Esmerlyn Valdez goes homerless, singles twice

The 29-year-0old southpaw has been shelved since early September due to forearm tightness, and he hasn’t progressed enough to where the Rays feel comfortable bringing him back, even if they were to advance to the World Series. His health outlook remains murky heading into the 2027 season.

That had been the expectation all along, but it’s now official. The 31-year-old is coming off of a brilliant outing in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees, where he carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and struck out 10 batters over eight scoreless frames. He’ll look to get the Rays off on the right foot as they continue their quest to secure the first World Series title in franchise history.

The prized 21-year-old right-hander threw 80 1/3 innings between the regular season and the playoffs for the Braves in 2026 and the expectation is that he’ll increase to around 130 innings for the 2027 campaign. How he’ll ultimately be used may depend on the Braves’ team needs and whether they need another starter or a reliable setup arm more. He could wind up splitting his time between both roles, which would be unfortunate for fantasy purposes.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The Brewers will roll with exactly the same 26-man roster that they used to get past the Padres in the Division Series. The NLCS gets underway on Saturday evening in Milwaukee with an epic pitching showdown between Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski and Dodgers’ star southpaw Tarik Skubal.

Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts had mentioned that the team would likely add an extra bullpen arm at the expense of a position player, and that’s exactly what they did with Hyeseong Kim being left off of the roster. Everything else is exactly as it was for their Divisional Series against the Braves.

The recovery from the procedure isn’t expected to interfere with Durbin’s regular offseason routine and he should be ready for the start of spring training. The 26-year-old infielder hit .248/.332/.378 with 13 homers, 64 RBI and 20 stolen bases over 586 plate appearances in his first season with the Red Sox.

Rojas exited Game 3 of the NLDS and sat out Game 4 due pain in his lower back, but he’s feeling much improved after a recent cortisone injection. He was able to take ground balls and swing the bat on Saturday without issue and should be good to go barring any setbacks.

Murakami had an awful day at the plate, and that included a strikeout with the bases loaded in one of the very few chances the White Sox created any sort of chaos. The 26-year-old’s swing-and-miss was readily apparent throughout the season — that’s really an understatement — but so was his power with 35 homers in his 127 games. The average will always be an issue, but Murakami’s power, potential to drive in runs and draw walks will make him relevant in leagues for the next few years at least.

Smith, 27, struck out four, as the White Sox whiffed a whopping 21 times in the game. The right-hander allowed one run in his six innings in the series, and this was his first save of the postseason. He’ll get the opportunities — assuming they arise, of course — in the ALCS against the Rays beginning Monday.

Ramírez golfed a pitch well below his ankles out of the park for a two-run shot that gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning. That pitch was just 0.74 feet off the ground, which is the lowest in the history of the tracking era (2008). That’s the second homer of the postseason for Ramírez, and it’s a great reminder of how incredible the 34-year-old has been after his worst regular season due to injuries and lackluster — comparatively, in particular — results when on the field. He’ll now have a chance to reach the World Series for a second time if they can get pat the Rays in the ALCS, with that series beginning Monday.