MLB Player News

Neris picked up the save Saturday against the White Sox, allowing one run on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings while striking out two.

Ryan Pressly's illness led to a save chance for Rafael Montero on Friday and one for Neris on Saturday. Neris struck out Elvis Andrus to clean up Ryne Stanek's mess in the eighth inning, though he got into trouble himself in the next frame. Yasmani Grandal walked to start the inning and came around to score on a pair of two-out singles, but Neris struck out Yoan Moncada to seal the deal. Neris may not add too many more saves to his ledger the rest of the way, however, as both Pressly and Montero are ahead of him on the closer depth chart.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters that Duran was unavailable for Saturday's game versus the Royals after "sleeping funny," Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Baldelli said that it was nothing serious, but that's why it was Jorge Lopez who received the save chance for Saturday's game rather than Duran. The talented right-hander will likely to be available going forward, and it appears he's the favorite for save chances to begin -- and likely end -- the 2023 campaign.

Jansen (1-0) picked up a win with a scoreless ninth inning against the Orioles on Saturday. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two.

Jansen came in to pitch in a game that Boston trailed 8-7, so it was unlikely he was going to factor into the decision. The Red Sox were able to score twice in the bottom of the ninth after his scoreless frame, however, so he got his first win as a member of the club. His first chance for a save with the Red Sox should come soon.

Bautista (0-1) allowed two unearned runs on one hit over two-thirds of an inning and picked up a loss and a blown save Saturday against the Red Sox.

Bautista should have picked up his second save of the season, but Ryan McKenna dropped a flyball with two outs. Adam Duvall took Bautista deep to give Boston the victory. It's disappointing for fantasy managers who roster the hard-throwing 27-year-old to pick up the loss and no save, but the runs being unearned won't hurt his ERA.

Chapman struck out the side in the ninth inning of Saturday's 2-0 loss against Minnesota.

Chapman breezed through the Minnesota lineup and needed just 13 pitches to pick up his three strikeouts. The southpaw was making his debut with the Royals, and it's tough to beat the results the 35-year-old had during Saturday's appearance. Chapman could be in line for saves for Kansas City in the 2023 season, but he has a bit of an undefined role to begin the year.

Speier was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma by Seattle on Saturday.

Speier replaces Robbie Ray, as Ray was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain. Speier will give the Mariners a left-handed option in the bullpen and likely work in low-leverage situations while with Seattle.

Lopez hurled a perfect inning with a strikeout while picking up a save in Saturday's 2-0 win against the Royals.

Lopez worked in the seventh inning in the opener, but the right-hander was tasked with picking up the save for Saturday's affair. He needed just eight pitches to get through the lineup -- six of those for strikes -- and looked like the pitcher that made him such a solid option for the first half of the 2022 campaign with Baltimore. Jhoan Duran is going to get his save chances as well, so this will be a difficult bullpen for fantasy managers to read, at least to begin 2023.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Pressly isn't available for Saturday's game against the Angels due to an illness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Pressly also wasn't available Friday after being "under the weather," according to Baker. The right-hander could be ready to pitch in Sunday's series finale against the White Sox, but that's up in the air at the moment. Rafael Montero and Hector Neris have picked up saves for Houston in the last two games, and with Neris pitching 1.1 innings Saturday, Montero looks like the better bet to get the ball Sunday if Pressly can't play.

Sandlin (1-0) allowed a hit and struck out one over 1.1 innings to earn the win versus the Mariners on Friday. He was not charged with a run.

Sandlin came on after Hunter Gaddis ran into some trouble in the fourth inning. Sandlin then gave up an RBI double to Julio Rodriguez, which made it a 5-4 game, before getting things under control. The Guardians held the lead the rest of the way, and Sandlin delivered a clean fifth inning en route to the win in his first outing this season. The right-hander was a solid part of the Guardians' bullpen a year ago, posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 41:24 K:BB across 44 innings while adding seven holds and a 5-2 record. He should continue to see low-leverage assignments to begin 2023.

Graveman (1-1) allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Friday against the Astros.

Graveman entered the game in the seventh inning with a 3-2 lead, but he allowed three consecutive batters to reach base to load the bases with two outs. He was pulled at that point and was charged with the runs after Yordan Alvarez cleared the bases with a double. Graveman has pitched the eighth and seventh innings in two appearances this season, so he doesn't appear to be in the mix for saves for the time being.