Blackburn underwent surgery Oct. 11 to repair a cerebrospinal fluid leak, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Per the Mets, it's a procedure which typically carries a return to play timeline of 4-5 months. That would seemingly give Blackburn a shot to be ready in time for Opening Day, provided there are no setbacks along the way. If healthy, Blackburn should open the 2025 season in the Mets' rotation. He held a 4.66 ERA and 59:21 K:BB over 75.1 innings covering 14 starts between the Athletics and Mets in 2024.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that there's a "good chance" Cortes (elbow) will be on the team's World Series roster, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Cortes will throw another live batting practice session Tuesday and, as long as he gets through that with no concerns, it sounds like he'll be part of the Yankees' roster for the Fall Classic against the Dodgers. It's expected that Cortes would be used as a reliever, although Boone hasn't officially committed to that. The southpaw has been out since late September with a left flexor strain.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Cole will start Friday in Game 1 of the World Series, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

The Yankees wrapping up the ALCS in five games allowed them to set up their rotation as they wanted, and that means Cole taking the ball in Game 1. Boone added that Cole will likely be followed by Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, in that order, although he has not yet etched that into stone. Cole holds a 3.31 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 16.1 innings in three starts this postseason.

Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Cortes (elbow) came away from his live batting practice session feeling good, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Cortes is slated to throw another round of BP within the next few days. Assuming he gets through that without any issues, it appears the left-hander has a good chance to be on the active roster if the Yankees advance to the World Series.

Bibee will start Game 5 of the ALCS against the Yankees on Saturday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Bibee has made three starts during the postseason so far, during which he's allowed four earned runs over 10 innings. He didn't fare well during his most recent outing in Game 2, however, allowing three runs (two earned) in just 1.1 frames. His abbreviated outing will allow him to pitch on short rest Saturday, and he'll look to quiet the Yankees' offense, which owns a .743 OPS in the postseason.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza indicated that Senga is unlikely to pitch Friday in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Mendoza had previously said Senga would be used in some capacity. However, David Peterson will start the game and it now appears Mendoza doesn't intend to use Senga in relief, barring an emergency. Senga started Game 1 of the NLCS and yielded three runs with a 0:4 K:BB over 1.1 innings.

Hudson elected free agency Friday.

The Rockies removed Hudson from their 40-man roster and he's choosing free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minors. Essentially, it's a way for the club to non-tender the right-hander early, as Colorado was unlikely to offer Hudson a raise via arbitration after the righty posted a 6.17 ERA in 18 starts this season. Hudson ended the season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation but should be healthy by spring training.

Peterson will start Game 5 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on Friday, Pat Ragazzo of SI.com reports.

Peterson last pitched in Game 1 of the NLCS, though he's appeared exclusively out of the bullpen throughout the playoffs. He has yet to complete more than three innings in any of his six postseason appearances, and Kodai Senga sounds likely to also play a significant part of the Mets' plans Friday.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Thursday that Williams will start Friday in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Williams hasn't pitched since Sept. 22, as the Guardians haven't needed a fourth starter yet this postseason. He will be opposed by Luis Gil. Williams was limited to 16 starts during the regular season due to elbow issues and finished with a 4.86 ERA and 79:32 K:BB over 76 innings.

Flaherty will start in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets on Friday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Flaherty was dominant in Game 1 of the series, striking out six batters over seven shutout innings en route to a 9-0 victory. He'll look to put on a similar performance Friday against a Mets offense that owns a .698 OPS across nine postseason contests.