MLB Player News

Clase picked up the save during Monday's 3-2 win over the Yankees, tossing a perfect ninth inning while striking out one.

The Guardians struck for three runs in the top of the ninth to take a one-run lead, so Clase came on in the bottom half of the frame. The hard-throwing reliever retired Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks in order to secure his 10th save, tying him with Josh Hader for the MLB lead. It was a solid bounce-back effort for the right-hander, who blew his second save chance of the season during Saturday's loss to Boston. Clase currently sports a 1.76 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, but he has just nine strikeouts through 15.1 innings.

Leone opted out of his minor-league contract with the Rangers on Tuesday and is now a free agent.

Leone posted a 1.59 ERA and 15:2 K:BB over 11.1 innings at Triple-A Round Rock but was evidently told by the Rangers that a promotion wasn't imminent. The 31-year-old should be able to latch on with another club quickly, perhaps even on a major-league deal.

Winckowski (2-0) allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk while striking out one over two innings to record Monday's win over Toronto.

Winckowski was victimized in the eighth inning by shortstop Enrique Hernandez, whose two throwing errors contributed to the Blue Jays knotting the game at 5-5. The right-hander came back out to throw the ninth and was the pitcher of record when Alex Verdugo walked off Toronto. Boston manager Alex Cora would have had the pitcher come back out for a third inning if Verdugo hadn't ended the game, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Winckowski has been valuable out of the bullpen and gets a lot of chances to pitch in support of a starting staff that ranks 27th with a 6.01 ERA. Monday's outing was the eighth multi-inning relief effort for the 24-year-old starter-turned-reliever, who is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA, 17 strikeouts and five walks over 21.1 innings (11 appearances).

Robertson earned a save against Atlanta in the second game of Monday's twin bill, allowing two hits and striking out four batters over two scoreless innings.

The Mets turned to Robertson in the eighth inning Monday while nursing a one-run lead. The right-hander worked around a one-out single in that frame, then continued into the ninth after New York posted an insurance run to make the score 5-3. Robertson gave up a leadoff double to Ozzie Albies to begin the ninth, but he fanned the next two batters and ended the contest by getting Chadwick Tromp to pop out. Robertson is now a perfect 6-for-6 in save chances this season, and he has given up only one earned run over 13.1 frames. Monday's outing was his first two-inning appearance of the campaign.

Minter earned a save in the first game of Monday's doubleheader against the Mets, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one batter over one inning.

Minter inherited a 9-7 lead in the ninth inning and retired the first two batters he faced. Eduardo Escobar then tagged him for a solo homer, but Minter got Brett Baty to line out to end the contest and earn the save. Despite the successful outcome, the run the southpaw allowed marked the fourth time in his past five outings that he has been scored upon. Over that stretch, Minter has taken three losses and a blown save while allowing 11 earned runs across 4.2 frames. With Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) expected back by the end of the week, Minter probably won't hang onto the closer role much longer.

Tapia struck out two batters across two perfect frames to earn a save over the Reds on Monday.

Tapia was promoted from Triple-A El Paso on Monday and immediately impressed in his first MLB appearance since April 15. He tossed 17 of 26 pitches for strikes to quickly take care of the Reds in order over two frames. He lowered his ERA to 3.48 with an 11:6 K:BB through 10.1 innings this season. With an 8-3 final score, normal closer Josh Hader didn't get the chance to enter the contest.

Garcia (1-2) earned the win over San Francisco on Sunday, striking out two batters over two scoreless innings.

Garcia got the call from the bullpen for San Diego in the seventh inning with the Giants up a run. He worked around a one-out Xander Bogaerts error in the seventh and a two-out hit-by-pitch in the eighth to keep San Francisco off the scoreboard and was credited with the win when the Padres tallied three runs in the ninth. Garcia has an unattractive 7.11 ERA on the campaign through 12.2 innings, though that's mostly due to two blow-ups. In two separate games against Arizona, he allowed a combined nine earned runs over two-thirds of an inning; in his other 11 appearances, he has yielded just one earned run over 12.0 frames.

The Padres recalled Tapia from Triple- El Paso on Monday.

Tapia has already been up and down with the Padres, and it's likely he'll continue to make the trip from El Paso to San Diego a few more times in 2023. The right-hander will be a low-leverage option while he's with the Padres in this stint. Ray Kerr was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

San Diego optioned Kerr to Triple-A El Paso on Monday.

Kerr was sent down to make room for Domingo Tapia, who was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding transaction. During his latest call-up period, the lefty appeared in two games out of the bullpen while throwing 1.1 scoreless innings.

Guerra will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Guerra is beginning his second stint with the Rays after he appeared in 17 games for the big club in 2022 before being dealt to Milwaukee in November. The right-hander turned in an 8.64 ERA and 2.28 WHIP in 8.1 innings over his eight relief outings with the Brewers before Tampa Bay re-acquired him Saturday. Guerra maxed out at two innings and 44 pitches during his time with Milwaukee, so he likely won't be asked to work more than once through the batting order Tuesday before turning the game over to bulk reliever Josh Fleming.