MLB Player News

The Rays announced Tuesday that Bigge (lat/face) has resumed playing catch, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Initially placed on the injured list May 6 due to a right lat strain, Bigge's recovery program from that injury was stalled when he was hit in the face by a foul ball while he was in the dugout during a June 19 game against the Orioles. He sustained multiple facial fractures and required surgery, but he feels fully healed from that injury and has now turned his focus back to rehabbing his strained lat. As a reliever, Bigge won't require the extended build-up that a starter would coming off a lat injury, but since he hasn't yet resumed mound work, he's likely at least a couple weeks away from returning from the 60-day injured list.

The Rays announced Tuesday that Lavender is scheduled to have surgery in the near future to remove a bone spur in his left elbow and will miss the remainder of the season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

A Rule 5 selection over the winter, Lavender has resided on the Rays' injured list all season while on the mend from a May 2024 internal brace procedure on his elbow. Lavender was expected to be healthy enough to pitch during the second half of the season, but after developing the bone spur at some point in the ramp-up process, he never advanced to a minor-league rehab assignment. On a positive note, Lavender doesn't appear to be dealing with any new ligament damage to his surgically repaired elbow, so the procedure to address the bone spur may not affect his availability for the start of spring training.

Hiraldo blew the save in Tuesday's extra-innings win against Boston, allowing two runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts across one inning.

Hiraldo walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the ninth inning and allowed Nathaniel Lowe to hit a game-tying two-run home run with no outs. While Hiraldo responded by striking out back-to-back hitters, he then walked three straight to load the bases before getting Trevor Story to ground into a fielder's choice. Baltimore is searching for a trustworthy closer to finish out the 2025 campaign, as Felix Bautista (shoulder) won't be back until 2026. Hiraldo located just 12 of his 34 pitches for strikes.

Martin picked up the save during Tuesday's extra-innings win against the Red Sox, pitching a perfect 11th inning.

Martin was the sixth Orioles reliever to pitch in the contest, but an RBI groundout by Samuel Basallo in the top of the 11th frame opened up a save chance for the 29-year-old pitcher. Baltimore's closing job appears to be wide open without Felix Bautista (shoulder), who's out for the season. Keegan Akin has blown his last two save chances and pitched the sixth and seventh innings Tuesday, Yaramil Hiraldo blew a save Tuesday and both Dietrich Enns and Yennier Cano have been shaky lately. Outside of a six-run outing against Philadelphia on Aug. 4, Martin has a 1.54 ERA and 15:5 K:BB across 11.2 innings, which could be enough to earn save chances in the closing weeks of the regular season.

The Angels outrighted Brogdon to Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.

Brogdon has the ability to decline the outright assignment and elect free agency if he wants, but it's unclear what his plans are. The righty reliever posted a 5.30 ERA and 33:16 K:BB over 37.1 innings for the Angels before exiting the 40-man roster.

Lawrence (elbow) walked one and struck out three in a scoreless frame in his first rehab appearance with Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday.

Lawrence is finally game-ready again after missing nearly four months with right elbow inflammation. He'll likely require a handful of rehab outings before rejoining the Pirates bullpen. Lawrence had permitted just one run with a 15:6 K:BB over 11.1 frames before getting injured.

Mayza (lat) allowed two hits and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning in his first rehab appearance with Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday.

Mayza has been shelved since late April with a left lat strain but is gearing up for a return to the Pittsburgh bullpen. Given the amount of time he's missed, he'll likely require a few more rehab appearances before being activated from the 60-day injured list. The veteran lefty had yielded only three runs with an 8:1 K:BB over 9.1 innings for Pittsburgh before getting hurt.

O'Brien earned the save in a 7-4 win over the Marlins on Tuesday. He did not allow a hit but walked two and also struck out two in a scoreless inning.

O'Brien was called upon for the save chance after JoJo Romero pitched against the heart of the Miami order in the eighth. Things did not begin well for O'Brien, who walked consecutive batters to open up the inning, but he rebounded with back-to-back strikeouts before getting a groundout to end the game. O'Brien now has two saves to Romero's three since the departure of Ryan Helsley at the deadline. O'Brien has found his footing this season, posting a 1.56 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 34:17 K:BB in 34.2 innings.

Gibaut (shoulder) has been scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery, MLB.com reports.

Gibaut was pulled off a rehab assignment earlier this month when his arm didn't respond well following an outing. No date for the surgery was provided, nor was an expected timeline for his recovery.

Saalfrank struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Guardians.

Saalfrank took a blown save in Colorado on Saturday, allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning. He bounced back with a sharp outing Tuesday, needing just nine pitchers to retire the Cleveland trio of Jose Ramirez, Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana. It's interesting that Saalfrank got the nod for this save when fellow left-hander Jalen Beeks had pitched just once over the previous four days. Arizona's bullpen has turned into a full-blown committee throughout the year between injuries and ineffectiveness. Saalfrank has been a breath of fresh air, pitching to a 1.72 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB over 15.2 innings while picking up two saves and one hold. It's unclear if this outing is a signal that the 28-year-old will be competing for more save chances down the stretch, but he has taken care of business in lower-leverage spots to earn a larger role.