MLB Player News

Thompson was designated for assignment by the Pirates last week and will head to the Blue Jays in a small trade. The 29-year-old right-hander compiled a lackluster 5.18 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 90/46 K/BB ratio across 121 2/3 innings (29 appearances, 22 starts) last season for the Pirates. He projects as a versatile swingman in Toronto with the ability to pitch in long relief or make the occasional spot start, if necessary.

Javier underwent Tommy John surgery at the beginning of June, so a return at the end of July would be 13 months post-surgery which sets up with the normal recovery timeline. Even though Javier had an up-and-down season in 2024, he has posted a 3.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 27 percent strikeout rate over 501 innings (116 appearances, 82 starts) in the majors since 2020. Since fantasy managers will likely only get two months from Javier in 2025, it’s unlikely he gets drafted in most formats but he could be a valuable waiver add at the end of the season. Dana Brown mentioned that Jose Urquidy will be on a similar timeline, so the Astros will be without both of them for the majority of the 2025 season.

Skubal started Game 1 of the Wild Card round against the Astros on Tuesday, which means he would be on normal rest for Game 2 of the ALDS against the Guardians. Woodbery also notes that Skubal could return for Game 5 if it were to become necessary. While the Tigers have yet to announce an official plan, getting the chance to start the likely AL Cy Young winner twice gives them a major leg up in a test against the Guardians.

Michael Harris II’s two-run homer in the eighth made things interesting, but the Braves couldn’t overcome a five-run second inning that produced all of San Diego’s runs. Tatis went 4-for-6 with a homer in the brief series, and he is now 11-for-28 with four homers and a 7/7 K/BB ratio in the postseason during his career. The Padres will move on to face the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Higashioka started both games of the Wild Card series over Elias Díaz, and the Padres seem fully committed to him as their regular at this point. He’s 7-for-31 with three homers over four different postseasons, having previously split time with Gary Sánchez and Jose Trevino with the Yankees.

Harris hit a two-run homer off Jason Adam in the eighth to bring the Braves within one run, but that was the end of the scoring on the night. It’s obviously not the outcome Harris wanted, but it had to be a bit of a confidence builder personally, considering that he went 1-for-14 and 0-for-13 in his previous two postseasons. He was 5-for-8 this time around.

David Peterson will be ready to contribute behind him, if needed. Quintana is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance in the postseason in his career.

He was pulled with a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning tonight. Assuming that Musgrove misses additional time, Yu Darvish and Martín Pérez will round out the Padres’ four-man rotation going forward. It’s definitely a big loss, but with the way Pérez has thrown, it might not be a fatal one.

Mitchell hit the go-ahead shot off Phil Maton after Jackson Chourio tied the game with a homer earlier in the frame. It was Mitchell’s first career postseason homer after he was left off the Wild Card roster in 2023. He had previously entered the game as a pinch-runner, only to be caught stealing on a great throw from Francisco Alvarez. Milwaukee’s win means there will be at least one game on Thursday. Tobias Myers is expected to get the ball for Milwaukee, while the Mets will likely rely on Jose Quintana.

Montas’s own error led to the unearned runs, as an easy toss bounced off his glove as he was going to cover first in the second. Montas minimized the damage otherwise, giving up just the one earned run despite allowing six hits. Things looked rather bleak when Montas exited, but the Brewers pen pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in the comeback victory.

Manaea struck out four and walked none before leaving with a one-run lead. It was definitely his best postseason outing to date, even if it didn’t result in a win. He came in having gone 0-3 with a 15.26 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance lifetime in October. The first two of those were with the A’s, while the last came with the Padres in 2022.