MLB Player News

Slaten (oblique) is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday or Sunday, MLB.com reports.

Slaten made two strong rehab appearances for Triple-A Worcester and was seemingly available to be activated Friday after Boston optioned Jake Bennett following his start Thursday. Instead, the team recalled Jack Anderson for Friday's game against the Rays. "I think you'll see Slaten this weekend at some point active," interim manager Chad Tracy told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com before Friday's game. The manager believed that Anderson could provide length if needed. Slaten, who hasn't pitched since April 8, recently threw for the WooSox on Wednesday.

Lopez (3-2) picked up the win Friday, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings in a 4-3 victory over the Orioles. He struck out five.

Solo shots by Pete Alonso in the fourth inning and Adley Rutschman in the sixth accounted for all the offense against Lopez, who tossed 57 of 91 pitches for strikes before leaving the mound. The southpaw has yet to work more than 5.1 innings in any of his appearances this season, either in a starting role or as a bulk reliever, and he's been taken deep eight times in just 35.1 innings, giving him little margin for error. Lopez will carry a 6.11 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 28:24 K:BB into his next outing, which is set to come at home next week against the Cardinals.

Williams (2-1) picked up the win Friday against the Diamondbacks, recording one strikeout in a hitless and scoreless ninth inning.

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Williams came on and got Lourdes Gurriel and Gabriel Moreno to ground out before striking out Jose Fernandez to send it to a 10th inning. After the Mets plated two in the top half of the frame, Tobias Myers came on and picked up the save. After a tumultuous middle of April in which he allowed eight runs across four appearances, Williams has six consecutive scoreless outings spanning 5.2 innings. On the year, Williams has a 5.68 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 21:6 K:BB across 12.2 innings. He's 5-for-6 in save chances.

Vodnik (1-2) picked up the win in Friday's 9-7 extra-innings victory over the Phillies, walking one and striking out two over two scoreless, no-hit innings.

Entering a tie game in the ninth inning, Vodnik shut down the heart of the Phillies' order and got rewarded for his efforts when his offense put two runs on the board in the top of the 11th. The right-hander is the clear top option in the Colorado bullpen, converting four of his six save chances so far in 2026, but pitching his home games at Coors Field has left its mark on his ratios in the early going. Vodnik has a 3.60 ERA in 10 road innings but a brutal 11.12 ERA in 5.2 frames at home.

Assad (3-1) tossed 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Rangers. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one.

Ben Brown started for the Cubs and gave them four strong innings before turning things over to the bullpen. Assad stepped up with some important length and earned his third win of the year and second in relief. The righty has a subpar 6.00 ERA across 24 innings so far, but that figure is inflated by the nine runs he allowed on April 13 and the six runs he gave up on April 25. Outside of those two bad outings, Assad has a sharp 0.52 ERA.

Armstrong (groin) threw a bullpen session Friday, MLB.com reports.

The Guardians will evaluate Armstrong's response to the session before sending him out on a rehab assignment. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 23 and can rejoin the club at any time.

Scott struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 3-1 win over Atlanta.

Scott has allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out seven over his last five innings. The Dodgers aren't generating a ton of save chances for him, but he has pitched well enough to maintain his hold on a share of ninth-inning duties while Edwin Diaz (elbow) is out. Scott has pitched to a 1.65 ERA, 0.61 WHIP and 16:2 K:BB across 16.1 innings while adding three saves and four holds. Alex Vesia is also in the mix for saves, but he was utilized to put out a fire in the fifth inning Friday.

Mlodzinski (2-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out one without walking a batter over six innings, taking the loss Friday versus the Giants.

A Rafael Devers home run and a Heliot Ramos RBI single accounted for the two runs on his line. Mlodzinski's single strikeout was a bit of a disappointment after he racked up 10 punchouts versus the Reds last Saturday. This was his first quality start of the season, and it ended a stretch of three poor outings in which he allowed a total of 15 runs (14 earned) across 13.2 innings. He's had fairly mixed results overall with a 4.50 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB through 40 innings over eight appearances (seven starts). The right-hander offers strikeout upside in a favorable projected matchup next week at home versus the Rockies.

Smith will serve as the opening pitcher during Saturday's game against the Royals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Smith has been one of the Tigers' most reliable bullpen options so far this season, logging a 1.59 ERA and 1.15 WHIP alongside a 16:4 K:BB in 11.1 innings. He'll be trusted to handle the first inning or two of Saturday's contest before turning things over to bulk reliever Ty Madden.

Scholtens (3-2) took the loss against the Red Sox on Friday, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks with four strikeouts over 4.2 innings.

Scholtens limited the Red Sox to just two hits, though both were home runs. It was still an improvement from the five-run loss he took in his only other start of the season April 20, and the 32-year-old has now yielded two earned runs or fewer in five of six outings while working mostly in bulk relief. Overall, he owns a 3.29 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 21:10 K:BB across 27.1 innings. If he draws another start, it would likely come in a road matchup against the Blue Jays next week.