MLB Player News

Alexander is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Rockies in Denver.

Alexander made his first two appearances of the season out of the Milwaukee bullpen but was needed for a start last week in the wake of Aaron Civale's (hamstring) move to the injured list. The Brewers have since placed Nestor Cortes (elbow) on the IL and have acquired Quinn Priester to address their dwindling starting depth, but Alexander looks like he'll be sticking in the rotation for now over Elvin Rodriguez, who will presumably head to the bullpen this week after yielding 11 earned runs in nine innings over his two starts. Alexander earned a second turn through the rotation after striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings last Friday in a win over the Reds, but he'll get a tougher draw Wednesday while pitching at altitude in hitter-friendly Coors Field.

The Tigers announced Wednesday that Guenther, who was placed on Triple-A Toledo's 7-day injured list March 28 due to lumbar spine inflammation, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Detroit optioned Guenther to Triple-A on March 17 after he failed to secure a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, but he wasn't known to be dealing with an injury until Toledo deactivated him to begin the season. While the fact that he's in line to step back on the mound Friday suggests he's making progress in his recovery, the reliever probably won't be ready to make his season debut for Toledo until late April at the soonest.

Mattison (elbow) will throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Mattison is ready to face hitters as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. The 25-year-old has yet to pitch in the majors, but he's on the 40-man roster and could be an option for the Tigers' bullpen by June or so.

Vanasco (hip) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Lakeland on Wednesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Vanasco has been working his way back from offseason hip surgery but is finally ready to pitch in games. The right-hander is not on the 40-man roster and will eventually be assigned to Triple-A Toledo, where he'll provide relief depth.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Matzek (oblique) will need "at least a few" more rehab appearances in the minors before being considered an option for the big-league bullpen, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Matzek isn't a member of the Yankees' 40-man roster and currently resides on Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 7-day injured list after he suffered an oblique strain in spring training while attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee. The veteran southpaw made his first rehab appearance with Single-A Tampa on Sunday, striking out two while allowing one earned run on two hits in one inning. He'll likely make additional appearances with Tampa before eventually reporting to Triple-A, but he may not stick around with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre throughout the season. His minor-league contract contains a clause that would allow him to opt out and become a free agent May 1 if the Yankees don't promote him to the big leagues by then.

The Cubs recalled Roberts from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

He'll be joining the big club as a replacement on the 26-man active roster for left-hander Justin Steele (elbow), who was placed on the 15-day injured list. Roberts will likely work in middle relief for Chicago after getting off to a strong start to the season at Iowa, with whom he struck out seven batters while walking none over three scoreless innings between his two appearances.

Pagan worked a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Giants.

The veteran righty needed only seven pitches (six strikes) to get the job done. Pagan hasn't been a full-time closer since 2019, when he collected 20 saves for the Rays. but he's getting a chance to handle that job while Alexis Diaz (hamstring) gets healthy and tries to get his mechanics back in sync. Through his first five appearances this season, Pagan has a 0.00 ERA and 3:1 K:BB and has allowed only one hit. Tony Santillan, who recorded the final out of Monday's combined shutout after Hunter Greene fired 8.2 innings, has the only other save so far in 2025 for Cincinnati.

Martinez struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Orioles.

A.J. Puk collected the hold in the eighth before turning things over to Martinez, who plunked Tyler O'Neill with a pitch but was otherwise untouchable. Martinez has a 0.00 ERA and 7:0 K:BB through 4.2 innings while sharing closing duties with Puk.

Clevinger (0-2) took the loss Tuesday against the Guardians after allowing a run on one hit and three walks in just one-third of an inning.

Clevinger came on in relief of Tyler Gilbert with two outs in the eighth and got to the ninth unscathed. However, the Guardians opened up the ninth with an infield single and Clevinger proceeded to eventually walk in the winning run after issuing three consecutive free passes. He has walked five batters and recorded two outs in his last two appearances and likely will find himself in some lower-leverage situations for the time being.

Clase (2-0) got the win over the White Sox on Tuesday after tossing a perfect ninth while recording two strikeouts.

Clase made quick work of the White Sox in the ninth, sending them down in order on nine pitches. He wound up with his second win of the early campaign after the Guardians walked it off in the bottom of the inning. Tuesday was Clase's first appearance in 2025 with multiple strikeouts, though he is still waiting to pick up his first save of the season.