MLB Player News

Silseth will begin the 2023 campaign with Triple-A Salt Lake, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Silseth was unsuccessful in his bid to grab a big-league rotation spot with the Angels to begin the campaign, so he'll instead see his first action at the Triple-A level. The right-hander was chosen to be Salt Lake's Opening Day starter, and that assignment should come Saturday with Friday's contest rained out. Silseth got into seven major-league games last season and could be among the top candidates for a call-up if a spot in the rotation opens up.

Montero allowed a hit and tallied one strikeout in a scoreless inning to earn a save in Friday's win over the White Sox.

Montero was charged with a blown save in the eighth inning of Thursday's loss but was immediately given a shot to redeem himself. He worked around a one-out single by Tim Anderson to pick up the save during a 6-3 win. Ryan Pressly took a loss Thursday and did not pitch in Friday's game.

Taylor (elbow) is beginning a minor-league rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Taylor landed on the injured list just ahead of Opening Day after battling lingering elbow issues throughout the spring, but it would appear that the 27-year-old southpaw will be an option for the Astros' bullpen by the middle of April. Houston is currently carrying zero left-handed relievers.

Sewald (1-0) recorded the win in the Mariners' victory over the Guardians on Thursday, firing a perfect eighth inning during which he recorded a strikeout.

The hard-throwing right-hander was utilized in a setup role to start the season and came out of the gates exceedingly sharp, pounding in 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes. Sewald was rewarded for preserving a scoreless tie when Ty France slugged a three-run home run in the home half of the frame. Andres Munoz logged the ninth-inning opportunity Thursday, but Sewald -- who recorded a career-high 20 saves in 2022 -- figures to get his fair share of closing chances over the course of the campaign.

May (1-0) was credited with the win in Thursday's season-opening win over the Angels, allowing a hit and a walk while recording a strikeout in a scoreless eighth inning.

May took the ball after back-to-back scoreless relief frames from Zach Jackson and Domingo Acevedo, and he worked himself into a bit of trouble by allowing an infield single and then intentionally putting on Shohei Ohtani. However, May got out of the jam by striking out Anthony Rendon swinging, and he was rewarded for his efforts when the Athletics took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. The right-hander is likely to be deployed in similar high-leverage situations this season, which should give him a solid chance at holds, saves and the occasional win.

Karinchak (0-1) allowed three runs on a hit, a walk and a hit batsman in one-third of an inning, taking the loss Thursday versus the Mariners.

Karinchak was rattled early by a pitch-clock violation, and he then plunked Kolten Wong before Ty France took him deep in the eighth inning. After an uneven spring that saw Karinchak post a 12:5 K:BB and a 4.66 ERA over 9.2 innings, it's a little concerning to see him struggle in a high-leverage situation. The right-hander had a 2.08 ERA over 39 innings last season, but he also carried a 4.8 BB/9, which is something he'll need to get in check to continue to have success as a setup man. With the Guardians locking up Trevor Stephan on a four-year deal Wednesday, Karinchak's place as a setup man is far from guaranteed.

Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Thursday's win over against Kansas City to earn his first hold of the season.

It was notable that Jax was used in the eighth inning ahead of Jhoan Duran in the ninth, while Pablo Lopez worked the seventh. Jax had a breakout season in 2022 after moving to the bullpen and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB over 72.1 innings. It looks like he could be the main set-up man and rack up holds again, and possibly be in the mix for saves if manager Rocco Baldelli sticks to his previous matchup-based bullpen usage.

Graveman (1-0) allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win Thursday against the Astros.

Graveman was a candidate to serve as the White Sox's closer to begin the season, but he instead entered the game with the score knotted at 1-1 in the eighth frame. Reynaldo Lopez ultimately pitched the ninth inning to earn the save after Chicago grabbed the lead. It's unclear whether Lopez is locked into the closer role or if Graveman will also see some save opportunities in the absence of Liam Hendriks (illness).

Garcia (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the eighth inning of Thursday's 10-9 victory over the Cardinals, getting charged with a blown save but picking up the win.

Few pitchers on either side fared well in the wild Opening Day contest, but it's noteworthy that Erik Swanson entered the game in fifth inning with the score tied 5-5 while Garcia got the nod in the eighth after the Jays had taken a brief 8-7 lead. If he remains the team's primary setup man in front of closer Jordan Romano, Garcia could top last year's career-high 22 holds, but he'll need to pitch better than he did Thursday to keep the spot.

Munoz picked up the save in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Guardians. He allowed two hits and no walks or strikeouts in a scoreless frame.

Paul Sewald handled a scoreless top of the eighth inning with the game tied 0-0 and the 6-7-8 hitters in the Guardians' order due up. After the Mariners scored three times in the bottom of the frame they turned things over to Munoz, who pitched around a single and a double. It was a rare outing without a strikeout for the right-hander -- he had just 14 of those last season among 64 appearances -- but his velocity was fine as he maxed out at 100.6 mph. Seattle figures to give both Munoz and Sewald save opportunities, but if one of them stakes a claim to the full-time closer job, it'll probably be Munoz.