MLB Player News

Leone had been out since late May with elbow inflammation. In four rehab appearances, he allowed two runs and posted a 7/0 K/BB ratio in four innings for Triple-A Charlotte. He might well emerge as the favorite for saves in the White Sox pen, though that doesn’t make him worth picking up right now.

Jasson Domínguez went 0-for-3 today, as both played with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto resting. That won’t happen in the postseason, of course. We’re guessing the Yankees will favor Verdugo in the ALDS, in part because of Domínguez’s defensive issues. Still, we’ll have to wait and see. Verdugo ends the year at .233/.291/.356 in 621 plate appearances. A free agent this winter, he’d benefit as much as anyone in the league from having a strong October.

Schmidt needed to be better than this to add to his case for the fourth spot in the Yankees’ postseason rotation, but it still probably makes sense to go with him over Marcus Stroman anyway. He ends the regular season with a 5-5 record, 2.85 ERA and 93/30 K/BB in 85 1/3 innings.

Holmes lost his closing gig when he gave up four runs in a blown save on Sept. 3, but he’s since allowed two runs in eight innings. He ends the year with a 3.14 ERA, 68 strikeouts and four homers allowed in 63 innings. We’d expect Luke Weaver, who got the win today, to remain the favorite for saves in the Yankees pen during the postseason, but Holmes remains a viable option in the ninth.

Falter faded some at the end of what was a rather solid year, finishing 8-9 with a 4.43 ERA. His velocity was up a bit more than one mph from 2023, but it didn’t result in additional strikeouts, which was disappointing from someone who has always been a flyball pitcher. Eligible for arbitration for the first time, he’s probably due about $2 million or so next year, which should make it an easy decision to keep him. Even if he’s not part of the Pirates rotation to begin the season, he’d be nice to have around as depth.

The two sides mutually agreed to part ways. The Marlins went 146-178 during Schumaker’s two-year tenure, going 84-78 in 2023 and 62-100 this year. Schumaker is likely to be hotly pursued by other teams looking for managers this winter, while the Marlins will focus on finding the most qualified option willing to take the least amount of money.

This was a legacy start for David Peterson. Mets’ announcer Keith Hernandez said it’s a game that, “his teammates will always remember and look at him differently for.” He worked all five of his pitches masterfully and each forced at least one swing-and-miss. The Brewers could only muster one hit against him and it was an infield single. All in all, this was a masterful start and one the Mets needed badly.

This is what a super stay, franchise cornerstone player does. Still with a bad back – he practically crawled off the field after scoring in the first inning – Lindor carried the Mets to victory. He immediately set the tone for this game with a lead-off walk, then stole second base, and came around to score on a Brandon Nimmo single. He then stole another base, hit an RBI single in the fourth, and more or less iced the game with his home run in the sixth. He is doing everything he possibly can to get his Mets over the hump.

The Mets were all over Rea in his regular season finale. Eight of the nine hitters in their lineup had a hard-hit ball and seven of them had at least one hit. He had poor command of his sweeper and too many of his sinkers and cutters wound up in the heart of the plate. He’ll end his season with a 4.29 ERA and it’s unclear whether or not he will be a part of the Brewers’ playoff rotation.

The Reds’ rally came, oddly enough, after the automatic runner was picked off second base by Ethan Roberts. De La Cruz broke the tie and then scored on Tyler Stephenson’s single. He previously swiped two bags in the game, even though the 10th-inning hit was the only time he reached base safely (he grounded into force outs twice). De La Cruz finishes as the MLB leader with 67 steals and in 10th place with 105 runs scored. He hasn’t reached his ceiling yet, but he probably belongs somewhere in the top five on NL MVP ballots anyway.

After missing five weeks with elbow inflammation, Greene returned to allow one run in seven innings over the final eight days of the season. He was a Cy Young candidate before going down, and he ends the year a still impressive 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings. His ERA is fourth best in baseball among everyone to throw 140 innings.