MLB Player News

Mears (illness) was sent to Triple-A Nashville to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday.

Mears got a late start to the season due to an illness he caught during spring training that resulted in some weight loss. He's got his strength back now and should have a good shot to be activated from the 15-day injured list April 8 when first eligible.

Castro (elbow) struck out two batters over 1.1 perfect innings of relief Saturday in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 5-4 loss to Lehigh Valley.

Castro enters the 2025 season at full health after he didn't pitch in 2024 while completing his recovery from June 2023 Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old right-hander previously saw big-league action in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, making a combined 20 appearances between stops with the Giants and Cubs.

The Yankees signed Ottavino to a one-year contract Tuesday.

Ottavino failed to make the Red Sox's Opening Day roster after signing a minor-league contract, but he's now joined their rival on a big-league pact. The veteran reliever is absorbing the roster spot vacated by Devin Williams, who was placed on the paternity list. Ottavino held a 4.34 ERA and 70:23 K:BB over 56 innings for the Mets in 2024.

The Yankees placed Williams on the paternity list Tuesday.

Williams will be away from the Yankees for anywhere between one and three games while he welcomes a new addition to his family. He made his Yankees debut over the weekend against his former Brewers squad, notching a save Thursday during a rocky ninth inning in which he yielded one earned run on two hits and one walk wile striking out two batters. Luke Weaver could step in as the Yankees' interim closer during the team's three-game home series versus the Diamondbacks if Williams ends up missing all of those games.

Garcia struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his first save of the season in a win over the Nationals.

Jeff Hoffman had pitched Saturday and Sunday, so Garcia got the call to protect a three-run lead Monday. The 34-year-old righty has been busy himself to begin the year, appearing in three of the Jays' first five games and posting a 4:0 K:BB over three scoreless innings. Garcia is locked into a high-leverage role and should see a handful of save opportunities the rest of the season when Hoffman is unavailable.

Walker walked one and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning during Monday's 7-2 win over the Astros.

It wasn't a save situation, but it was still reassuring to see Walker on the mound after back tightness had him shut down over the weekend. Camilo Doval picked up a save Sunday in his absence, but Walker should get the bulk of the ninth-inning work for the Giants after a breakout 2024 campaign that saw him post a 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 99:18 K:BB over 80 innings.

Bautista gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning during Monday's 8-5 win over the Red Sox.

Bautista labored Monday, needing 26 pitches to finish off the game. A Romy Gonzalez double and Jarren Duran single plated two runs to make this one interesting, but Alex Bregman popped out while representing the tying run to end the contest. Bautista is still working his way back into form after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery and likely won't work back-to-back days early on, but he'll have a day off before Wednesday's meeting with Boston.

Romano allowed one hit during a scoreless ninth inning in Monday's 6-1 win over the Rockies. He struck out two.

Although it was not a save situation, it's worth noting Romano was warming up when it was a 4-1 game in the eighth inning before Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos both homered to add some insurance runs. Monday was a strong bounce-back performance for Romano, who gave up two runs while blowing a save on Opening Day against the Nationals. The hard-throwing right-hander's usage also suggests he remains first in line in Philadelphia's bullpen at the moment when it comes to save opportunities.

Mlodzinski (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings Monday against the Rays. He struck out four.

Mlodzinski got through three innings without allowing a run, but the Rays tagged him for four runs in the fourth inning. Before he got a chance to record the final out of the frame, the right-hander was lifted after throwing 66 pitches. Mlodzinski is filling in for the injured Jared Jones (lat) in Pittsburgh's rotation, so he could have some streaming appeal in deep leagues in favorable matchups as long as he hangs onto a starting role.

Newcomb (0-1) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks over four innings Monday, striking out four and taking a loss against Baltimore.

All four runs against Newcomb came during an ugly first inning, but he still allowed five more baserunners over the next three frames. He threw 40 of 64 pitches for strikes and forced four whiffs on just five swings against his slurve. Newcomb has not made more than four starts at the MLB level since the 2018 season with Atlanta. He's currently projected to face the Cardinals at home this weekend, but will likely lose his rotation spot once Brayan Bello (shoulder) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) are ready to return sometime this month.