MLB Player News

Acuna (knee) is scheduled to meet with doctors in Los Angeles in the upcoming days with the hope of receiving final clearance to begin ramping up his running, Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game Atlanta reports.

Acuna took batting practice and was able to do most baseball activities during spring training, but he's still waiting to get the green light to perform defensive drills in the outfield and change-of-direction running. He seems to be on the cusp of being cleared for full activities, and once that happens, he'll likely steadily increase the intensity of his workouts over the next few weeks before beginning a minor-league rehab assignment. Atlanta isn't putting a definitive timeline on when Acuna will be ready to make his 2025 debut as he works his way back from his second major knee surgery in three years, but he seems to be tracking toward an early-to-mid-May return at this stage.

Ross might see more high-leverage work while Jordan Romano sorts through his struggles, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Ross has permitted one run with a 3:1 K:BB over four innings this season. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that he views Ross as someone who can give the team "a little bit of bulk," but also is "kind of a leverage guy, too," based on how his stuff has looked. Ross is still behind Jose Alvarado, Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm in the bullpen pecking order, but he is inching up the hierarchy.

Struggling with his velocity and results, Romano is expected to be used in low-leverage situations in the immediate future, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Romano has been touched up for five runs with a 2:3 K:BB over his last two appearances covering a total of one inning. He averaged just 93.5 mph with his four-seamer in Sunday's outing against the Dodgers, which is down nearly three full mph from last season. Phillies manager Rob Thomson indicated that Romano has been checked out by the team's trainers and "there's no red flags" physically, but the skipper admitted that "it concerns me a little bit that the velocity's down." Jose Alvarado picked up his second save for the Phillies in Sunday's victory over the Dodgers and is the team's best bet for saves right now.

Dreyer struck out four while allowing no hits and issuing two walks over 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Phillies.

Added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster over the winter after a standout season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, the 26-year-old Dreyer continued to thrive during spring training and earned his spot in the Opening Day bullpen. He's looked strong through his five appearances thus far, most of which have come in middle relief. The lefty has allowed just one earned run and has struck out eight batters while holding opponents to an .080 average over 7.2 innings.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a walk in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Dodgers.

In a disastrous third inning for Tyler Glasnow, who allowed four walks and threw three wild pitches in the frame, Harper singled to drive in Rafael Marchan to get the Phillies onto the scoreboard. Harper also scored a game-tying run following a double in the seventh inning. It's been a relatively quiet start to the season for the perennial All-Star, who has just three extra-base hits, three RBI and zero stolen bases over 36 at-bats, but Harper is still hitting a healthy .278 with four walks across his first nine outings.

Pham went 1-for-4 with two RBI and three strikeouts Sunday against the Yankees.

Pham returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game due to an illness. He lofted a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to record his first RBI of the season, and he delivered a walk-off RBI double six frames later. While there were some positives to his performance, Pham still has just three hits and three walks across 35 plate appearances while striking out at a 31.4 percent clip to begin the campaign.

Santana threw a scoreless eighth inning without allowing a baserunner to record a hold Sunday against the Yankees.

Santana looked to be in line to be the Pirates' closer after David Bednar was demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. However, he entered the game in the eighth inning Sunday to face the top of the Yankees' order, including Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. Ryan Borucki blew the save in the ninth inning, and the rest of the Pittsburgh bullpen has been shaky, leaving Santana as the likeliest option for saves moving forward. However, his usage Sunday illustrates that he could be used in highest-leverage spots rather than being saved exclusively for the ninth inning.

Bryant went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Sunday against the A's.

Bryant entered the game with just two hits across the first 18 at-bats of his season, though he doubled that total with his effort Sunday. He also drove in his first run of the season with a single in the first frame. Bryant still has an ugly .174/.240/.217 line for the season.

Vodnik allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks while striking out two across 1.2 innings to earn the save Sunday against the A's.

Vodnik entered the game in the eighth inning with a three-run lead and struck out two of the first three batters he faced. He remained in the contest for the final frame and stumbled a bit by allowing a pair of singles and a walk. The Rockies provided Vodnik with an additional five runs of support in the home half of the eighth inning, giving him some breathing room and allowing him to record his first save of the season despite the stumble.

Arraez went 4-for-5 with a walk, a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Cubs.

Arraez reached base five times and is now eight-for-his-last 16 with a home run and a double. Arraez has not struck out in 44 plate appearances this season and is the only player in baseball, with a minimum of 15 plate appearances, yet to strike out.