MLB Player News

Chapman struck out three and allowed one walk in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against Cleveland.

Chapman had a three-run cushion in the ninth inning and had no trouble slamming the door to earn his third save of the season. He's completely dominated the opposition early on, piling up 16 strikeouts across six innings of work while allowing only two hits and no earned runs.

Garcia is a candidate for an upcoming start with manager Aaron Boone indicating Thursday that he is likely to go to a sixth starter this week or next, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Garcia, the Yankees' top pitching prospect, has been traveling with the team as part of the taxi squad. He looked to be the leading candidate for the fifth-starter role coming into spring training before Domingo German won the job with a dominant showing in Grapefruit League play. It's unclear when Garcia would pitch if he is indeed inserted as the sixth starter, but the earliest possibility would be this Sunday, per Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record.

Tapia (oblique) will be included on the Mariners' taxi squad for their upcoming eight-game road trip that begins Thursday in Boston, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Tapia's inclusion on the taxi squad implies that he's healthy again after he missed a good chunk of time in spring training due to a right oblique strain. If Tapia isn't called up from the taxi squad at any point during the road trip, he'll likely be making his 2021 debut at Triple-A Tacoma, which is set to begin its season in May.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday that Merryweather (oblique) will be shut down for "a couple of weeks" before resuming a throwing program, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Atkins is optimistic that Merryweather will be able to build up quickly once he's cleared to start throwing again, but the right-hander will first need to make more progress in his recovery from a left oblique strain. Before being shut down, Merryweather had converted on both of his save chances and struck out seven over 4.1 scoreless innings. He looked like the leading candidate to close games for Toronto this season, but the time he's missed due to injury could be enough to put him behind others in the pecking order for saves once he's eventually healthy.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Romano (elbow) has a "strong chance" of being activated from the 10-day injured list Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Just as Toronto anticipated, Romano looks to be trending toward a minimum-length stay on the IL due to right elbow neuritis. Once activated, Romano should reenter the closer picture for Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who hasn't settled on a clear ninth-inning man before or since Romano was placed on the IL. Anthony Castro recorded Toronto's lone save since Romano was deactivated, and it was of the one-out variety.

Pearson (groin) will throw 2-to-3 innings in an intrasquad game Friday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Pearson has thrown at 100 percent intensity without pain recently, and he's now working on building back up ahead of his season debut. However, the team hopes to build the right-hander up to around five innings before he returns to game action. As a result, he should require at least one more throwing session after Friday's intrasquad game before he's considered to return.

Mayers (1-1) took the loss against Texas on Wednesday, allowing three runs on two hits and a walk without recording an out.

Mayers entered the contest with a pristine 0.93 ERA over eight appearances, but that number is now a less extraordinary 3.72 following Wednesday's blowup. The right-hander was burned by a pair of home runs, and all four runs he has allowed this season have come by way of the long ball. Despite the tough outing, Mayers should still factor prominently into the Angels' bullpen mix.

Hatch (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Thursday.

Hatch has been dealing with a right elbow impingement since mid-March but has been throwing bullpen sessions recently. However, the right-hander will now be sidelined until at least June while he continues to recover. Hatch's removal from the 40-man roster will make room for right-hander Jeremy Beasley, who was acquired by Toronto via trade Thursday.

Borucki (2-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's victory over the Red Sox, allowing one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings. He struck out two.

On a bullpen day for the Jays, Borucki was judged by the official scorer to be the most effective of the team's relievers even though he entered the game in the sixth inning with Toronto already ahead 4-2. The lefty has two holds through seven appearances (6.2 innings) in addition to his two wins, and Borucki's 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB are sharp as well. The 27-year-old is the top southpaw in the bullpen, although Tim Mayza has also worked his way into the high-leverage mix.

Mayza gave up a hit and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning to record his first hold of the season in Wednesday's win over the Red Sox.

The southpaw started the ninth inning in position for a save with the Jays up by three, but after facing the minimum three batters and getting two of them out, Mayza gave way to Anthony Castro with J.D. Martinez coming to the plate. Mayza has looked sharp to begin the season, giving up no runs in five innings over seven appearances with a 6:0 K:BB, which has earned him a spot in manager Charlie Montoyo's high-leverage crew.