MLB Player News

Helsley’s save was his 49th of the season. He struck out two batters and lowered his ERA to 2.04 on the season in the process. With two games left in the year, he’s on the precipice of a 50-save season.

This was expected, but there was some hope after Hader said he “felt good” following his bullpen on Tuesday. Still, if you watched footage of that bullpen, Hader was clearly not letting the ball fly with the usual zip, and he’s still ramping up from an offseason shoulder issue and now his biceps issue. Hader could be back in the middle of April and return to his normal self, but it’s hard to feel optimistic that he makes it through the season without more trips to the IL given his multitude of arm issues. Bryan Abreu is the clear pivot here if you’re looking for early saves with the chance to hold onto the role if Hader isn’t fully healthy.

Perhaps the most incredible thing about Italy’s win tonight is the top five hitters in the lineup combined to go 0-for-22. It was Kyle Teel, Caglianone and Sam Antonacci from the sixth-through-eighth spots providing all of the offense, which each hitting a homer. The win moves Italy to 3-0 in Pool B play ahead of its game with Mexico on Wednesday. If Italy wins the game, it wins the pool and Team USA advances as the runnerup. If Mexico wins, it sets up a tiebreaker between the three clubs, with the two teams with the fewest runs allowed advancing. Ironically, Team USA’s furious late-inning comeback tonight probably hurt its chances of advancing, just because Italy churned through all of its best relievers and its bullpen will be lacking Wednesday.

Working on a pitch limit of 65, Lorenzen, last seen giving up four runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Brewers last week, was able to retire 14 batters, an extremely impressive accomplishment even if Team USA didn’t field its best lineup tonight. Lorenzen allowed two hits, walked one and struck out two. He’ll be able to pitch again if Team Italy can reach the semifinals.

McLean was brilliant in the first, striking out Jakob Marsee, Jon Berti and Vinnie Pasquantino on 11 pitches, but he gave up homers to Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci in the three-run second. McLean, who dealt with an illness earlier this month, threw 55 pitches in the contest and averaged 97.1 mph with his fastball. That’s 1.3 mph better than his 2025 average.

Crow-Armstrong got the nod over Byron Buxton tonight, perhaps in part because Team USA manager Mark DeRosa, as stated on MLB Network, incorrectly believed his team had already locked up a quarterfinals bid. That switch worked out fine, though, as PCA had a three-run homer in the seventh and a solo blast in the ninth. He’s 3-for-10 in the tournament.

When manager Yadier Mollina announced earlier in the day that Berríos would join the team, we assumed this hurdle had already been overcome. Apparently not. Berríos is coming off an elbow issue that prematurely ended his 2025, but he’s looked fine this spring while allowing four runs in 10 2/3 innings over three outings for the Blue Jays.

Jordan Balazovic, Logan Allen (the former Guardian, not the current Guardian) and Brock Dykxhoorn each pitched three innings for Canada and combined to limit Puerto Rico to five hits and six total bases. The win means Wednesday’s Pool A finale between Canada and Cuba will determine who advances to the WBC quarterfinals.

All were singles and none of them were hard hit; he had two flares to the outfield and an infield hit. That’s also mostly what happened before Arenado left the Diamondbacks; he was 3-for-8 with an average exit velocity of 77.5 mph. He could be a solid enough regular for Arizona because his defense is still well above average, but the power probably isn’t coming back.

It definitely looked like an IL-type injury if it had been the regular season, and Opening Day is now probably in question for the 24-year-old. If Teel is sidelined then, the White Sox will likely carry just two catchers in Edgar Quero and Korey Lee. They’ve been considering putting all three on the roster, since Quero and Teel were expected to see considerable time at DH.

Both teams had already been eliminated with the Dominican Republic and Venezuela advancing from Pool D. Israel also got three RBI from Dodgers prospect Jake Gelof tonight. Mervis ends the tournament 3-for-11 with three RBI. He’s set to rejoin the Nationals and resume his bid for a bid for a roster spot on a team with an unsettled situation at first base.