MLB Player News

Stephan allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 8-6 win over the Angels.

The Guardians were down 6-2 after the top of the eighth inning, so it wasn't looking like they'd need a closer Saturday. A six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth changed that, and then Stephan took the mound. He retired Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani with little trouble but put runners on second and third before Brandon Drury grounded out to end the game. That's a little more drama than usual for Stephan, who has been scored on in just four of his 18 appearances this season. He has a 1.62 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB with two saves, five holds and two blown saves through 16.2 innings.

The Angels outrighted Valdez to Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday.

The 38-year-old right-hander will stick around in the organization after he wasn't claimed off waivers upon being designated for assignment earlier in the week. Before being cast off the 40-man roster, Valdez compiled a 7.18 ERA, 1.95 WHIP and 26:12 K:BB over 26.1 innings.

Tampa Bay designated Guerra for assignment Sunday, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Guerra is removed from the 26- and 40-man roster to make room for Zack Littell, with Littell officially joining the Rays on Sunday. After being acquired by the Rays from the Brewers at the start of May, Guerra allowed two runs over five innings in six appearances for a 3.60 ERA, but he walked nine hitters against four strikeouts as command continues to be an issue for the right-handed reliever.

Peralta picked up the save during Saturday's 9-8 win over Tampa Bay, tossing a scoreless ninth in which he recorded one walk and one strikeout.

Clay Holmes tossed 1.2 shutout innings as a set-up man, and Michael King was unavailable after allowing three runs Friday, so Peralta got the call in the ninth for a second straight day. He issued a two-out walk to Randy Arozarena but retired Brandon Lowe to end the game, marking the left-hander's ninth straight scoreless outing. Peralta is now 2-for-3 in save chances and sports a 1.76 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB through 15.1 innings.

The Angels recalled Weiss from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.

Weiss will give the Angels a fresh arm in the bullpen. The right-hander struggled in the Cactus League while failing to make the major-league roster, and he's registered a 6.75 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP over 12 innings accumulated from 10 appearances in the Pacific Coast League. Ryan Tepera has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

The Orioles optioned Vespi to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.

Vespi joined the Orioles ahead of Friday's series opener with the Pirates but didn't appear out of the bullpen either of the past two days. He'll head back to the minors to open up a spot on the 26-man active roster for an extra infielder in Joey Ortiz, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Romano struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his 10th save of the season in a 5-2 win over Atlanta.

The right-hander's numbers are down a bit from prior seasons, but Romano has still allowed runs in only four of his 18 appearances, posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP through 16 innings, and his 30.9 percent strikeout rate and 7.4 percent walk rate remain excellent. His luck figures to turn for the better over the summer -- Romano's .325 BABIP and 75.3 percent LOB rate would both be his worst marks since his rookie season in 2019.

Jansen was charged with three pitch-clock violations (one warning) during the ninth inning of Saturday's 4-3 loss to St. Louis.

The violations contributed to Jansen blowing his second save in as many days. One of those violations resulted in ball four and put runners on first and second with none out. Jansen started his move to home plate before Willson Contreras, who was waiting for the clock to tick down to eight seconds, had his second foot in the box, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. "That's nothing against them, but I have to take advantage of the clock a little bit, especially in those situations where we're looking to create a rally," Contreras explained. "He's been struggling since last night throwing strikes, so I was just getting him upset a little bit, and it was nothing disrespectful." Jansen, who threw just eight strikes among his 17 pitches, vowed to learn from the experience.

Graveman picked up a save against the Astros on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter in a scoreless inning.

Graveman got the call with the White Sox holding a 3-1 ninth-inning lead. The right-hander surrendered an infield single to the first batter he faced before retiring the next three Astros in order. Graveman has notched each of Chicago's past two saves, so he appears to have temporarily moved up to the top of the team's closer pecking order. However, he'll likely slide out of the role once Liam Hendriks (illness) is ready to return to the big club.

Bautista recorded a save against the Pirates on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out three batters in a scoreless inning.

Bautista got the ball in the ninth frame with Baltimore holding a 2-0 lead. The right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Bryan Reynolds before fanning the following three batters. Bautista picked up his 10th save of the campaign, tied for third-most in the league. He's allowed just three earned runs over 19 innings on the season.