MLB Player News

Boone said he wouldn’t say he was optimistic about Cortes making that return after the southpaw was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a left elbow flexor strain. The manager wouldn’t completely rule it out, however. Cortes could be a valuable left-hander out of the bullpen for the deeper series if New York was to make it, but it sounds like it’s more likely we see the southpaw back on the mound in 2025.

Megill was one of the possibilities to start Game 1, and he could pitch in relief today, though David Peterson might be first in line there. Huascar Brazoban and Max Kranick have lost their spots. The Mets made no changes with their position players.

Everything is pretty much as expected here, as Kolby Allard got the last spot on the 12-man pitching staff. The Phillies would have loved to have gotten Spencer Turnbull back, but that’s not happening yet. Walker isn’t in the Phillies’ postseason plans after giving up 15 earned runs and striking out just six in 13 innings last month.

The Tigers are using the same lineup they did Wednesday against the Astros. That means McKinstry at third, even though Matt Vierling was getting most of the playing time there at the end of the regular season. Vierling is again starting in right over Wenceel Pérez. The lineup: CF Parker Meadows, DH Kerry Carpenter, RF Vierling, LF Riley Greene, 2B Colt Keith, 1B Spencer Torkelson, 3B McKinstry, SS Trey Sweeney, C Jake Rogers.

The Guardians are also using David Fry over Kyle Manzardo against the lefty opener Tyler Holton. Brennan and Manzardo might make early appearances once the Tigers switch to a righty, though. The lineup: LF Steven Kwan, DH Fry, 3B José Ramírez, 1B Josh Naylor, CF Lane Thomas, 2B Andrés Giménez, RF Noel, C Bo Naylor, SS Brayan Rocchio.

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.