MLB Player News

The Nationals recalled Bird from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Bird will join the Washington bullpen as a replacement for left-hander Carson Palmquist, who was optioned to Triple-A following Saturday's 8-2 win. The Nationals are treating Sunday's series finale as a bullpen game, so Bird could be called upon to cover an inning or two once opening pitcher Brad Lord exits the contest. Acquired from the Yankees on Monday in a five-player trade, Bird will be making his Nationals debut when he gets into a game.

Kerry allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over 5.2 relief innings in a no-decision against Miami on Saturday.

Angels starter Walbert Urena last just 2.1 frames, leaving Kerry to inherit a two-on, one-out jam in the third inning. He handled that task well and didn't allow any additional damage in the frame. The right-hander took the reins from there and finished the contest, tossing a starter-like 98 pitches (64 strikes) and generating 14 whiffs and a career-high seven punchouts. Kerry worked mostly as a starter in the minors, so the big workload wasn't new to him, but he's yet to make a start in the majors. He'll presumably be down for several days following his heavy pitch count Saturday, and the imminent return of Yusei Kikuchi (shoulder) may present a risk to Kerry's roster spot.

Miller will draw the start for the Red Sox in a bullpen game against the Athletics on Sunday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The left-hander will make his first start since 2024, when the Giants used him as an opener 10 times as a rookie that season. Miller was shipped from the Giants to the Red Sox at the trade deadline and has fired 2.1 scoreless frames in the first two appearances for his new team. He'll likely cover the first inning or two before turning the game over to the bullpen, with Brayan Bello being a candidate to work in bulk relief behind Miller.

Holderman (6-3) did not retire a batter and was tagged with Saturday's loss to the White Sox. He allowed three runs on two hits and hit two batters.

Holderman has been a trusted option in the Guardians bullpen and was summoned with one runner on base and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning after starter Gavin Williams threw 102 pitches (one shy of his season high). Holderman promptly hit the first two batters he faced to load the bases before allowing a two-run double and two-run single. He entered the contest with a 1.14 ERA over his previous 27 appearances (23.2 innings).

Holton tossed two perfect innings of relief to record a hold in Saturday's 8-0 win over the Giants. He struck out two.

Holton continued his strong play out of the Detroit bullpen this season as he recorded his 10th hold of the year and lowered his ERA to 2.83. The lefty isn't a great source of strikeouts, with only 41 of them across 54 innings, and he has a career 7.3 K/9. However, Holton has managed to find success in the majors, particularly against left-handed batters, who are hitting just .178 all time against the 30-year-old.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that Martinez (elbow) will shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Reno during the upcoming week, MLB.com reports.

Martinez made the first two appearances of his rehab assignment with Single-A Visalia on Tuesday and Friday, striking out three batters over two no-hit innings between the outings. The right-hander will likely continue his rehab assignment for at least one more week, but if he continues to excel during his time at Reno, he could step into a prominent role in the Arizona bullpen upon his return from the 60-day injured list. Arizona is currently taking a committee approach to the closer position after Paul Sewald was removed from the role in late July.

Baker allowed a hit in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Mariners. He did not strike out or walk a batter.

Baker was able to earn a save for the second day in a row, and he's now tallied saves in all four of his appearances so far in August. The 31-year-old finished off a bullpen game for the Rays on Saturday and came away with his 34th save in 37 chances this season. He's pitched to a 1.55 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 51:15 K:BB across 46.1 innings. Baker, Garrett Cleavinger and Kevin Kelly are all likely to be unavailable Sunday after pitching consecutive days, which could leave the door open for Tyler Wells to get a save chance, should one arise.

Miller earned a save against Houston on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one batter over one inning.

Miller had a two-run lead to work with when he entered in the ninth inning, and he quickly brought the tying run to the plate when he hit the first batter of the frame (Christian Walker). The All-Star closer moved Walker to second with a wild pitch and surrendered a two-out RBI single to Yandy Diaz but retired LaMonte Wade on a groundout to finish off the save. The earned run Miller gave up ended a 12-outing scoreless stretch and is just his fifth allowed run of the campaign through 49.1 frames, resulting in a sterling 0.91 ERA. He's converted 29 of 30 save opportunities and has registered a dominant 91:16 K:BB.

Dreyer allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Dreyer's first save conversion of the year, and it came after the Dodgers reclaimed the lead following closer Edwin Diaz's second blown save in as many days. Over his last 20 games, Dreyer has covered 17 innings while allowing just three runs with a 22:7 K:BB. He's been steady with a 2.87 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 54:13 K:BB through 47 innings this season, adding seven holds and two blown saves while not seeing a lot of high-leverage usage. The left-handed Dreyer may continue to be used as a matchup specialist, but there's at least a hint of uncertainty in the bullpen hierarchy given Diaz's struggles since returning from an elbow injury.

Diaz (2-1) allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over one inning to take a blown save while earning the win in Saturday's 2-1 extra-inning win over the Diamondbacks.

Diaz was able to keep the ball in the yard this time, but he allowed back-to-back triples to Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll to yield the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dodgers retook the lead in the 10th, and Jack Dreyer converted the save to give Diaz the win. At this point, it's getting tough to have any confidence in Diaz -- he's blown consecutive save chances and has been scored upon in four of five outings since returning from elbow surgery. Manager Dave Roberts hasn't given any indication of a change to the closer role yet, but it's safe to assume Diaz won't be asked to pitch a third straight day should a save chance arise Sunday.