MLB Player News

The Rockies scored seven runs between the eighth and ninth innings today. Prior to that, Ritter’s homer in the fifth was their lone run of the game. Even though he’s struck out in 16 of his 51 plate appearances, Ritter is batting .340/.392/.553 this spring. He’s also 3-for-4 stealing bases. With Kyle Karros seemingly favored to start at third and Willi Castro in line to play a lot of second base, the Rockies might want Ritter opening up in Triple-A instead of sticking around as a utilityman, but we’ll see. There’d be more room for him as a part-time option at second, third and in the outfield if Karros is sent down.

Ohtani hit a couple of balls off of the scoreboard during the session and will be in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday. While he feels “really good” at the moment, the superstar slugger acknowledged that the injuries are something that he’s going to have to manage for the duration of the postseason.

Vaughn had been shelved since September 22 due to illness. He’ll rejoin the Brewers’ roster for the start of their NLDS series against the Padres on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.

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.