MLB Player News

LeBlanc was sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, and the 28-year-old will hit the open market. He’s assuredly looking at a minor-league contract as his next deal for a team in need of infield depth.

Boone has been clear that Cole wouldn’t start Game 4 on three days rest under any circumstances, which includes the Yankees falling behind 3-0 in the series, citing Cole’s injury during the regular season. However the optics may look with the Yankees season potentially coming to an end without Cole taking the mound a second time in the series, Boone refuses to budge from his previous stance. Cole is still on track to start Game 5 on Wednesday if necessary.

The Dodgers are opening with Casparius as part of a bullpen game. Los Angeles has used the bullpen for an entire game in each round of the playoffs. The Dodgers lineup: Shohei Ohtani DH, Mookie Betts RF, Freddie Freeman 1B, Teoscar Hernández LF, Max Muncy 3B, Enrique Hernández CF, Gavin Lux 2B, Will Smith C, and Tommy Edman SS.

The Yankees are splitting up the struggling Aaron Judge — who is still hitting third, despite his issues — by putting Chisholm Jr. between the two sluggers. The full lineup as the Yankees look to keep this series going: 2B Gleyber Torres, RF Juan Soto, CF Judge, 3B Chisholm Jr., DH Stanton, 1B Anthony Rizzo, SS Anthony Volpe, C Austin Wells and LF Alex Verdugo behind Luis Gil.

Fulmer was sent outright to Triple-A by the Angels on Friday and now will have a chance to sign with a new club — or return to Los Angeles if the team has interest. Fulmer showed some flashes as a starter in 2024, but not enough to suggest he’ll get a major-league deal this offseason.

Freeman, who struggled in the NLDS and NLCS while dealing with a sprained ankle, has now homered in his last five World Series games, having gone deep twice in the Braves’ championship in 2021. He’s totaled 13 homers in 60 career postseason games. The Dodgers will try to close out the World Series on Tuesday. They’re planning to ride the pen in Game 4, while the Yankees will start Luis Gil.

Buehler, who was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 regular-season starts, has definitely earned himself some money by pitching nine scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in two postseason outings. Maybe he’ll still take a one-year contract anyway, but he’ll certainly have more options now. He’s due to pitch again if the World Series somehow lasts seven games.

Schmidt allowed just two hits, but one was a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman, and he walked four batters. It was the kind of stuff that probably would have allowed him to give up two or three runs over five or six innings in a regular-season start, but it wasn’t enough tonight.

The Yankees were down to their last out when Verdugo put them on the board in the bottom of the ninth. It was Verdugo’s first homer since Sept. 26. He’s gone 7-for-41 this postseason, though he has managed seven RBI in 12 games.

We were guessing Carrasco was done after a second straight rough season, but he’s not ready to call it yet. The 37-year-old went 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA before Cleveland let him go. In 2023, he was 3-8 with a 6.80 ERA in 20 starts for the Mets. His ERA is down about three mph from his heyday, and home runs have been a big issue for him since the start of the decade. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league deal this winter.

Perez becomes the first Royals player to receive the award, which recognizes off-the-field contributions. The 13-year veteran and Royals captain is not only active with Kansas City charities, having made a $1 million donation to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, but also distributes food in his native Venezuela every offseason.