MLB Player News

Alvarado earned the save in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Rockies, allowing a run on three hits and a walk while striking out three in the ninth inning.

Alvarado didn't make things easy in the ninth, allowing the first three batters to reach safely to start the frame. However, the left-hander would hold the Rockies to a lone run, logging consecutive strikeouts to strand the bases loaded. It's the first save of the year for Alvarado. He's expected to share closing duties with Jordan Romano, who was used in the eighth inning Thursday versus the top of Colorado's order. Alvarado logged 13 saves in 2024, pitching to a 4.09 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP and 63 strikeouts across 61.2 innings.

Walker (1-0) earned the win Thursday against the Rockies, allowing three hits and a walk over six shutout innings. He struck out four.

It was an excellent start to the year for Walker, who needed just 74 pitches to finish six innings. The veteran right-hander struggled to a 7.10 ERA in 83.2 innings last season, though he won the final spot in Philadelphia's opening-day rotation after Ranger Suarez (back) landed on the injured list. Walker certainly earned another turn after Thursday's outing -- he's currently lined up for a road matchup in Atlanta next week.

Castillo is expected to be promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to start against the Giants on Friday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Not to be confused with the Luis Castillo already in Seattle's big-league rotation, this 30-year-old righty made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2022 and threw 3.2 shutout frames while striking out four batters across three relief appearances. He then spent the next two seasons in Japan and is now slated to make his first career start in the majors. A strong showing Friday could buy the lesser-known Castillo another turn through the rotation while the Mariners await George Kirby's (shoulder) return from the IL.

The Mariners optioned Diaz to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

Diaz made his one appearance for Seattle on Tuesday and allowed no runs on one hit with a strikeout in 1.1 innings. The southpaw has made the bulk of his appearances for Tacoma as a starter and figured to get a shot at securing a rotation spot in place of the injured George Kirby (shoulder), but he'll instead return to the minors after a relief appearance. Luis F. Castillo is expected to be promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to make his first career start Friday.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Williams (personal) will be activated from the paternity leave list Friday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.

Williams will miss a third straight game Thursday while tending to more important family matters, but he will be back to resume closer duties for the weekend series in Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old gave up one run but recorded a save in his lone appearance this season.

Birdsong threw two scoreless innings during Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Astros, allowing two hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Birdsong made his first appearance of 2025 and was the last member of the Opening Day roster to play this season. The right-handed reliever started the sixth frame and later got out of a two-out jam. He walked the first batter of the seventh inning before retiring the Astros' next three hitters, finishing with 26 pitches across two innings. Birdsong was neck-and-neck with Landen Roupp for the fifth-starter role in spring training before being moved to the bullpen. However, the Giants' early success has made it more difficult to utilize the 23-year-old Birdsong, who made 16 starts last season, registering a 4.75 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 88:43 K:BB over 72 innings.

Brazoban struck out one in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to record his first save of the season in Wednesday's extra-innings win over the Marlins.

The right-hander got the final two outs of the 11th inning on only seven pitches (five strikes) to collect the first save of his career. Mets closer Edwin Diaz has worked earlier in the game, as had top setup men A.J. Minter and Ryne Stanek, so Brazoban's usage doesn't suggest he's now a key high-leverage arm for New York. The 35-year-old has pitched well to begin the season, however -- through three appearances and five innings, Brazoban has a 0.00 ERA and 5:1 K:BB.

Faucher coughed up three runs on three hits in an inning of relief during Wednesday's extra-innings loss to the Mets.

The right-hander got the call in the eighth inning with the Marlins protecting a 4-1 lead, but Faucher served up a three-run blast to Pete Alonso to get charged with his first blown save of 2025. The usage alone suggests he's fallen behind Anthony Bender in the pecking order for closing duties, but the bullpen picture for Miami remains cloudy, especially with Jesus Tinoco (back) on the shelf. Over his first three appearances and three innings, Faucher has a 2:3 K:BB to go along with a 9.00 ERA.

Johnson gave up a hit and a walk over two-thirds of a scoreless inning to record his first hold of the season in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers. He struck out one.

Entering the game in the sixth inning to protect a 5-3 lead is a long way from the high-leverage usage Johnson was expected to see this season, but Atlanta was desperate to secure its first win of 2025. How the setup crew was deployed ended up being moot when closer Raisel Iglesias served up a walk-off homer to Shohei Ohtani. Johnson has been sharp in the early going, posting a 0.00 ERA and 4:1 K:BB through his first 2.2 innings, and once Atlanta gets off the shneid, holds should start to pile up for him.

Taylor will begin the season with Double-A Birmingham, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reports.

Taylor will join Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith in one of the most loaded rotations in the minors after impressing this spring. Taylor has a chance for three plus pitches and plus command, so if he stays healthy, he could be one of the year's top breakout pitching prospects. He had Tommy John surgery at LSU and had a 2.33 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 19.1 innings last season, although he missed more time with a lat injury.