MLB Player News

Winder (shoulder) made the fourth appearance of his rehab assignment Wednesday with Triple-A St. Paul, covering 1.1 innings while allowing two runs on one hit and two walks while striking out one.

Winder, who has been on the 15-day injured list all season with a sore right shoulder, made his first three appearances at Single-A Fort Myers before jumping to Triple-A. The right-hander will presumably stick with St. Paul through at least the weekend before the Twins determine whether he's fit to return from the IL. Thus far during his rehab assignment, Winder has worked out of the bullpen each time out while working between one and two frames, so the Twins appear to be preparing for him to fill a multi-inning relief role. The 26-year-old previously made 11 of his 15 appearances with the big club in 2022 as a starter, but the Twins' rotation depth appears to be in a much better spot this season.

Smith (1-1) took the loss against the Cubs on Wednesday, allowing two earned runs on two walks over two-thirds of an inning.

Smith's control was nowhere to be seen, as he found the strike zone on only five of his 16 pitches after initially inducing an inning-ending groundout from Nico Hoerner when first entering in the fifth. Smith opened the sixth with back-to-back walks before getting the hook and then watched Sam Moll eventually allow both runners to score. Smith has been up and down during his first four appearances, generating scoreless efforts in two of them while allowing a total of three earned runs over 3.1 innings in the other pair of outings.

Fleming worked three shutout innings of relief and collected a hold in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Reds. He struck out three while giving up one hit and issuing no walks.

Since making his season debut as a starter April 4 in Washington, Fleming has made each of his subsequent three appearances out of the bullpen. Unlike Wednesday, however, Fleming's prior two relief outings had come as a primary pitcher behind an opener. After starter Drew Rasmussen exited after five innings while the Rays held a 7-0 lead, Fleming stepped in to retire nine of the 10 batters he faced before Pete Fairbanks took over in the bottom of the ninth. The Rays' decision to use Fleming as a more traditional reliever Wednesday suggests that Calvin Faucher -- who is expected to work around four innings as a starter Friday versus the White Sox -- will end up being the primary No. 5 option in the rotation until Tyler Glasnow (oblique) returns from the shelf.

Yacabonis (2-0) picked up the win Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits and a walk over 2.2 innings of relief. He struck out one.

The journeyman right-hander entered the game to begin the fourth inning following Max Scherzer's ejection, putting him in position for the win when the Mets took the lead for good in the fifth. Yacabonis has two wins in two appearances since joining the Mets' bullpen over the weekend to fill a long-relief role, but with the team likely scrambling to patch together its staff with Scherzer facing a 10-game suspension for use of a foreign substance, Yacabonis could be cycled out for a fresh bullpen arm at some point over the next couple weeks.

Yarbrough will serve as a bulk reliever in Friday's series opener against the Angels in Anaheim, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Taylor Clarke is slated to open for the Royals and work an inning or two before giving way to Yarbrough, who has plenty of experience working as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen dating back to his time with the Rays. Yarbrough has been used as a traditional reliever up to this point during his first season in Kansas City, allowing nine runs with a 4:3 K:BB over nine innings. With Kris Bubic (elbow) recently landing on the injured list, Yarbrough could be in store for several appearances as a bulk reliever.

Clarke will serve as the Royals' opening pitcher for Friday's road game against the Angels, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Clarke will likely work an inning or two before giving way to Ryan Yarbrough, who is expected to work the bulk of the innings in relief while the Royals look to replace the injured Kris Bubic (elbow) in the rotation. It's the first opener assignment for Clarke, who holds a 6.75 ERA but a 12:3 K:BB over eight innings out of the bullpen this season.

Strahm (thumb) is listed as the Phillies' probable starter for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

Strahm sliced his left thumb on the seam of the ball while throwing a warmup pitch prior to the third inning of his last start Saturday in Cincinnati, but after receiving some treatment from a trainer, he was able to stay in the game. However, Strahm labored through the third inning, needing 26 pitches to record two outs before manager Rob Thomson pulled him from the contest. The southpaw appears to be feeling better following his normal four days' rest, so Strahm isn't expected to be facing any restrictions when he returns to the mound Thursday for his fourth start of the season.

Reyes will move into the rotation for Triple-A Syracuse and get stretched back out as a starter, Abbey Mastracco of The New York Daily News reports.

The 26-year-old right-hander made five appearances out of the Mets' bullpen to begin the season, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings with a 7:2 K:BB, but as he had minor-league options remaining he was sent down Wednesday when Tommy Hunter came off the IL. New York's starting pitching depth is being severely tested in the early going, so Reyes could get a look in the big-league rotation once he gets stretched out if injuries and absences keep piling up for the Mets.

Headrick picked up the save Wednesday against Boston. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks while striking out three over three innings.

Headrick had a smooth debut after being called up from Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday. The former ninth-round draft pick will look to establish himself as a long reliever to start his major-league career, though he's not guaranteed to stick in the majors for long.

Hader recorded a save against Atlanta on Wednesday, issuing one walk and striking out one batter over one inning.

Offense was minimal in the contest, and Hader had just a 1-0 lead to work with when he entered in the ninth inning. The veteran closer walked Austin Riley to begin the frame but retired the next three batters to nail down his fifth save of the campaign. Hader has held the opponent scoreless in seven of his eight appearances thus far and has struck out at least one batter in each of his outings. That adds up to a 1.13 ERA and 14:4 K:BB over eight innings on the campaign.