MLB Player News

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins announced Friday that Varland will be part of Toronto's closer committee with Jeff Hoffman being demoted as the club's primary closer, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Hoffman, who recorded 37 saves during the 2025 regular season, could still get some usage in the ninth inning, but Varland now appears to be the favorite for saves in Toronto. The right-hander's fantasy upside is still likely to be more limited than a traditional closer, however, with the Blue Jays expected to mix in other relievers for saves in addition to Varland and Hoffman. That being said, Varland has yet to allow an earned run and has a 19:3 K:BB across 13 innings this season, so he could take full reins of the job if he continues that level of dominance.

Brown (shoulder) began a throwing program Tuesday, playing catching from 75 feet, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

It's a significant step in Brown's rehab from a shoulder strain. Sidelined since throwing six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against the Red Sox on March 31, Brown is expected to be sidelined through late May, according to GM Dana Brown. Once he builds his arm back up, Brown will likely require a multi-start rehab assignment.

The Twins optioned Rojas to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday.

With Kody Funderburk back from paternity leave, Rojas will head back to the minors. Rojas made his major-league debut in Wednesday's loss to the Mets, allowing two hits and three walks across two scoreless innings.

Triple-A Las Vegas placed Nett on the 7-day injured list March 27 with a rotator cuff injury, David Laurila of FanGraphs reports.

Nett boasts seven distinct pitches and mid-90s fastball velocity when healthy, but he hasn't yet made his 2026 debut for the Aviators. The 23-year-old righty logged a 3.75 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 116:48 K:BB in 105.2 innings over 24 starts at Double-A last year, split between the Padres and Athletics organizations, and was part of the package the A's received for Mason Miller.

DeGrom (2-0) earned the victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out 10 batters over 5.2 innings.

DeGrom dominated for most of his outing, racking up 20 whiffs and a season-high 10 punchouts. The only blemish on his line was an Oneil Cruz solo homer in the fifth inning. Fantasy managers who deployed deGrom will likely be celebrating this performance, though there is minor disappointment in the fact that he was pulled one out shy of a quality start despite having thrown a modest 89 pitches. Texas seems hesitant to allow the veteran hurler to push his pitch count too high -- he's topped out at 93 pitches this season and has thrown less than 80 in two of his five starts -- but deGrom has nonetheless been excellent to begin the campaign, posting a 2.13 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 35:7 K:BB through 25.1 innings.

Ryan allowed seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Thursday.

Ryan scuffled from the outset, giving up a three-run homer to Brett Baty in the first inning. He gave up three more runs in the second, though a passed ball on a strikeout led to all three runs being unearned. Ryan served up another long ball in the fourth frame and was pulled after the fifth inning having thrown 92 pitches. This was the first time in 2026 that Ryan gave up more than one homer in a game -- in fact, he had yielded just one long ball in total over his first five starts spanning 27.1 innings. He'll look to bounce back in his next outing, which lines up to come at home against Seattle.

Tolle allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters over six innings in a no-decision against the Yankees on Thursday.

Tolle looked dominant against a tough Yankees lineup, racking up 18 swinging strikes and a career-high 11 punchouts. The southpaw gave up a solo homer to Jazz Chisholm in the fifth inning, but the Yankees managed just two other hits (both singles) against him. Tolle was called up Thursday to take the rotation spot of Sonny Gray, who is on the injured list with a hamstring issue. With Gray slated to miss about two more weeks, at minimum, Tolle should get an opportunity to make additional starts for the big-league club. If he's anywhere near as effective as he was Thursday, the Red Sox may have no choice but to keep Tolle in the big-league rotation.

Schlittler (3-1) earned the win over Boston on Thursday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk while striking out five batters over eight innings.

Schlittler gave up an unearned run in the second inning and a solo homer in the fifth, but that was all the damage Boston managed against him. The right-hander completed eight frames for the first time in his big-league career, doing so on an efficient 96 pitches (69 strikes). In addition to picking up his third win, Schlittler notched his second straight quality start and third overall this season. He's yet to give up more than three runs in any of his six starts and has posted a superb 1.77 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 41:4 K:BB over 35.2 innings.

Martin took a no-decision Thursday against the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on six hits and one walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out seven.

The 29-year-old right-hander continues to be a bright spot for White Sox to begin the 2026 campaign. Martin fanned a season-high seven Thursday, spinning at least six frames while yielding two runs or fewer in his fourth consecutive start. He holds an outstanding 2.01 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 26:7 K:BB over 31.1 innings thus far, so Martin will be hoping to keep the good times rolling in his next scheduled outing versus the Angels.

Cole (elbow) pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four in his rehab start with High-A Hudson on Thursday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Cole was able to limit the damage in his second rehab outing, throwing 42 of his 52 total pitches for strikes. The right-hander is expected to require multiple more starts to build up his workload before making his return to the major-league roster, and it's unclear where his next stop will be on his minor-league rehab assignment.