MLB Player News

Garcia is in consideration for a start Monday against the Orioles, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The Yankees have yet to confirm their starting-pitcher plans for the upcoming series at Baltimore, and manager Aaron Boone recently hinted that New York is likely to go to a six-man rotation soon. That leaves Garcia squarely in the mix for an opportunity to start, though he is not currently on the 26-man roster. The right-hander is traveling with the team as part of the taxi squad, however, so he would be available on short notice if the decision were made to insert him in the rotation.

Patino was added to the Rays' taxi squad Saturday and is expected to be active for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Patino was sent down by the Rays in mid-March, but he could be in line to make his team debut in Sunday's series finale. The right-hander made his major-league debut with the Padres last year and posted a 5.19 ERA and 21:14 K:BB in 17.1 innings across 11 appearances (one start). Patino will likely join the bullpen once he's added to the Rays' big-league roster, but he could be an option to serve as a starter at some point this year.

Burke (shoulder) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to the Rangers' alternate training site Saturday.

Burke began the season on the injured list while he recovered from shoulder surgery that he underwent in February of 2020. While the left-hander is now healthy, he'll work at the team's alternate training site going forward.

Thielbar was activated from the COVID-19 injured list Saturday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Thielbar came into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 early in the week and had been on the injured list since Tuesday. However, he'll be available out of the Twins' bullpen going forward. Luke Farrell was sent back to the alternate training site in a corresponding move.

Duffey threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and a walk to earn his second hold in Friday's win over Pittsburgh.

Duffey had a slow start to the season with a 4.50 ERA and five walks in his first four innings. He has been striking out batters with six strikeouts in six innings overall. Duffey has always had good control, so the early walks are out of character. He doesn't appear to be in the mix to finish games as he's been used as early as the fourth and fifth innings in games, but he'll still feature in high-leverage situations if the walks don't become a trend.

Ottavino retired both batters faced on strikeouts in Friday's 6-5 win over the Mariners.

Ottavino entered the eighth inning with men on second and third and one out, then fanned Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty to earn his third hold. Eight of his 12 pitches were in the zone. It was a nice bounce-back for Ottavino, who had walked a pair and gave up a game-tying run the previous night when just six of 15 offerings were strikes.

Barnes allowed three runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one over one inning in Friday's 6-5 win over Seattle.

Barnes entered the ninth inning in a non-save situation with a mission to close out Boston's win and surrendered a three-run home run to Kyle Seager before getting the final out. He'd been sharp in all of his previous outings and entered the night with a 0.90 ERA and a 17:2 K:BB ratio.

Pressly (2-0) gained his second win Friday when the Astros plated three in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Angels. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits and one walk while striking out three over two innings.

Pressly allowed his first two runs of the season in the top half of the extra inning but was spared the loss by Houston's offense. It was the second consecutive game in which he's pitched, so after throwing three innings and 42 pitches the last two nights, Houston's closer may not be available to throw Saturday.

Hendriks allowed one run on one hit and struck out five over 1.2 innings to earn the save in Friday's 9-7 win over the Rangers.

Hendriks worked around an Adolis Garcia solo home run, the third blast he's allowed in 8.1 innings, to log his fourth save in five opportunities. Apparently, manager Tony La Russa is not afraid to use his closer for multiple innings. Hendricks, who had two full days off since he last pitched, had the bullets to quell a two-on, one-out situation in the eighth inning, then close out the ninth. He threw 32 pitches Friday.

Sulser pitched two perfect innings and struck out three in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Athletics.

Sulser retired the side on groundouts in the seventh inning, then struck out the side in the eighth. The 31-year-old right-hander has allowed five hits and struck out 10 over 6.1 scoreless innings to begin 2021. Sulser is expected to mainly work in a low-leverage role, but he's pitched well so far.