MLB Player News

What a mess. The Athletics have been skewered nationally for their handling of their impending relocation to Las Vegas, which isn’t expected to happen until 2028. Drellich adds that Salt Lake City or a return to Oakland are the other two remaining possibilities for a temporary home. The biggest variable here for fantasy managers will be how the Athletics’ interim home plays from a park factors standpoint. There should be some clarity on the club’s plans in the coming weeks.

King was brilliant in a victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, allowing just one hit over seven innings of scoreless baseball. He’ll be on regular rest for Game 2 on Sunday and would also be lined up to pitch in Game 5 on regular rest if the series goes that long. The expectation is that Nick Pivetta will start Game 3 for the Padres.

The 35-year-old southpaw went 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 140/84 K/BB ratio over 165 2/3 innings in 31 appearances (30 starts) between the Giants and Padres. In his last start against the Brewers on August 12, Ray allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in just four innings of work. He’ll be opposed by Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski on Saturday night in Milwaukee.

The 31-year-old right-hander signed a similar deal with the Pirates last offseason and wound up making five appearances for the Bucs at the MLB level before being traded to the White Sox in late July. He’ll once again add rotation depth for the Pirates and can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

No surprises here, especially as the Braves have had more difficulty with left-handers this season. Skubal made 10 starts for the Dodgers following the mid-season trade from the Tigers, going 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 70/13 K/BB ratio across 62 innings of work. He has been brilliant in his postseason career as well, posting a 2.04 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with a 56/6 K/BB ratio in just 39 2/3 frames.

We’ll give him the /OF slash because the Mariners did, but he belongs at first base, and he missed the final five weeks of this year because of a right shoulder dislocation he suffered while diving in the outfield. Toglia is 28 with a .198/.275/.385 line and a 74 OPS+ in 1,095 major league plate appearances, all except the last 28 of which came with the Rockies. He does offer legitimate power, but he seems more like a minor league signing than someone who should take up a 40-man spot all winter.

Interesting. Because of the extra off day built into the ALDS schedule, teams only need three starters. The Yankees, though, seem set to use four anyway. They could then pick between Gerrit Cole on six days’ rest or Cam Schlittler on four days’ rest in a potential Game 5.

It’s unclear if Ortiz will be a full-time player against the Padres. If not, that would mean a fair amount of David Hamilton at third base.

The call might go down to the wire Saturday morning. Judge hasn’t played since suffering a calf strain on Sept. 16.

Gasper is likely to need 4-6 months to recover, putting his availability for the beginning of 2027 in some doubt. Still, he shouldn’t have to worry about his job this winter after bouncing around on the waiver wire last year. He hit .251/.357/.466 with 10 homers in 225 plate appearances this season.

Tarik Skubal is expected to start Game 1, though the Dodgers still haven’t announced it. Yamamoto probably wouldn’t come back on Sunday after throwing Wednesday, so Blake Snell figures to get the Game 2 start. That’d leave Tyler Glasnow set up for Game 4 and Skubal for Game 5.