MLB Player News

Spence was a long shot to crack Kansas City’s season-opening roster this spring. He’ll open the year back in the upper minors after being acquired from the Athletics in a small trade earlier this spring. The 27-year-old holds a respectable 4.77 ERA (4.67 xERA), 1.40 WHIP and 192/70 K/BB ratio across 236 innings in the majors since 2024.

Frelick and Hamilton sat in favor of Luis Lara and Joey Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound for the Padres in Game 1 on Saturday, but they’ll jump into the lineup against right-hander Michael King. The Brewers have also shuffled up the order of their lineup. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), Jake Bauers (1B), William Contreras (C), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Christian Yelich (DH), Frelick (RF), Cooper Pratt (SS) and Hamilton (3B).

The Padres are rolling with the same starting nine that they did in Game 1, the only change is that Salas and Xander Bogaerts have swapped lineup spots and Luis Campusano will do the catching with Salas serving as the DH. Here’s how they’ll line up against Brewers’ right-hander Logan Henderson on Sunday: Fernando Tatis Jr. (RF), Dustin Harris (LF), Manny Machado (3B), Ty France (1B), Jackson Merrill (CF), Salas (DH), Xander Bogaerts (SS), Luis Campusano (C) and Jake Cronenworth (2B).

The 30-year-old infielder will get a head start on free agency. Bride appeared in just two games with the Rangers during the 2026 season, going 1-for-5 in his limited action. At Triple-A Round Rock, he slashed a solid .279/.406/.410 with 10 homers and 78 RBI in 545 plate appearances.

Waters was sent outright to Triple-A Omaha in early September by the Royals. He spent the entire season at the Triple-A level, slashing .262/.323/.446 with 14 homers, 54 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 439 plate appearances. He has proven to be quality outfield depth and shouldn’t have any difficulty finding a new home this offseason.

Benson played a major role in the Reds’ outfield over the previous three seasons but wound up seeing just 114 plate appearances in 2026 while slashing a gruesome .188/.310/.333 with three homers, six RBI and a 38/16 K/BB ratio. He’s now free to peddle his wares on the open market.

Martin, 30, struggled in seven appearances with the Cubs during the 2026 campaign, registering a 10.80 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and a 4/5 K/BB ratio across five innings of work. He’ll get a headstart on the free agent market, though it’s hard to envision him landing anything other than a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.

The Tigers sent Rainey outright to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, but rather than accepting the outright assignment, the 33-year-old righty will get a headstart on the free agent market. Rainey made six appearances at the MLB level for the Tigers in 2026, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and a troublesome 6/8 K/BB ratio over his seven innings of work.

Alexander was designated for assignment on September 24. He passed through waivers unclaimed and then refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Sugar Land, opting instead to hit the open market. The 33-year-old hurler struggled to a 9.33 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over 18 1/3 innings with the Astros during the 2026 campaign.

The Brewers were tied for 28th place in the majors in homers this year, but they got two to account for their runs tonight, with Jackson Chourio hitting a two-run homer off Robbie Ray in the third and William Contreras breaking the tie off Adrian Morejon in the seventh. Contreras’s homer was his third in 19 career postseason games. The two teams will play again Sunday, with Michael King and Logan Henderson expected to start.

He struck out six. The Padres succeeded in fouling off a whopping 30 pitches in Misiorowski’s four innings, driving up his pitch count and leading to an early exit. Both runs scored in the second, an inning that featured that featured three straight singles with one out. The inning could have turned into a disastrous one after first baseman Jake Bauers tried and failed to get an out at home on a grounder., but Misiorowski was able to prevent further damage by getting Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado to ground out. Misiorowski figures to get the ball again in Game 5 if the NLDS goes the distance.