MLB Player News

The Cubs optioned Assad to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.

Assad has been working out of the bullpen for Chicago and appeared in three games so far in May, allowing just one run with a 3:1 K:BB over seven innings. Despite his recent effectiveness, he'll head to Iowa in favor of a fresh arm. Ty Blach had his contract selected from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Lovelady will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher in Sunday's game against the Orioles, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Lovelady hasn't recorded more than six outs in any of his 17 appearances this season, so he'll handle a limited workload ahead of expected bulk reliever Miles Mikolas. Since the Nationals acquired him from the Mets on April 16, Lovelady has emerged as one of the club's more trusted bullpen arms. He's gathered two saves and three holds with an 0.82 ERA over 11 appearances with Washington, but a bloated 19.2 percent walk rate and 95.2 percent strand rate suggest that he's benefited from plenty of good fortune.

The Reds optioned Mey to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday.

Mey was called up by Cincinnati in late April and made six appearances in the big leagues, giving up five earned runs with a 14:7 K:BB across 8.1 innings. He'll return to Triple-A for now but could return to the big leagues when the Reds need bullpen depth.

Miller allowed two runs on two walks and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Miller got the nod for a high-leverage spot in relief of starter Trevor McDonald in the seventh inning. He did fine there, but he struggled when staying on to begin the eighth. He walked two batters, and Caleb Kilian allowed both of them to score on a Brent Rooker homer. Miller was activated from the IL on Saturday, as he missed a minimal amount of time due to a back strain and now appears set to compete for late-inning work with Kilian in the near term. Over 13 appearances this season, Miller has a 4.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 18:8 K:BB across 12 innings.

Gage pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Gage has seen some high-leverage work this season, earning five holds and a 3-1 record over 23 appearances. This was his first major-league save, and it came after Erik Miller and Caleb Kilian were both called on for high-leverage spots in earlier frames. Through 19.1 innings this season, Gage has a 1.40 ERA, though his 1.14 WHIP and 13:11 K:BB paint a less dominant picture of his work. He may not be a regular for closing duties, but he should continue to pitch in the late innings at times, as long as he doesn't slump.

Williams struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Yankees.

Williams threw eight of 12 pitches for strikes in his fourth clean appearance of the month. He's gone eight straight outings (7.2 innings) without allowing a run, giving up just one hit with a 10:1 K:BB and four saves in that span. Williams appears to have put his early struggles behind him, though they're still evident in his 4.91 ERA and 1:50 WHIP over 14.2 innings this season. He's up to six saves in seven chances and is unchallenged for the closer role -- Tobias Myers (one) is the only other pitcher on the Mets' roster to log a save so far in 2026.

Estrada earned a save against the Mariners on Saturday, allowing one hit and one walk over one scoreless inning.

Estrada entered in the ninth inning with San Diego up by three runs. He got into some trouble by issuing a walk and allowing a single with one out, but the right-hander retired the next two batters to close out the San Diego win. Estrada's save was his first of the season and fifth of his career. Mason Miller has been arguably the best closer in baseball this season, but he was presumably unavailable after throwing 34 pitches in a save Friday. With that in mind, Estrada isn't likely to see many save chances moving forward.

Fairbanks (1-2) was charged with a blown save but earned the win Saturday against the Rays, allowing one unearned run on one hit and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out two.

Joe Mack committed a throwing error while attempting to catch Cedric Mullins stealing second base, which resulted in Tampa Bay's game-tying run in the ninth frame going unearned on Fairbanks' ledger. The Marlins went on to rally in the 10th inning and get Fairbanks off the hook, but the hurler has certainly been shaky during his debut season with Miami. Through 10 frames as the club's primary closer, the hard-throwing right-hander has a 9.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB while converting five of his seven save chances.

The Giants optioned Beck to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.

Beck will end up without a spot in the Giants' bullpen following the return of Erik Miller (back) from the injured list Saturday. Beck pitched three shutout innings across his two appearances with the big club, though he may need to improve upon his 5.40 ERA in Triple-A before getting another opportunity with San Francisco.

Soriano gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning Saturday to record his second save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Royals.

With Riley O'Brien having pitched Thursday and Friday and the Cardinals holding a fairly comfortable three-run lead, Soriano got the call to close things out but served up a solo shot to Jac Caglianone and a single to Isaac Collins to make things interesting. Soriano has worked his way into a high-leverage role in his first season with St. Louis, recording eight holds in addition to his two saves with a 3.66 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 16:10 K:BB over 19.2 innings.