Astros release veteran right-hander J.P. France

With arguably the best left-hander in the game on the mound for the Dodgers in Tarik Skubal, Yelich will begin the first game of the series on the bench. Andrew Vaughn will be the designated hitter in Yelich’s place and hit fifth. Sal Frelick is also out against the southpaw, so Luis Lara will be the right fielder. The full lineup with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound: Jackson Chourio LF, Brice Turang 2B, William Contreras C, Jake Bauers 1B, Vaughn DH, Garrett Mitchell CF, Cooper Pratt SS, Lara RF and Joey Ortiz at third base.

Hernández got the start at second base in Game 4 against Atlanta, and he’ll do the same for the LCS opener against Jacob Misiorowski and the Milwaukee staff. Tommy Edman will open Sunday’s game on the bench. The full lineup: Mookie Betts SS, Freddie Freeman 1B, Will Smith C, Shohei Ohtani DH, Teoscar Hernández OF, Max Muncy 3B, Andy Pages CF, Kyle Tucker RF and Hernández at second with Tarik Skubal on the mound.

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.