MLB Player News

The Padres will start Ray in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Brewers on Saturday.

With Michael King and Nick Pivetta making starts in the Padres' wild-card series victory over the Cubs, Ray was the obvious choice to take the ball in the lid-lifter versus the Brewers. Ray struggled in nine starts after landing in San Diego at the trade deadline, holding a 5.02 ERA and 33:27 K:BB over 43 frames.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Rodon will start either Game 3 or a potential Game 4 of the ALDS versus the Rays, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

It's possible Rodon is needed in relief in Game 1 or 2, but if he's not he'll take the ball in Game 3 or a potential Game 4. Rodon's final regular-season start was against the Rays, and he dazzled with eight strikeouts across eight shutout innings. The Yankees are turning to Gerrit Cole in Game 1 and Cam Schlittler in Game 2.

Skubal will start Game 1 of the NLDS against Atlanta on Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches in their rotation, and they'll opt for Skubal over Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1. Presumably, Yamamoto will take the ball in Game 2, with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow lurking. Skubal made 10 starts for the Dodgers after landing in Los Angeles at the trade deadline, logging a 2.61 ERA and 70:13 K:BB across 62 innings.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Perez (back) will not be available for the NLDS against the Dodgers, Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com reports.

Perez isn't eligible to return from his lower-back inflammation until Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday, but he will not be activated at any point during the series. It's possible the lefty is an option for the NLCS, should Atlanta advance, though it's unclear whether Perez has done any throwing since the injury.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Elder (knee) will not be available for the NLDS against the Dodgers, Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com reports.

Elder underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery less than a month ago. He progressed to live batting practice Monday and could be in play if Atlanta advances to the NLCS, but the club doesn't feel he's ready to contribute just yet. Elder posted a 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 121:49 K:BB over 149 innings covering 26 starts for Atlanta this season.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Sale starting NLDS Game 2 versus the Dodgers on Sunday is "still on the table" after Sale threw 1.1 scoreless innings Thursday to close out the wild-card series win over the Phillies, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Sale threw 21 pitches Thursday, and Weiss cautioned Friday regarding the lefty that the club is "gonna err on the side of giving him (time to rest) if it's even close." It seems Weiss' preference would be to hold Sale back for Game 3 in Atlanta on Tuesday, but it would not be a surprise if the left-hander talks his way into a start Sunday.

Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said Thursday that Singer was plagued by blister issues during the season, Mike Petraglia of CLNSCincy.com reports.

Singer was unavailable for a bit during spring training because of a blister problem, but he didn't miss any starts during the regular season. However, the blister issues could have affected his performance, as Singer posted a career-worst 5.85 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 126:62 K:BB over 157 innings. The 30-year-old hurler will be a free agent this offseason.

Cole will start Game 1 of the ALDS against the Rays on Saturday.

The Rays were much better against right-handers (fourth in OPS) than left-handers (25th in OPS) this season, but the Yankees will roll with Cole rather than lefty Carlos Rodon in Game 1. Cole made three starts against the Rays in the regular season, logging a 2.50 ERA and 16:7 K:BB over 18 frames.

Nola was charged with the loss Thursday in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against Atlanta. He gave up three runs on two hits with one strikeout and two walks across 1.2 innings.

The right-hander retired Drake Baldwin to start the bottom of the first inning but then issued two straight walks before serving up a three-run homer to Michael Harris, which proved to be an insurmountable deficit for Philadelphia. It was a second consecutive disappointing year for Nola, who finished the 2026 regular season with a 4.67 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 177:59 K:BB over 175.1 innings. Now heading into his age-34 campaign in 2027, he still has four years and nearly $100 million remaining on his contract, so Nola's spot in the Phillies' rotation is likely secure despite his 5.14 ERA in 50 regular-season starts the past two years.

Sale pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to close out Atlanta's victory over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three.

Sale threw 95 pitches during Atlanta's Game 1 win, and he returned to the mound only two days later to eliminate the division-rival Phillies. The veteran left-hander induced five whiffs on 21 pitches Thursday as he made just his second relief appearance since the 2018 playoffs, when he worked out of the bullpen twice during Boston's World Series run. Even without the relief appearance, Sale would have been on short rest to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers on Saturday, which makes him a logical candidate to pitch Sunday in Game 2, especially since that would still him up for a potential winner-take-all Game 5.