MLB Player News

Rodriguez dodged some trouble in the first two innings before Houston brought a run in to score on a groundout in the third. The Astros would get to him in the fourth. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Chas McCormick, who knocked a base hit to score two runs. A single, error, and a walk brought a fifth run in to score before Rodriguez could escape the inning. That would do it for the 31-year-old left-hander. He’ll take a 5.83 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and an 18/10 K/BB ratio across 29 1/3 innings into a start against the Brewers in Arizona next weekend.

Montero was left off the Wild Card roster after throwing three innings Sunday, but it’s no surprise to see him back now. The question was whether it’d be at the expense of Mize or Ty Madden, neither of whom pitched in the Wild Card series. As is, Madden is sticking around. Montero could see action behind opener Tyler Holton today, but Reese Olson and Brant Hurter are also possibilities there.

That leaves no room for Ben Lively. Cobb makes the team despite not having pitched since Sept. 1 due to a finger blister. We imagine he’ll start Game 4 over Cantillo, but we’ll see. The other mild surprise here is that utilityman Tyler Freeman, who finished the season in Triple-A, has made the roster over Angel Martínez.

That means no Robbie Grossman, who was acquired to play against lefties but wound up going just 4-for-32 over the final month of the season. Reliever Will Smith was a candidate to be activated after missing the end of the year with back spasms, but it seems the Royals didn’t want to mess with what’s working in the pen.

This isn’t a huge surprise. While the Yankees maintained that Jasson Dominguez would play everyday once he was called up, that wasn’t the case. Assuming the Yankees use their best hitting lineup with Aaron Judge in center, Juan Soto in right and Giancarlo Stanton at DH, Dominguez will find himself on the bench with Verdugo in left field to begin the playoffs.

Freeman admitted that he’s trying to recover in a week from an ankle sprain that would normally require a 4-6 week stint on the injured list. He added that this is the worst injury he’s ever tried to play through, but also that he feels good enough after testing his ankle in the field and on the bases on Friday. The Dodgers have been nothing but optimistic about Freeman’s return to this point, though the final ALDS roster hasn’t been made official yet.

Rizzo was deemed a “long shot” by both manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman in recent days. The Yankees are likely to go with Ben Rice and potentially DJ LeMahieu at first base if the latter is healthy enough to make the roster. It remains to be seen if Rizzo will be able to make it back for the ALCS if the Yankees advance, but the first baseman is optimistic about his chances.

LeMahieu went on the injured list in early September with a hip injury. Towards the end of September, he was encouraged by his recovery and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the club would continue to monitor him. At the time, there wasn’t a clear role for LeMahieu even if he was healthy. Since then, Anthony Rizzo fractured two fingers and didn’t participate in the Yankees practice on Friday. It would seem that if LeMahieu is healthy enough, he would be a logical platoon partner with Ben Rice at first base with Rizzo out.

Freeman ran the bases and played defense on Friday, which bodes well for his availability. While no decision has been made official, Roberts still expects him to play. Freeman turned his ankle trying to avoid a tag at first base last week in a regular season game against the Padres.

What a blow. The Padres have been one of if not the hottest team in baseball since the start of June, but losing Musgrove for essentially the entirety of their playoff run is certainly a bump in the road for San Diego. For Musgrove himself, the timing as well as the injury itself is brutal. While Preller didn’t provide a timeline, Musgrove won’t pitch at all in 2025.

Cummings was selected by the Mariners in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He made his professional debut this year and had a 4.17 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 124 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings over 25 starts with High-A Everett. Cummings isn’t considered a top 100 prospect and is more of a depth starter than top prospect.