MLB Player News

Soto walked one and struck out three across 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday against the Mets.

Soto has appeared in each of Pittsburgh's first two games of the season and has racked up five strikeouts across 2.1 innings of work. He entered the game with two outs in the seventh inning and also worked around a leadoff walk to complete the eighth frame. Soto could figure into save chances this season, though Dennis Santana did follow him into the game in the ninth inning on Saturday.

Santana allowed one walk but no hits across one scoreless inning in Saturday's game against the Rockies.

Santana has pitched in both of Pittsburgh's games to begin 2026, and he has yet to allow an earned run. His usage Saturday was particularly notable, as he entered the game in the ninth inning with the score knotted at 0-0. Manager Don Kelly noted shortly before the new season began that Santana may not get every save chance, though Santana's clearly still a high-leverage arm for the Pirates and should work in plenty of save situations.

Kerkering (hamstring) threw a clean inning in Saturday's minor-league rehab appearance for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, striking out one.

Kerkering, who's working his way back from a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, is next expected to pitch in consecutive games Sunday and Monday, per MLB.com. Once he's cleared to join Philadelphia's bullpen, Kerkering is likely to operate primarily as a setup man for closer Jhoan Duran in 2026.

Lopez took a no-decision Saturday against the Royals, allowing one run on three hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out three.

Lopez might not have been overly dominant in his season debut, but he kept the Royals quiet until Salvador Perez opened the scoring with a seventh-inning solo shot. It was particularly encouraging to see the right-hander get his fastball velocity as high as 97 mph, considering he was rarely breaking 90 mph this spring after missing most of 2025 due to shoulder surgery. Lopez tossed 77 pitches Saturday, and he'll be trying to further build himself up during his next scheduled outing in Arizona.

Fairbanks earned the save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rockies, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Fairbanks was called on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and needed just nine pitches to do so. He could be unavailable Sunday after notching saves on back-to-back nights, but the 32-year-old appears to have a firm grip on the closer's role following a strong start with his new club.

Pagan was charged with a blown save in Saturday's extra-innings win against the Red Sox, giving up a solo homer with two strikeouts and no walks over 1.1 innings.

Pagan has always been a little prone to giving up home runs, including 10 during the 2025 regular season, and served up a two-out solo shot to Wilyer Abreu in the ninth inning Saturday to blow the save. The right-hander converted 32 of 38 opportunities with a 2.88 ERA last season and inked a two-year, $20 million contract in December, so the early blown save shouldn't alter his job security.

Stanek (1-0) blew the save but collected the win in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning victory over the Rays, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits over 1.1 innings. He struck out two.

With the Cardinals ahead 4-0, Matt Svanson got the call in the ninth inning but ran into trouble, and Stanek allowed two inherited runners to score before the tying run was added to his own ledger on a Nick Fortes single. Stanek allowed an additional unearned run in the top of the 10th but got bailed out when rookie JJ Wetherholt walked it off in the bottom of the frame. While Stanek has gotten the Cards' first two save chances of the season, converting the first one, he's looked shaky in both outings and has a 3.86 ERA and 3:3 K:BB in his first 2.1 innings of the season.

The Nationals designated Eder for assignment Saturday, Danielle Allentuck of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Eder will forfeit his place on Washington's 40-man roster in order to make room for Curtis Mead, who was acquired in a trade with the White Sox on Saturday. Eder posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 18.1 innings with the Angels last season but found less success in Triple-A, where he ended the year with a 6.59 ERA across 68.1 frames (15 starts).

Walker allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one across one-third of an inning in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Yankees.

Walker entered in the eighth inning and struck out Aaron Judge, walked Cody Bellinger and gave up a single to Giancarlo Stanton before being pulled for left-hander Ryan Borucki. According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, Walker is a candidate to pitch high-leverage innings this season along with Matt Gage, Erik Miller and Jose Butto, all of whom made appearances Friday. Over 68 regular-season outings in 2025, Walker posted a 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 60:18 K:BB across 61.1 innings. He began last season as the Giants' closer before losing the role to Camilo Doval. However, Walker later regained closing duties after Doval was traded and Randy Rodriguez suffered an elbow injury in late August that ultimately led to Tommy John surgery in September.

Gage allowed one walk in a scoreless inning during Friday's 3-0 loss to the Yankees.

Gage entered in the ninth inning and threw eight of his 14 pitches for strikes. According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, the left-hander is a candidate to pitch high-leverage innings this season along with Ryan Walker, Erik Miller and Jose Butto, all of whom made appearances Friday. Gage appeared in 27 regular-season games for San Francisco last season, recording a 3.91 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 24:10 K:BB across 25.1 innings.