MLB Player News

Topa (knee) reached 94 mph during a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A St. Paul and will make another appearance on May 5, MLB.com reports. He's given up two runs in three innings with five strikeouts and no walks during three rehab outings.

Topa began the season on the shelf with left patellar tendinitis and it's taken him longer than initially expected to return. He had lower than usual velocity in his first two outings, so he may finally be ready to be activated from the injured list in a few days.

Alexander (ribs) started Single-A Stockton's loss to Visalia on Friday, allowing an earned run on two hits over one inning. He struck out one.

Alexander pitched to some contact, but he located 12 of his 16 pitches for strikes and came away from his first game action in nearly two months feeling good, per MLB.com. The veteran right-hander is due for another rehab appearance with the Ports on Tuesday against San Jose, and if he remains free of setbacks, his rehab assignment will move to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Banks struck out the only batter he faced to record the final out of Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Cardinals and collect his first save of the season.

The 32-year-old southpaw faced Ivan Herrera with the bases loaded and two outs after a rain delay that lasted over three hours interrupted the 10th inning, and Banks got the job done on four pitches. John Brebbia had originally gotten the call in the save situation before the delay, while Michael Kopech pitched the ninth, so Banks' usage was more due to the unusual circumstances than his prominence in the White Sox bullpen. On the season, Banks has a 5.65 ERA and 1.88 WHIP through 14.1 innings, but his 18:4 K:BB does suggest he's been unlucky so far.

Sands struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his second save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Red Sox.

Jhoan Duran surprisingly worked the eighth and got the hold against the heart of Boston's order, leaving Sands to face the 7-8-9 hitters. With Brock Stewart (shoulder) on the shelf, Sands could be moving up in the bullpen pecking order for the Twins, but Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar had also both pitched Friday and were likely only available in an emergency. Sands has pitched well enough to earn a high-leverage role though, posting a 2.93 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 22:2 K:BB through 15.1 innings.

Duran gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning Saturday to record his first hold of the season in a 3-1 win over the Red Sox.

The right-hander got the call to face the heart of Boston's order in the eighth rather than being held back for the save chance, and he got the job done without issue. Cole Sands then worked the ninth inning for the save. Duran had only one hold last season along with his 27 saves, and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli typically favors set roles in his bullpen over playing matchups in high-leverage spots, so there's no reason yet to assume this is a sign Duran will see less ninth-inning work than expected. He's appeared in three games since making his season debut Tuesday, posting a 5:0 K:BB over three scoreless frames and collecting saves in the other two contests.

Cano allowed one walk but retired the final two batters of Saturday's game against the Reds to earn his first save of the season.

Craig Kimbrel was pulled from the game after allowing two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth. Cano entered and walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but the 30-year-old ultimately worked his way out of it with a strikeout and a flyout. Kimbrel earned the save in Friday's game, but Kimbrel had back-to-back blown saves to end April and has been nursing a back issue recently. If Kimbrel needs some time to get right, Cano would presumably step into the closer's role after he recorded eight saves and 31 holds a season ago.

Holmes gave up a hit and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday to record his 11th save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Tigers.

The right-hander is tied with the Cardinals' Ryan Helsley for the league lead in saves. Holmes kept his ERA a pristine 0.00 with Saturday's performance, although he did give up three unearned runs in his one blown save, and through 15 innings he's delivered a 0.92 WHIP and 18:1 K:BB.

Kimbrel was pulled from a save situation in the ninth inning of Saturday's game against the Reds. He allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out one batter in one-third of an inning.

The Cincinnati offense had been quiet all night until Kimbrel gave the home team some life in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed three of the four batters he faced to reach base, prompting the hook from manager Brandon Hyde. Yennier Cano took over and closed the door to earn his first save of the season. Kimbrel earned the save Friday in his return following a brief absence due to back tightness, but he had squandered back-to-back save chances before that and Saturday's slip-up puts him on notice with a high-end arm in Cano representing a viable alternative to Kimbrel in the ninth.

Leone was removed from Saturday's game against the Cardinals due to lower-back tightness, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Leone entered the game in the eighth inning and was only able to get through one batter -- a five-pitch walk to Nolan Arenado -- before coming out of the game. The team officially labeled Leone as day-to-day, so his injury doesn't seem to be too severe, but the 32-year-old righty may take a few days off before pitching again.

Kahnle (shoulder) will throw a live batting-practice session Saturday and could begin a rehab assignment thereafter, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Kahnle has been throwing bullpens since mid-April and recently progressed to facing live hitters. The Yankees haven't yet established a firm plan for the veteran reliever, but it appears likely that he'll either have one more live BP after Saturday's session or move on to a minor-league rehab assignment. Kahnle was a key piece of the team's bullpen last season, posting a 2.66 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 48:19 K:BB over 40.2 innings while registering two saves and 14 holds.