MLB Player News

Estevez (4-5) took the loss Wednesday, giving up one run on two hits and one walk in the ninth inning as the Royals fell 8-7 to the Nationals. He struck out one.

The Kansas City closer entered a tie game in the top of the ninth and couldn't hold the visitors at bay, serving up a one-out double to Luis Garcia and an RBI single to Daylen Lile. Estevez has 30 saves on the season, one shy of the career high he set with the Angels in 2023, but he's struggled to find consistency since the beginning of July -- over his last 17.2 innings, he's posted a 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB while blowing three of his 11 save chances.

Saalfrank delivered a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record the save in a 6-4 victory over the Rangers.

With Jalen Beeks unavailable after pitching Tuesday and Kyle Backhus working in the seventh inning, it was Saalfrank who got the call for the save after Arizona took the lead with four runs in the top half of the ninth inning. The left-hander got the job done, setting down the top of the Rangers order to earn his first major-league save. The 27-year-old Saalfrank has been impressive since rejoining the Diamondbacks in early July. He's allowed just one run while striking out nine in his first 14 MLB innings this year, establishing himself as a high-leverage option down the stretch.

Vodnik didn't record a strikeout in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to earn the save in a 6-5 win over St. Louis.

Vodnik earned the save for a second straight day -- he set the Cardinals down on ten pitches Wednesday after recording five outs on 27 pitches in Tuesday's victory. With Seth Halvorsen (elbow) sidelined, the 25-year-old Vodnik looks to be the preferred ninth-inning option for Colorado, despite coming into the day with a 9.00 ERA in his previous eight innings. Overall, Vodnik sports a 3.72 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP and 38 strikeouts through 36.1 innings this season.

Vest struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 18th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the White Sox.

Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth inning against the bottom part of Chicago's order and got his first hold since coming over to Detroit, while Vest got the call in the ninth against the 9-1-2 hitters and got the job done on 11 pitches (six strikes). Vest has the Tigers' last two saves, but Finnegan got the three before that, and the duo could continue to split chances the rest of the way, with Vest perhaps being viewed by manager A.J. Hinch as the slightly higher-leverage option. On the season, Vest sports a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 58:15 K:BB through 51.2 innings.

Finnegan worked around a walk to toss a scoreless inning of relief in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the White Sox.

Finnegan covered the eighth inning and earned a hold while Will Vest got the save in the ninth. The same scenario played out Monday, with Finnegan picking up the win in relief and Vest earning the save. Before that, Finnegan had rattled off three straight saves for the Tigers, so it appears that the team's late-game bullpen usage is going to be a bit fluid moving forward depending on matchups. Both Finnegan and Vest have fantasy value in this arrangement, though they do cap each other's ceilings to a degree.

Gipson-Long (neck) tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the White Sox. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Gipson-Long was making his first MLB appearance since June 27, and he looked sharp while only needing 17 pitches to cover two frames. The righty worked behind Troy Melton, who logged five scoreless innings in a spot start. While Gipson-Long worked exclusively as a starter in Triple-A this season, he figures to be a bullpen option for the Tigers with the team adding veteran starters Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton before the trade deadline. Gipson-Long can at least give Detroit some length in relief, as he displayed Wednesday.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Hader will seek a second opinion on his left shoulder strain and will be sidelined "a little bit longer than the two weeks," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Espada would not reveal what the first diagnosis was, but the injury is at least bad enough that Hader will not be back when his 15 days on the injured list are up. More information on Hader's condition and timeline should be available after he gets the second opinion. Espada has said he will not name a closer while Hader is out, but Bryan Abreu is the favorite to see most of the ninth-inning work for the Astros.

Manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed Wednesday that McLean will be called up from Triple-A Syracuse to start Saturday's game against the Mariners at Citi Field, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

One of the Mets' top pitching prospects, the 24-year-old McLean has delivered a 2.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 127:50 K:BB across 113.2 innings between Syracuse and Double-A Binghamton this season. The Mets will likely wait until Saturday before formally adding McLean to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster. With Frankie Montas moving to the bullpen and Paul Blackburn (shoulder) also expected to work in long relief following his activation from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, McLean could be in line for multiple turns through the rotation until the Mets get Tylor Megill (elbow) back from the IL.

The Mets optioned Hagenman to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports.

Hagenman pitched in three games since his latest recall but will head back to the minors after the Mets activated Paul Blackburn (shoulder) from the 15-day IL on Wednesday. Hagenman has a 3.26 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 20:2 K:BB across 19.1 innings for New York this season, so he could get another look with the big club down the stretch.

The Diamondbacks recalled Kelly from Triple-A Reno on Wednesday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Arizona had optioned Kelly to Triple-A on Saturday after he made a pair of relief appearances following his promotion from the minors, but he'll be eligible to rejoin the big club after starter Anthony DeSclafani (thumb) was placed on the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. DeSclafani's next turn through the rotation is scheduled to come up Sunday in Colorado, and Arizona could turn to Kelly to make a start if he's not needed in relief over the team's next four contests. Kelly had operated primarily as a starter at Reno this season, accruing a 5.82 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 42:33 K:BB across 85 innings.