converting four of his five save opportunities. That said, Edwin Uceta (shoulder) might present some competition to Baker once he completes his rehab assignment.

Kay took a no-decision Thursday against the Rays, allowing one run on four hits and one walk in 2.2 innings. He struck out one.

Serving as a bulk reliever behind opener Jordan Leasure on Thursday, Kay did his part to keep the White Sox in the game but wasn't particularly efficient. It was the left-hander's shortest outing of the year so far, and it was disappointing to see him get pulled at just 71 pitches after he tossed 100 his last time out. It's unclear how Chicago will choose to deploy Kay going forward -- the hurler has a pair of appearances each as a starter and reliever -- but he'll bring a respectable 2.60 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB across 17.1 frames into his next scheduled outing, which lines up to come on the road versus Arizona.

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.