MLB Player News

Finnegan was saddled with a blown save after allowing three runs on three hits, walking and striking out none, during Monday's 6-4 loss to the Rockies.

It was perhaps the worst outing of the season for Finnegan, allowing a season-high three runs and three hits. The 33-year-old has flirted with danger lately, allowing seven hits in his last five games, but this was the first time that he allowed a run credited to him over that stretch. The right-hander is now 18-for-23 on save opportunities for the season.

Kerkering secured the save in Monday's 5-2 win at Miami, pitching a clean inning with one strikeout.

The 24-year-old required just 12 pitches, nine of which were strikes, to pick up his first save of the season. Kerkering has now made 16 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run, a span during which he's tossed 14.1 innings with a 13:7 K:BB. Jordan Romano, the Philadelphia saves leader, pitched in the seventh inning, while Matt Strahm, who secured the save Saturday, pitched in the eighth of Monday's contest. If Phillies manager Rob Thomson is trending towards employing a closer committee, Kerkering, with his 2.54 ERA across 28.1 total innings, could be in line for more save opportunities.

Thompson (elbow) will begin his rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Thompson has been cleared to embark on a rehab assignment after his lone outing in the Florida League Complex on Saturday, when he allowed two hits and struck out two batters in one inning. The 27-year-old right-hander is taking the final steps of his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March of 2024. How Thompson's throwing elbow reacts to extended work in Double-A will determine a timeline for his return to the majors.

Tinoco (forearm) resumed a throwing program Monday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Tinoco has missed much of June with a right forearm strain but has been cleared to play catch. The right-handed reliever will likely require a rehab assignment before being activated from the 15-day injured list.

The Pirates activated Moreta (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Monday and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Moreta has made 18 rehab appearances as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, allowing five runs with a 21:12 K:BB over 16.2 innings. The 29-year-old will continue to knock some rust off at Triple-A Indianapolis while he awaits another opportunity at the big-league level.

Raley (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Raley is ready to pitch in games again following Tommy John surgery with an internal brace augmentation he underwent last May. The southpaw's rehab assignment will likely last most, if not all, of the allotted 30 days, but Raley is on track to join the Mets bullpen sometime in July.

Casparius is expected to pitch in bulk relief in Monday's game against the Padres behind starter Shohei Ohtani (elbow), who will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher, Jeff Spiegel of DodgerBlue.com reports.

After Casparius limited San Diego to one run over four innings in his second start of the season this past Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts said that the right-hander would be part of the rotation moving forward. Though Roberts implied that Casparius would be utilized as a traditional starter, the 26-year-old is instead on track to cover the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen Monday after the team elected to have Ohtani bypass another simulated game in order to make his 2025 debut as a pitcher. Ohtani is expected to be limited to 1-to-2 innings Monday and will likely need at least a couple more outings after that to get fully stretched out for a typical starter's workload, so it wouldn't be surprising if Casparius ended up piggybacking the two-way phenom the next time Ohtani's turn in the rotation comes up.

Montas (lat) may rejoin the Mets in a bullpen role rather than being plugged into the rotation right away, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

In his most recent rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, Montas got hammered for eight runs in only 1.2 innings, and he'll get to make only one more start before his 30-day rehab stint expires. The 32-year-old is stretched out enough to handle a starting role -- he's thrown 129 pitches over his last two appearances -- but if his performance doesn't improve in his final outing for Syracuse, the Mets may not want to risk him in the rotation. New York plays 13 games in 13 days beginning Tuesday however and will almost certainly need a sixth starter to get through that stretch, and their options for that spot are limited with Paul Blackburn already set to fill in for Kodai Senga (hamstring). If the Mets decide that Montas isn't quite ready to start when he's activated from the 60-day injured list, it could open the door for a prospect such as Nolan McLean to make a spot start instead.

Lucchesi (0-1) took the loss in Sunday's 5-4 defeat to the Dodgers, allowing two earned runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning.

Lucchesi made his Giants debut Monday, entering the game with two outs in the fourth inning and allowing a single before inducing the final out. Lucchesi then surrendered back-to-back singles to start the fifth and was pulled after securing the first out. The 32-year-old was a last-minute addition to the major-league roster, with the team trading Sunday's projected starter, Kyle Harrison, and three other players to the Red Sox in exchange for Rafael Devers. Lucchesi had been working in relief for Triple-A Sacramento before joining San Francisco, posting a 3.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 31:8 K:BB across 30.2 innings in 20 appearances.

Diaz allowed two earned runs on five walks over one inning of relief Sunday in his appearance for Triple-A Reno.

Diaz made his second appearance for Reno since rejoining the squad following a stay at the Diamondbacks' facility in Arizona to work on command issues. Judging by Sunday's effort, the right-hander's wayward command was not solved. The 24-year-old had previously started in each of his first eight appearances of the season with Reno, but both of his last two outings have come out of the bullpen. Arizona might not have completely closed the door on developing Diaz as a starter, but he looks like he'll first need to find some success in a relief role before he's considered for a spot in the Reno rotation.