MLB Player News

Perez (1-1) picked up the win Friday, allowing four hits and two walks over six scoreless innings in a 9-0 rout of the Phillies. He struck out four.

On paper at least, it's been a hectic week for the veteran southpaw. Perez started for Atlanta last Saturday, was DFA'ed on Sunday as the team scrambles to patch together its staff in the wake of injuries, elected to become a free agent Tuesday, re-signed a minor-league deal with the club Wednesday and was added back to the 26-man roster Friday to make his next start. The transactional shenanigans didn't faze Perez at all, as he tossed 59 of 94 pitches for strikes while delivering his first quality start of 2026. Through four outings (three starts) he's produced a 2.21 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 10:6 K:BB through 20.1 innings, but his hold on a rotation spot is precarious as the organization clearly views the 35-year-old as expendable. He's set to make his next trip to the mound on the road next week against the Nationals, but with Spencer Strider (oblique) having begun a rehab assignment and top prospects Didier Fuentes and JR Ritchie both pitching well at Triple-A Gwinnett, any Perez start could be his last for Atlanta.

Perez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Perez will catch a breather Saturday after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in Friday's series opener. Carter Jensen will handle catching duties for the Royals instead while Isaac Collins starts as the DH and Lane Thomas patrols left field.

Bibee came away with a no-decision in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Orioles, allowing four hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out five.

The quality start was the first of 2026 for Bibee but he remains winless, having exited the mound after 96 pitches (60 strikes) with the game still scoreless before both offenses got frisky against the bullpens. Bibee is still trying to find a rhythm on the young season, and he'll take a 4.81 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 23:9 K:BB through 24.1 innings into his next start, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Astros.

Helsley walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his sixth save of the season in a 6-4 win over the Guardians.

The right-hander continues to get the job done as the Orioles' closer, and Helsley has converted all six of his save chances to begin the season. Last year's homer issues also have yet to resurface -- after he served up nine long balls over 56 innings in 2025 between the Cardinals and Mets, leading to a 4.50 ERA, Helsley has yet to be taken deep over 8.1 innings in 2026 while producing a 2.16 ERA.

Jackson went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's 6-4 win over the Guardians.

The Orioles were down 4-0 heading into the eighth inning -- a deficit created in part by Jackson's first error of the season -- but the 26-year-old utility player redeemed himself when he capped a six-run eruption by launching a Connor Brogdon fastball into the left-field seats. Jackson has five homers on the campaign and all of them have come in the last seven games, a stretch in which he's batting .429 (12-for-28) with two doubles, five runs and 13 RBI.

After tossing a scoreless inning of relief in Friday's 1-0, 10-inning loss to the Red Sox, Finnegan is now up to nine consecutive scoreless appearances this season.

Finnegan has managed to keep the opposition off the board so far this year, but there are some signs for concern. He only has three strikeouts across nine innings and has walked eight batters, which has contributed to a 1.33 WHIP that is a jump up from the 1.11 WHIP he posted for the Nationals and Tigers last year. Finnegan should remain locked into a key setup role for Detroit, though he'll need to flip the strikeouts and walks around if he wants to sustain his early success.

Bassitt didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-4 win over Cleveland, allowing four hits and four walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out two.

The veteran right-hander was neither efficient nor dominant, managing only six swinging strikes and 56 total strikes among his 100 pitches, but Bassitt kept Guardians hitters off balance and didn't allow much hard contact -- all four hits off him were singles. After a bumpy beginning to his Baltimore tenure, Bassitt has given up just one earned run over his last two outings, but he still carries a 6.19 ERA, 2.13 WHIP and 7:11 K:BB through 16 innings on the season. He'll look to keep chipping away at those ratios in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road next week in Kansas City.

Criswell (elbow) will face live hitters over the weekend and begin a rehab assignment shortly thereafter, MLB.com reports.

Criswell is recovering from Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2025 season. Assuming the final steps in his recovery go as planned, Criswell is expected to be activated in late April or early May.

Vest (1-3) allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk across 1.1 innings of relief to take the loss Friday in extra innings against the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Vest covered the bottom of the ninth inning in a 0-0 game and was then asked to come back out in the 10th. The veteran uncorked a wild pitch and ended up allowing a single to Masataka Yoshida that brought home the automatic baserunner from third base to win the game for the Red Sox. Despite taking his third loss of the season, Vest managed to lower his ERA from 6.75 to 5.63, and he's only allowed two earned runs over his last six appearances to go along with 10 strikeouts, so he's pitching a bit better than his overall stats would suggest.

Horwitz went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a walk Friday against the Rays.

Horwitz opened up the scoring with an RBI double in the second inning and proceeded to get on base three additional times. He has started every game against right-handed pitchers this season, and he's gone 9-for-26 with one home run, two RBI and five runs scored across his last 10 games.