MLB Player News

The Pirates placed Holderman on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right knee sprain, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Pittsburgh recalled right-hander Chase Shugart from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Holderman in the bullpen. After the Pirates surprisingly optioned David Bednar to Triple-A on Tuesday, Holderman looked like a candidate to factor into the mix for saves, but his knee injury likely leaves Dennis Santana as the top choice for any closing situations that emerge in the short term. Holderman had struggled through his first five appearances before getting injured, yielding five earned runs on six hits and four walks over 4.2 innings.

The Rockies optioned Blalock to Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday.

With Austin Gomber (shoulder) on the shelf to begin the season, Blalock headed into Opening Day as the Rockies' presumptive No. 5 starter. However, a few off days early on in the team's schedule allowed the Rockies to get by with a four-man rotation, and Blalock ended up making a pair of relief appearances over the team's first eight games. The Rockies will break in a fifth member of the rotation for Sunday's game against the Athletics, but it won't be Blalock who gets the nod. Instead, he'll head to Triple-A to clear room on the active roster for prized pitching prospect Chase Dollander, whose contract was selected from Albuquerque. Blalock will get stretched back out as a starter at Albuquerque after covering two innings Saturday in his most recent relief appearance.

Casparius notched a hold against the Phillies on Saturday, striking out one batter in two perfect innings.

Casparius entered the game in the sixth frame and breezed through two perfect innings on 23 pitches (15 strikes). The 26-year-old has taken up a prominent place in the Dodgers' bullpen early in the season -- he leads the team's relievers with seven innings of work and is tied for the club lead with three holds. Casparius has excelled in his role thus far, as he has yet to allow an earned run and has a 7:2 K:BB while surrendering just three hits.

Banda (3-0) picked up the win against Philadelphia on Saturday, pitching one perfect inning.

Roki Sasaki logged another short outing (four-plus innings) for Los Angeles, and Banda took over in the fourth with a pair of runners on base and nobody out. He managed to escape the jam with the help of some poor Phillies baserunning -- after J.T. Realmuto advanced to third on a flyout, Bryson Stott was thrown out at first for a double play on another flyball that would have easily scored Realmuto. Still, it was another effective performance for Banda, who has pitched five scoreless frames over five outings to begin the campaign. He leads MLB with three wins, though given the unpredictable nature of reliever victories, that doesn't mean much for fantasy purposes.

Walker earned a save against the Mariners on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter in one scoreless inning.

Walker was called upon to protect a ninth-inning, three-run lead, and he did so successfully while working around a one-out single. A back injury kept the right-hander out of action for a few days just after Opening Day, but Walker has bounced back nicely by picking up two saves so far in April. Camilo Doval has registered two saves of his own for San Francisco this season, but Walker remains the team's primary closer, with Doval filling the ninth-inning role on days when Walker is unavailable.

Diaz (hamstring) may not be the closer immediately upon his return, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Diaz began a rehab assignment Friday and is nearing a return to the active roster. Despite some positive signs regarding Diaz's mechanics and command, pitching coach Derek Johnson said the team may prefer to put him in low-leverage appearances to ease him back into action. Johnson also stated that the decision would ultimately be up to manager Terry Francona, so there is no official word as to Diaz's role at this point.

Finnegan earned the save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on one hit and one walk with no strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Finnegan entered with a 4-2 lead but yielded a run and managed only six strikes on 13 pitches. The game ended on a challenged caught-stealing call that was upheld after review, preserving the win. Despite the shaky outing, the 33-year-old has converted both of his save opportunities this season and has given up a run on two hits with a 2:3 K:BB over three innings.

Scott earned the save in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Phillies, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Scott needed only three pitches to lock down his third save of the season. After giving up a leadoff single on his first offering, he quickly bounced back with a double play and a lineout to end the game. The southpaw owns a 4.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 4:0 K:BB across six innings, having received four of the Dodgers' six save opportunities so far in 2025.

Bivens (1-1) allowed one run on one hit and two walks while striking out one over two innings, earning the win in Friday's 10-9 extra-innings victory over the Mariners.

Bivens entered Friday's matchup in the 10th, allowing a walk but no runs. The 30-year-old began the 11th inning by inducing a groundout, but he gave up a line-drive single to center field and subsequently walked the next batter, loading the bases with one out, and the Mariners took a 9-8 lead after Bivens allowed the automatic runner to score on a wild pitch. The right-handed reliever picked up the win after Willy Adames' two-run, walk-off single that sealed the game in the 11th. Bivens has made three appearances this season, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three over 3.2 innings.

Trivino allowed a home run and an additional run on two hits and two walks while striking out one over one inning in Friday's 10-9 extra-innings win over the Mariners.

Trivino entered Friday's matchup with a 5-3 lead in the fifth frame, allowing a walk before giving up a two-out, two-run shot to right field by Jorge Polanco. Additionally, Trivino gave up a single and walked another batter, finishing with 17 strikes on 30 pitches. The 33-year-old struggled Friday, though he was perfect in his first two relief appearances, striking out one and recording a hold over two innings.