MLB Player News

Marte (undisclosed) tossed a bullpen session in San Diego on Wednesday and could be activated in the coming days, per MLB.com.

The right-hander has been on the injured list since Aug. 22, and though a reason was never announced, it's likely that he has been navigating COVID-19 protocols. While he's pitched in only one game for the Angels this season, Marte could be given a spot in the bullpen upon his return.

Pressly (5-2) allowed three runs on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning, taking the loss Wednesday versus Seattle.

The 32-year-old was called upon to pitch the ninth inning of a tied game, but he was removed after allowing a two-run single to Jose Marmolejos. Pressly was charged with an additional run when Blake Taylor yielded a home run to J.P. Crawford. Pressly has recently dealt with arm soreness, and he's now allowed four runs across his last 1.2 innings. He still owns a 2.38 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 71:12 K:BB across 56.2 innings, but he may need some additional rest in the near term. Kendall Graveman or Yimi Garcia could be candidates to receive save chances if Pressly is deemed unavailable at some point.

Duffey worked a perfect inning while striking out two en route to his third save of the season in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Cleveland.

With Alex Colome having picked up saves on three consecutive nights (and needing 49 pitches to do so), the Twins figured to head in a different direction at closer if the need arose Wednesday. As luck would have it, it did, and Duffey answered the call. He'll likely return to his setup role once the Twins feel that Colome is ready to go again.

Quezada (COVID-19 protocols) began a rehab assignment with the Cardinals' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Aug. 31. He's appeared in three FCL games, working three innings while giving up two earned runs on two hits and a walk.

Since Quezada was placed on the 60-day injured list Aug. 11 due to COVID-19 protocols, he won't be eligible to rejoin Double-A Springfield before its season ends, but he looks like he'll head into the offseason healthy. Expect him to make regular appearances in the FCL or with one of the Cardinals' other lower-level affiliates before the minor-league season ends.

Nolin was ejected during the first inning of Wednesday's game against Atlanta for intentionally hitting Freddie Freeman with a pitch, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Nationals star Juan Soto was plunked during the ninth inning of Tuesday's contest, and this appeared to be a direct retaliation by the left-hander. Nolin threw behind Freeman on the first pitch before hitting him with the second offering, after which he was ejected. Washington's bullpen will need to record all but one out Wednesday, while Nolin is likely to face additional discipline from the league. According to Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com, the 31-year-old could be utilized out of the bullpen Thursday after manager Dave Martinez was forced to rely heavily on his relievers due to the ejection.

Woods Richardson debuted for Double-A Wichita on Saturday, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in his start against Arkansas. He gave up no hits and struck out two but issued three walks.

After acquiring Woods Richardson in the July 30 deal that sent Jose Berrios to Toronto, the Twins have slow played the right-hander's integration into the organization. The 20-year-old's organizational debut was delayed in part due to his commitment to pitching for Team USA in the Olympic Games, and he wasn't immediately activated upon returning from Tokyo. Though he was finally cleared to pitch for Wichita over the weekend, Woods Richardson showed spotty control in the start, tossing only 19 of his 40 pitches for strikes. Consistently finding the strike zone had proved to be an issue for Woods Richardson prior to the trade; he submitted a bloated 12.9 percent walk rate in his 11 starts with the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire.

Alexander won't make a star during the Tigers' weekend series with the Rays and isn't expected to rejoin the rotation until next week, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit is listing Matthew Boyd, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal as its starters for the series with Tampa Bay, with all three pitchers returning to the mound on five days' rest. The Tigers' decision to skip Alexander's turn in the rotation was foreshadowed by his appearance out of the bullpen in Tuesday's loss to the Pirates, when he tossed a scoreless inning. Alexander should be available in relief for the rest of the week before likely slotting back into the rotation when a fifth starter is next needed Sept. 18 in Tampa Bay.

King (finger) struck out six over three innings in his rehab appearance Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He gave up one earned run on two hits and no walks in the 41-pitch outing.

King's appearance was his third in the minors since the Yankees shut him down shortly before the All-Star break with a right middle finger contusion. Before landing on the IL, King had been splitting time between starting and relief duty. With the Yankees having since added reinforcements to the rotation in the form of Corey Kluber, Nestor Cortes and Luis Gil since the right-hander has been on the shelf, King is likely to return in a multi-inning role out of the bullpen. According to Max Goodman of SI.com, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said King could be activated from the 60-day injured list as soon as the end of the week.

Vesia (3-1) earned the win over the Cardinals on Tuesday, retiring the only batter he faced via strikeout.

The Dodgers deployed nine different relievers as part of a planned bullpen game, with Vesia -- the only one among the group to not toss at least a full inning -- landing in the fortunate position to pick up the win. The left-hander couldn't have done much better in his brief opportunity, striking out Matt Carpenter on three pitches to end a two-on, two-out threat. Vesia has been outstanding over his past 25 appearances, posting a 1.09 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 31:6 K:BB across 24.2 frames.

Norris (hand) appeared out of the bullpen in Monday's 12-0 loss to the Phillies, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits over one inning.

Norris sustained a cut on his throwing hand during his appearance last weekend against St. Louis, but the Brewers only stayed away for him for a couple days before he mopped up in the blowout loss to Philadelphia. Since being acquired from the Tigers on July 30, Norris has submitted a 6.91 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 14:13 K:BB in 14.1 innings.