MLB Player News

The designation clears a roster spot for Michael Petersen, as Petersen was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. The 26-year-old right-hander will now hit the waiver wire himself.

Francona was reported as Reds manager back on October 3rd but we now have the details of the contract, and the move became official with a press conference on Monday. The 65-year-old Francona stepped down as Guardians manager after the 2023 season but returns to the dugout after missing just one year. He has a 1950-1672 career record while managing just three teams over a 23-year career, which is a nice change for the Reds since they went .409-.456 in six years with David Bell as manager and never finished above third-place in the NL Central.

McNeil fractured his wrist on September 7th and the original timeline given at that point was that he would be out for four to six weeks. It has been four weeks now, so a return for the NLCS would put McNeil’s return at about the five-week mark, which is keeping in line with the original diagnosis. The 32-year-old received an “improved” x-ray last week and has already begun baseball activities, which makes it more likely that he can return if the Mets continue their magical run.

Davidson was designated for assignment and sent to Triple-A Norfolk, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency instead. The 28-year-old split time between the rotation and bullpen this season but spent almost the entire year i Triple-A, posting a 3.89 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 104:46 K:BB ratio in 115 2/3 innings (17 starts) for Baltimore. He will look to get a shot at a big league job with another organization.

The Padres evened the series at 1-1 as they head home for Game 3 on Tuesday. Darvish struck out only three tonight, but he mostly produced soft contact and was aided by his defense, particularly when Jurickson Profar took a homer away from Mookie Betts. It’s the first time since May 19 that Darvish has completed seven innings. He improved to 5-6 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 career postseason starts.

The first three runs came on a pair of homers in the first two innings. Flaherty did a nice job after that, but he was tagged with more run after being pulled in the sixth. His velocity, down in his final two starts of the regular season, was back up tonight, as he averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball. It’s reason to be encouraged if he gets another opportunity; he’ll be available to work in a Game 5, potentially in relief of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Tatis homered and doubled off Jack Flaherty, whom he had already enjoyed great success again during the regular-season games, and then added another homer in the ninth after the game was decided. He’s an incredible 9-for-14 with three homers and two doubles in four postseason games.

It was still a contest when Merrill hit a two-run homer off Ryan Brasier to make it a 6-1 game in the eighth, and the Padres piled on from there. Merrill is 6-for-14 with three extra-base hits and two walks four games into his first postseason.

Bogaerts promptly homered after a visit from the trainer and then took what was probably his slowest trot of his career. We’re guessing this was a cramping situation and that he’ll be OK for Tuesday.

Max Muncy moved from third base to first. The Dodgers will start working on getting Freeman ready for Tuesday’s Game 3. Prior to returning Saturday, he missed the final three games of the regular season with an ankle sprain.

After doubling to right in the first inning, Vientos went the other way again in the third with a runner on to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Six innings later, he tied the game in the ninth with a two-run blast to left off Matt Strahm at 6-6. The 24-year-old is off to a nice start to the postseason with seven RBI in the first five games of the playoffs, and he should continue to hit near the top of the lineup as long as New York is alive.