MLB Player News

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.

Nardi gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to record his first hold of the season in Friday's win over the Rockies.

Entering the game to begin the eighth inning and tasked with protecting a 2-1 lead, Nardi gave up a single to Kyle Karros but fanned Braxton Fulford and Ryan Ritter before ceding the mound to Anthony Bender. It was Nardi's first big-league game action since August 2024, as back trouble cost him all of 2025, but it looks like the 27-year-old will be the top left-handed setup option in the Marlins' bullpen to kick off the current campaign.

Loaisiga struck out one over 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Loaisiga retired all four batters faced in his Arizona debut. He finished out the fifth inning by striking out Kyle Tucker and induced an infield pop out and two groundouts in a 1-2-3 sixth. There's room to move in a bullpen that doesn't have a set closer, and Loaisiga could emerge as a late-inning option.

Fairbanks gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his first save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Rockies.

The Marlins' new closer allowed a one-out single to T.J. Rumfield, but he induced weak contact from Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle to end the night. Fairbanks racked up 75 saves over the last three seasons for the Rays before inking a one-year, $13 million deal with the Marlins in December, and his ability to stay healthy might be the only thing standing between him and his first career 30-save campaign.

Ginkel (0-1) allowed one run on two hits over one inning, picking up the loss in Friday's game against the Dodgers.

Ginkel was handed a tough assignment in his first appearance of the season, entering a tie game in the eighth inning with a switch hitter and two lefties due up. The Diamondbacks have an all-righty bullpen, and manager Torey Lovullo tabbed Ginkel as one of the relievers designated to get lefties. He gave up a leadoff double to Alex Freeland and a run-scoring single to Kyle Tucker two batters later. Ginkel will be part of a late-game crew along with Ryan Thompson, who pitched the seventh inning Friday, and Paul Sewald, who has yet to pitch.

Thompson threw a scoreless seventh inning in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Thompson made quick work of the Dodgers, needing just seven pitches (all strikes) to retire the side in order. He's worked both regular-season games thus far and has retired all six batters faced. The right-hander is in the mix for save opportunities and will generally appear in high-leverage situations.

Diaz walked one and struck out two over a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Diaz was able to pitch around a one-out walk to Alek Thomas, who stole second but was stranded there. In the 2025 regular season, Diaz came up short of the 30-save mark for the second year in a row with the Mets, but his move to the Dodgers in the offseason gives him significant upside to get back to that threshold in 2026. While he is the clear closer to begin the year, any extended struggles by Diaz could see Alex Vesia or Tanner Scott work their way into the mix for ninth-inning work in what should be a deep bullpen for the two-time defending champions.

Chafin signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Friday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

Chafin was released by the Twins last Friday despite allowing just two earned runs over six innings in the Grapefruit League. The veteran lefty will now begin the regular season as organizational depth for the Reds, but he figures to have a strong chance to join Cincinnati's bullpen at some point after posting a 2.41 ERA in 33.2 frames last season.

Beeter struck out one and walked two in a scoreless eighth inning during Thursday's 10-4 win over the Cubs.

The Nationals held an 8-4 lead when Beeter took the mound to face the bottom half of Chicago's batting order -- not exactly a high-leverage spot for the 2026 debut of a pitcher generally projected to lead the team in saves this season. Washington doesn't have any established options at the back of its bullpen, however, so as long as Beeter remains effective, he should be in the mix to protect close ninth-inning leads. The 27-year-old right-hander will need to display more control than he did Opening Day to stay in the saves picture, as he tossed just 12 of 24 pitches for strikes against the Cubs. Cole Henry and potentially Cionel Perez, who worked the ninth Thursday, could also get save chances while new manager Blake Butera sorts out his bullpen.

Pivetta (0-1) took the loss Thursday versus Detroit, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four batters over three innings.

On the heels of his career-best 2025 campaign, Pivetta was awarded his first MLB Opening Day start. However, things didn't go well for the right-hander, as he gave up more earned runs Thursday than he did in all but one outing last year. Pivetta struggled from the get-go, giving up four runs in the first frame. His control was largely to blame -- Pivetta served up three free passes in that opening inning. He'll try to turn things around in his second start, which is tentatively slated to come at home against San Francisco next week.