MLB Player News

Alexander (undisclosed) worked around a walk to deliver a scoreless eighth inning Sunday in the Dodgers' 3-1 loss to the Giants.

With Alexander and fellow reliever Kenley Jansen both making their season debuts in the series finale, utility man Matt Beaty and starting pitcher Walker Buehler are the only members of the Dodgers' 30-man roster who have yet to appear in 2020. Alexander's status heading into Opening Day had been shaky due to his late arrival to summer camp, but his appearance Sunday clears up any uncertainty.

Miami claimed Shafer off waivers from Cincinnati on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The Marlins haven't officially announced their plans for Shafer, but he'll likely join the 30-man active roster right away for a Miami squad that is down several players due to a recent COVID-19 outbreak within the team. Shafer was designated for assignment Friday without ever appearing in a game for the Reds, but he's seen major-league action in both of the past two seasons with Toronto. Over his 40 career relief appearances, Shafer owns a 3.75 ERA and a lowly 4.1 K-BB%.

The Rockies announced Monday that Collins has elected to opt out of the 2020 season.

Collins had been added to the Rockies' 60-man player pool in late June and was present for summer camp, but he failed to win a spot on the season-opening 30-man roster. Rather than waiting around at the Rockies' alternative training site for a potential callup to the big club, Collins will remove himself from the 60-man pool and pack it in for 2020. He's scheduled to become a free agent during the offseason.

Minter worked a scoreless seventh inning in his season debut in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Mets, working around a hit and striking out two.

Minter entered the contest with the Braves trailing 2-1 and was able to acquit himself well in the 20-pitch frame. The hard-throwing lefty saved 15 games for the Braves back in 2018, but control issues and injuries have resulted in him moving down the bullpen pecking order since then. Mark Melancon is beginning the season as the Braves' closer, and Will Smith (illness) will loom as the next man up once he's activated from the COVID-19 injured list.

Burdi struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning against the Cardinals on Sunday.

While manager Derek Shelton hasn't committed to Burdi as his closer, it's difficult seeing the team go in any other direction. The hard-throwing righty -- he touched 99 mph Sunday, also features a sharp-breaking slider. In fact, he whiffed Paul Goldschmidt on three consecutive sliders. The outing was Burdi's first since suffering a season-ending biceps injury in 2019.

Jansen struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning against the Giants on Sunday.

Manager Dave Roberts had Jansen get some work in late with the Dodgers losing 3-1 after his closer did not pitch in any of the team's first three games. Jansen's first cutter was clocked at just 88.6 mph, but he quickly dialed it up to 90-91 mph. The save chances will come and Jansen would have to squander several of those in a row to lose the job.

Cabrera (illness) is "progressing nicely" at the Cardinals' alternate training site in Springfield according to manager Mike Shildt, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Cabrera was a late arrival for summer camp after a positive COVID-19 test and was therefore left off the Opening Day roster in order to make up for lost time. He's apparently been putting his Springfield deployment to good use, having already thrown one bullpen session that he recovered well from and lining up for a second one no later than Monday. If all continues smoothly, Cabrera will move on to facing hitters in live batting practice before being considered for activation.

Reyes (illness) is getting good work in at the Cardinals' alternate training site in Springfield, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Reyes and fellow hurler Genesis Cabrera are both working in Springfield after late arrivals in summer camp due to positive COVID-19 tests. Reyes threw a bullpen session late last week according to manager Mike Shildt and has recovered well from it, leaving him poised to throw another no later than Monday. The right-hander could get a relatively quick promotion to the big-league club due to his ability to work multiple innings, but he'll need to face hitters in live batting practice first.

Almonte fired two scoreless innings in relief as he picked up a hold during Sunday's win against the Rangers. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three.

Almonte had a subpar season in 2019 in which he posted a 5.56 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 34 innings in the majors as he was shuffled between the big leagues and Triple-A Albuquerque. However, he got off to a strong start in his 2020 season debut as he allowed just one baserunner after relieving Kyle Freeland in the seventh inning. Despite his effective outing Sunday, the right-hander's fantasy value is limited as a middle reliever with inconsistent results in the big leagues.

Gott worked around a hit to throw a scoreless ninth inning and earn the save against the Dodgers on Sunday. He struck out one batter.

Tony Watson and Tyler Rogers were widely seen as the top two candidates for ninth-inning duties in San Francisco, but manager Gabe Kapler has handed the ball to Gott for the Giants' first two save chances. Gott has shut the door both times and looked pretty good doing so Sunday, striking out Max Muncy swinging with a 96-mph fastball to end it. Kapler has said that he won't have defined roles, but he tipped his hand this weekend, and with that Gott looks like the arm to roster in fantasy leagues.