Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) throws bullpen session

Williams will be on four days’ rest after striking out 12 in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the White Sox in the decisive ALDS Game 5. Including his relief appearance, he’s allowed two runs and struck out 24 in 11 2/3 innings this postseason.

Cooke, a former Blue Jays prospect, seemed potentially interesting in relief in 2023, when he posted an 80/19 K/BB in 44 1/3 innings between three levels in the minors. That earned him an invite to big-league camp the following spring. However, he struggled that year, underwent Tommy John in Jan. 2025 and was released prior to this season. He made his comeback in indy ball, posting a 2.66 ERA in 23 2/3 innings for Lexington in the Atlantic League. Now he’ll get a look from a rival AL East team.

Holderman has managed the issue for most of the last four years. He’s expected to be ready for the beginning of spring training.

Musgrove missed essentially two years while battling through injuries and returned to pitch one inning at the end of September. The 33-year-old would figure to be a leading contender to have a spot in the rotation in 2027, but it seems like the Padres want to be certain of his health over the winter before deciding if they want to let him have a spot or bring in another starting option and keep Musgrove in a bullpen role.

The game had been scheduled to start at 9 pm ET, but the Guardians’ game is being moved up to avoid potential weather issues, which allows Major League Baseball to move the NLCS game to a “more desirable” 8 pm East Coast start time.

Darvish had elbow surgery last season and missed the entire 2026 campaign. It sounds like, even if he feels 100 percent healthy, there is no guarantee that Darvish, who recently turned 40 years old, will return to MLB action. However, Stammen mentioned that Darvish has “been doing the work to at least give himself the option.”

The first time this injury cropped up publicly was at the beginning of August. Sheets played through the injury before finally landing on the injured list on August 30th and staying there for a month. Generally, plantar fasciitis is an injury that can heal with consecutive weeks or months of non-surgical treatments and rest, so this news doesn’t impact Sheets’ outlook too much for 2027. However, Stammen uses the term “for now” when discussing Sheets’ decision to now have surgery, which is a bit foreboding. If he doesn’t improve by December or January, he may be forced to opt for a surgical route, which could impact his status for next season.

The game was originally scheduled for 6 pm ET, but there is bad weather in the forecast. Since both teams traveled to Cleveland on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, there should be no complications or changes to the amount of time either team has to be ready for first pitch.

This seemed like a given after Espada was not extended during the season and then met with the Mariners about their managerial opening earlier this week. In addition to Espada, catching coach Tim Cossins, game plan coordinator Tommy Kawamura, third-base coach Tony Perezchica, assistant hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz will not return to the Astros next season.

Rodríguez last pitched on August 19th 2025, before experiencing soreness in his elbow and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery. He spent this entire year rehabbing and is now back on the mound in the Arizona Fall League. His four-seamer touched 96 mph and sat 95 mph in this outing, which is down from the 97.4 mph that he averaged in 2025, but it’s just nice to see him healthy and pitching. He’ll likely get a few more AFL outings, but there is a chance he could work himself into the 9th inning conversation for the Giants in 2027 with a good spring training.