MLB Player News

The Nationals optioned Ribalta to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.

The transaction comes one day after Ribalta recorded his first career save in Thursday's extra-inning win over the Pirates. Ribalta is clearing out to make room on the roster for Richard Lovelady, who was acquired via trade Thursday.

Lange allowed two hits and struck out two in one inning Thursday in the 10-9 loss to the Tigers.

Lange, the Tigers' leader in saves back in 2023, struggled mightily in 2024 largely due to command issues (17 walks in 18.2 innings) before being demoted to the minors. The 30-year-old missed the majority of last season with a lat injury, pitching only one time, but he signed with the Royals this offseason to slot in as a serviceable middle reliever. Kansas City has deployed Lange in a low-leverage role, as he's yet to earn a win or a hold to this point, but his performance has been trending in a positive direction (1.42 ERA over his last 6.1 innings).

The Padres optioned Jacob to Triple-A El Paso on Friday.

He's clearing out to make room on the roster for Matt Waldron (lower body), who will start Friday's game versus the Angels after being activated from the injured list. Jacob had just been recalled earlier this week and turned in a scoreless outing in his lone appearance out of the bullpen.

The Cubs placed Palencia on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left oblique strain.

It's unclear when Palencia -- who hasn't pitched since Sunday -- was hurt, but the injury will knock him out at least for the next couple weeks and likely longer. The Cubs are also currently without Hunter Harvey (triceps) and Phil Maton (knee), so their late-inning bullpen depth is thin. Caleb Thielbar could be the next man up for saves, with Ben Brown also an option.

Holton gave up his first earned run of the season Thursday in a 10-9 win over the Royals, allowing a solo home run in a third of an inning.

The southpaw has been a stalwart member of the Detroit bullpen the past three seasons, collecting 48 holds since 2023 with a 2.61 ERA and 0.89 WHIP while averaging 65 appearances a year. The seventh-inning shot by Salvador Perez was the first home run that Holton has given up in 7.1 innings this season after he served up 15 homers over 78.2 frames in 2025.

Newcomb threw 1.2 shutout innings Thursday, allowing just one hit while striking out three batters in a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

The 32-year-old southpaw entered in the seventh inning, keeping the game knotted at 2-2 before Seranthony Dominguez fell apart in the ninth. Newcomb got off to a rocky start to 2026, allowing six earned runs over his first 10 innings prior to this appearance. Thursday's performance lowered his ERA to 4.38 through 12.1 innings and nine games with a 13:5 K:BB, and he has just one hold with zero wins or saves.

Morejon secured a hold Thursday, working 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts in a 5-2 win over the Mariners.

Morejon has had a bumpy start to the season after his All-Star campaign in 2025, when he pitched in 75 games and had career-best marks in ERA (2.08) and WHIP (0.90). The southpaw came into the season as the set-up guy for dominant closer Mason Miller and has three holds in eight appearances so far, but Morejon allowed at least one run in four of his first six outings. San Diego seems to still have faith in him, however, given he's been used in high-leverage situations each of his past two games.

Ramirez allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two in the seventh inning of Thursday's 8-7 extra-inning loss to Washington.

Ramirez was charged with a blown save, allowing the go-ahead run at the time due to a wild pitch to give the Nationals a 7-6 lead. The 30-year-old has appeared in nine games for Pittsburgh, recording a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings. The right-hander has posted at least two strikeouts in seven of his nine relief outings, working more than one inning five times and picking up two wins and a hold.

The Pirates recalled Sanders from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

It's unclear at this time what the corresponding roster move will be. Sanders has yielded two runs with an 11:7 K:BB over six frames with Indianapolis. The 29-year-old got a cup of coffee with the Pirates last season, allowing six runs with a 4:5 K:BB in 6.2 innings.

Erceg (0-1) blew the save and took the loss Thursday against the Tigers. He allowed three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.

Erceg entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead but failed to secure the victory, as a two-out double from Riley Greene tied the game at 9-9 before Colt Keith delivered a walk-off single. Erceg had converted each of his first five save opportunities prior to Thursday, but this outing bloated his ERA from 2.70 to 6.14 and his WHIP from 1.05 to 1.50 WHIP across 7.1 innings and eight appearances. The 30-year-old stepped into the closer role after Carlos Estevez (foot) was placed on the injured list following his season debut, but with the incumbent expected to begin a rehab assignment soon, Erceg's time filling the ninth-inning role may not last much longer.