MLB Player News

Barlow walked one and struck out four over 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings to earn the save in Monday's 4-1 win over the Angels.

The Reds were a bit thin in the bullpen Monday, as all of Emilio Pagan, Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft had pitched Saturday and Sunday. Barlow stepped up for the four-out save, throwing 14 of 25 pitches for strikes. While this was his first save of 2025, Barlow had earned 58 saves from 2019-2024. He's added 13 holds and a blown save while pitching to a 3.54 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 61:34 K:BB across 56 innings. He's not the top option for ancillary saves, but Barlow remains part of the Reds' high-leverage mix.

Rodriguez allowed a hit in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Monday's 4-3 win over the Padres.

Rodriguez has been a little shaky since taking over closing duties at the tail end of July. He's allowed five runs in six innings while converting just three of five save chances and taking three losses over his last six appearances. Despite the recent struggles, Rodriguez is still boasting strong season-long numbers with a 1.63 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 66:11 K:BB over 49.2 innings. He's up to four saves as well as 13 holds in 49 appearances.

Smith allowed one run on a hit and a walk while striking out two over one inning to earn the save in Monday's 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Smith entered Monday on a 10-inning scoreless streak, but he allowed an RBI triple to Geraldo Perdomo in the ninth inning, though he was able to strand the Arizona shortstop 90 feet from home. Smith has performed admirably since taking over the closer role from Emmanuel Clase, who is on non-disciplinary leave. Smith now has seven saves on the year, four of which have come in August. He's added a 2.73 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 76:19 K:BB through 56 innings this season.

Estevez picked up the save in Monday's 4-3 win over Texas, throwing a clean ninth inning with no strikeouts.

Estevez is now up to 32 saves on the season, and he's now fired three consecutive spotless frames after giving up four runs in his first six outings of the month. The right-hander has had his share of hiccups since the start of July -- he has a 3.92 ERA over his last 20.2 innings -- but he remains Kansas City's clear-cut top option for ninth-inning work. Estevez is first in the American League in saves so far in 2025.

Gomez (3-1) notched the win Monday against Atlanta, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk in five-plus innings. He struck out three.

Gomez was well on his way to his second straight start of at least five innings while yielding only one run, but he was unable to record an out before conceding two more earned runs in the sixth inning. With Chicago optioning Sean Burke to the minor leagues Monday, Gomez should be able to maintain a spot in the rotation going forward. That said, Gomez has a weak 5.53 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 23:15 K:BB across 27.2 frames in 2025, so he likely won't categorize as an appealing streaming option versus the division-rival Twins this weekend.

Bernardino will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester ahead of Tuesday's game against the Orioles, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

This move isn't yet official, but Bernardino will be promoted to take the place of Jovani Moran. Bernardino looked sharp in his last 11 big-league appearances before being sent down Aug. 1, turning in 13.0 scoreless frames while striking out 10 over 11 appearances.

Moran was optioned to Triple-A Worcester after Monday's game against the Orioles, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Moran was knocked around for two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three over two innings Monday, ultimately resulting in his departure from the big-league club. He made two appearances for the big-league club since his promotion Aug. 11.

Santana collected the save in Monday's 5-2 win versus Toronto, striking out one in a clean inning.

The Pirates closer required only eight pitches, six of which were strikes, to pick up his second save of the month. Santana appears to have settled in since his last blown save Aug. 6 against San Francisco, as he's now logged four consecutive scoreless appearances. Across 53.1 total frames, the 29-year-old has pitched to a 2.36 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 42:11 K:BB while going 8-for-10 in save opportunities.

Otanez (undisclosed) was activated from the 7-day injured list Friday.

Otanez missed nearly two and a half months while on the mend from an unspecified injury. He appeared in a game for Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, surrendering one run on two hits while striking out one over one inning.

Stephenson (biceps) will likely make one more minor-league rehab appearance before being activated off the 60-day IL, per MLB.com

Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said Sunday that Stephenson is "in a good spot" through two rehab outings. In those appearances, the veteran reliever has given up two runs (both in the first outing) on two hits while posting a 4:1 K:BB over two innings. Stephenson has pitched in only one game for the big-league club this season, but it appears he'll be back before the end of August to provide a boost to the Angels' bullpen.