Astros option Ronel Blanco to Triple-A Sugar Land

This is not a major surprise after Arraez sprained his ankle just this week. Phillies manager Don Mattingly said, “We still get improvement every day, but not enough. He was going to try to hit today and just wasn’t able to do it. So, we kind of crossed that bridge today.” There’s a chance that Arraez will be able to return for the NLDS, but, for now, Triple-A Lehigh Valley utility player Otto Kemp will take Arraez’s place on the roster. The Phillies figure to move Bryson Stott back to second base, but it remains to be seen if they move Alec Bohm back to third and Bryce Harper to first or if they just insert Edmundo Sosa into the lineup at third base.

Elder had knee surgery in early September and began throwing off the mound again on the 19th. He had previously stated that he planned to return for the postseason, but it remains to be seen if the Braves feel they need him for the Wild Card series or would wait until the Divisional round before thinking of activating him.

Burnes was placed on the injured list at the end of the season, but claims he has suffered no new injury. The 31-year-old returned to pitch just 10 1/3 innings this season, allowing nine runs on 12 hits while striking out eight and walking four. With the Diamondbacks being in the thick of the playoff hunt, it seems that Burnes may have been rushed back a bit sooner than was ideal in order to try and help the team. Let’s hope he truly is just in need of some extra rest.

Luzardo was activated from the IL on Sunday after missing two weeks with shoulder inflammation. He threw one inning of relief in the final game of the regular season, so he will not be built up long enough to pitch deep into this game. He’ll go as long as possible, and then the Phillies will turn things over to Andrew Painter.

Hunter Brown, the team’s ace, last pitched on September 25, so he would be on three days’ rest if he pitched on Tuesday. The Astros are likely going to have him start Game 2. Peter Lambert just pitched Sunday, and Hayden Wesneski threw seven innings Saturday. As a result, it will probably be AJ Blubaugh for bulk innings on Tuesday before the Astros can turn things over to their starting rotation.

Maki took over as the team’s pitching coach in July 2022, after Wes Johnson left the team midseason to take a job with LSU. Since then, the Twins rank 21st overall in ERA, including 25th this season and 24th last season. Maki has been with the organization since 2017. He started as the minor-league pitching coordinator before joining the MLB staff as bullpen coach in 2021. Injuries to Pablo Lopez, Mick Abel, David Festa, and others put the Twins pitching staff in a tough spot this season, and they will now find another voice to lead them.

This is obviously good news, but the bigger hurdle for Judge with a calf strain will be running. Especially the stop-start running when he leaves the batter’s box or takes off after being on base. He also claims that he intends to play the outfield, which will be another major test for his calf. As of now, Boone says that the team has not made a decision about whether or not to carry Judge on their roster for the Wild Card series against the Red Sox.

Westburg missed the entire 2026 season after suffering a UCL sprain in spring training and then having a setback in early May. Westburg wound up having Tommy John surgery in the middle of May but is now beginning his hitting progression, which means he should have plenty of time to be ready to go by spring training.

Bradish dealt with the injury over his final three starts of the season and was placed on the injured list on September 13th. The recovery from this surgery is usually a couple of months long, so he should be able to have a relatively normal offseason and build up to the necessary arm strength by spring training.

Sonny Gray will start Game 2, with Ranger Suarez potentially lined up for Game 3. It seems that Tracy may be looking to break up his lefties. Tolle is certainly a worthwhile Game 1 starter. He finished the regular season with a 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 28.4 percent strikeout rate across 148 2/3 innings. He has never made a start in the postseason before, while Gray has previous experience. Gray also posted a 2.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 169 innings this year. Either way, the Red Sox have a nice duo set up to start the first two games of the series.