MLB Player News

Another reminder: no relation to the Dodgers player. The 25th pick of last summer’s draft struggled in his professional debut with a .335 OPS, but that was over just 11 games, and in 10 games thus far he’s slashing .342/.447/.684 for the Ports. A right-handed hitting shortstop, Muncy doesn’t have a standout tool, but everything projects at least average, and some believe that there could be plus power as he fills out his 6-foot-1 frame. If Muncy isn’t able to stick at shortstop his fantasy upside drops considerably, but a player who can hit for a decent average and possibly drop 20-homer campaigns is obviously interesting.

Vesia was hurt during Game 5 on Friday. Tony Gonsolin and Brent Honeywell are candidates to replace him on the Dodgers roster. It’s also possible the Dodgers could carry both and drop another reliever.

Ouch. Stone was excellent before hurting his shoulder last month, going 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA and a 116/37 K/BB in 140 1/3 innings over 25 starts. The Dodgers could have Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May back to join Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Bobby Miller, but with so many question marks, adding pitching is going to have to be a priority this winter.

Kwan picked up three hits in the final three games of the series, and he went 11-for-20 in the five-game set with a .591 on-base percentage and .600 slugging mark. The outfielder has had spurts like this in his short MLB career, and the Guardians will hope the 27-year-old can do something similar over the ALCS against the Yankees beginning Monday.

Carpenter came off the bench while clearly still hobbled by his hamstring injury, but he was able to rip a ball into the gap all the way to the wall to off Andrew Walters to score Trey Sweeney from first. Because of the injury Carpenter was only able to get to first base, and he didn’t look good doing it. He had another chance to play hero with the bases loaded and Detroit down three, but Carpenter struck out. The 27-year-old was outstanding after injury in 2024, and should be an excellent fantasy option again in 2025 even if he won’t provide help in the steals category.

The Guardians trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning against future Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but after Jose Ramirez was plunked with the bases loaded to tie the game, Thomas swatted a grand slam off Skubal to give the Guardians a 5-1 lead and ultimately a win. He drove in another run with an infield single in the seventh. It was the second homer of the series for the former National outfielder, and it gave him nine RBI in the best-of-five tilt. Game 1 of the ALCS will take place Monday in New York.

Clase was called on in the top of the eighth with a runner on, and he was able to get the final six outs in the must-win game. The right-hander gave up a three-run homer to Kerry Carpenter in Game 2, but he’s been as dominant as any reliever in baseball even with that blemish. He’ll see plenty of work in the best-of-seven series against New York in the ALCS; or at least the Guardians hope that’ll be the case.

Skubal was able to work out of a few jams, but in the fifth inning he plunked Jose Ramirez with the bases loaded, and then gave up a grand slam on a pitch down the middle of the plate to Lane Thomas. That was the first grand slam allowed of his career. Not a great time for it. It’s a disappointing end to what was a fantastic season for Skubal; one that will assuredly see him take home a Cy Young in November. He should be one of the first pitchers off the board in 2025 drafts.

Boyd hit the first batter he faced and walked another in the first, but he picked up three strikeouts in that inning. The second inning saw the southpaw put runners on first-and-third, but another pair of punchouts kept the Tigers scoreless. Boyd should get a chance to start at some point for the Guardians in the ALCS against the Yankees.

Cole will not get the Game 1 nod on short rest, but rather will get his normal four days before getting the start. Aaron Boone wasn’t ready to name a Game 1 starter, but did say that it will not be Luis Gil. Boone did say that Gil will likely make a start later in the series, however. Cole was excellent against the Royals in Game 4 with seven innings of one-run baseball.

No surprise here. The Dodgers haven’t named a starter for the second game Monday, but it’ll likely be Walker Buehler with a chance to make it a bullpen game. Flaherty gave up four runs in his start Sunday against the Padres in a loss, but he’s been the most consistent of the Los Angeles options. He’ll likely also start Game 5, if necessary.