MLB Player News

Rutledge allowed five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings Sunday against Atlanta. He did not factor into the decision.

Rutledge was handed a four-run lead before he even took the mound but couldn't hold onto it for long. He allowed a two-run single in the bottom of the inning and a game-tying three-run blast to Marcell Ozuna in the third. The 24-year-old finished with a 6.75 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over four starts during his late-season audition for the Nationals. He had two good outings and two bad ones and figures to be in the running for a spot in the rotation for 2024.

Garrett will start Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies on Wednesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Garrett had a breakout season and logged a 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 25.2 innings over his final five starts. Jesus Luzardo will get the ball in Game 1.

Luzardo will start Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies on Tuesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

The Phillies' playoff rotation has yet to be announced. Luzardo had a 2.91 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 34 innings over his final six starts of the season.

Smyly (11-11) allowed three runs on two hits while retiring only a single batter to take the loss Sunday against the Brewers. He walked three.

Smyly struggled badly in the season finale, throwing just 11 of his 28 pitches for strikes and retiring only the one batter. The veteran southpaw bounced between the bullpen and rotation this year, ultimately making 23 starts and 18 relief appearances. Smyly finishes 2023 with an even 5.00 ERA across 142.1 innings. He's under contract next season in Chicago, though he's not an appealing fantasy option at this point in his career.

Fried (finger) is scheduled to pitch in a moderated game Tuesday, which lines him up to start Game 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 9, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Fried landed on the 15-day injured list Sept. 22 with a blister on his index finger, but the team was always hoping to get him back for the postseason. The left-hander should be good to go assuming he has no issues when throwing Tuesday, which would be huge for Atlanta since Charlie Morton (finger) also went down with an injury shortly after Fried.

Lauer was optioned to the Arizona Complez League on Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Lauer was promoted Saturday for his first appearance in the big leagues since May, but he was tagged for three homers and eight earned runs by the Cubs. The left-hander began the season in the starting rotation but is a potential DFA candidate this offseason after he posted a 6.56 ERA over 46.2 innings for the Brewers this year.

Junk was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Junk made his lone big-league appearance of the season in April and allowed five runs (four earned) over 4.2 frames in a start at Arizona. He also underwhelmed at Triple-A with a 4.18 ERA over 140 innings but will rejoin the big club for the final game of the regular season.

Anderson is no longer scheduled to start Sunday against the Twins, Luke Zahlmann of The Denver Gazette reports.

The right-hander was penciled in to start the final game of the season for Colorado, but lefty reliever Brent Suter will instead open the contest. It's unclear if Anderson suffered some sort of injury or if manager Bud Black simply decided to go in a different direction. The 35-year-old has a 5.42 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 64:33 K:BB over 86.1 innings this year and will be a free agent this offseason.

Steele won't start Sunday against the Brewers after the Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention Saturday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The Cubs stumbled down the stretch and are no longer in postseason contention, so they won't send out their ace for the final game of the season. Steele struggled over his final three outings with 15 runs allowed, but he was in the thick of the race for the NL Cy Young Award for most of the campaign and will finish his third year in MLB with a 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 176:36 K:BB over 173.1 innings.

Plassmeyer was optioned the Phillies' spring training complex Sunday.

The 26-year-old was called up to start the penultimate contest of the regular season Saturday in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Mets, but he was rocked for 10 runs (nine earned) across 3.2 innings. Plassmeyer spent most of the campaign at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and posted a 5.05 ERA in 14 starts, so he's unlikely to receive a look during the playoffs for Philadelphia.