MLB Player News
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Lance Lynn SP | STL
Lance Lynn: Option for 2025 not picked up
The Cardinals will decline Lynn's (knee) $11 million club option for 2025, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The team will pay Lynn a $1 million buyout instead. Lynn posted a 3.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 109:44 K:BB in 117.1 innings across 23 starts for St. Louis in 2024. He ended the season on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation but should be healthy by spring training, and the 37-year-old has said he intends to continue his career in 2025.
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Kyle Gibson SP | STL
Kyle Gibson: Club option declined
The Cardinals will decline Gibson's $12 million club option for 2025, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
He will be paid a $1 million buyout instead and allowed to test free agency. Gibson, 37, had a solid 2024 campaign during his lone year in St. Louis, collecting a 4.24 ERA and a 151:68 K:BB over 169.2 innings covering 30 starts. However, with the Cardinals looking to trim payroll they've elected to move on from the veteran right-hander.
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Jack Flaherty SP | LAD
Dodgers' Jack Flaherty: Records just four outs
Flaherty was tagged four runs on four hits and one walk over just 1.1 innings Wednesday against the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series. He struck out one and didn't factor in the decision.
It's not clear whether the hamstring issue which bothered Flaherty toward the end of his Game 1 start was an issue Wednesday, but he didn't have anything working for him in this one. A one-out walk to Juan Soto in the first inning was followed by back-to-back homers from Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, and the Yankees tacked on another run with one out in the second before Flaherty was pulled. The early hook by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts proved to be a wise move, as the bullpen held the Yankees to just two runs over the next 7.2 frames while the offense did enough to pull out the victory. Flaherty had an uneven postseason, mixing in some stellar efforts with some clunkers, and he ultimately finished with a 7.36 ERA and 15:9 K:BB over 22 innings covering five starts.
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Gerrit Cole SP | NYY
Yankees' Gerrit Cole: Undone by sloppy fifth inning
Cole took a no-decision Wednesday versus the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, getting charged with five runs (zero earned) on four hits and four walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out six.
All five unearned runs came in the top of the fifth inning on two singles, a double, a walk and two errors. One of the singles was credited to Mookie Betts on what should have been an inning-ending groundout, but Cole failed to cover first base. The first Dodgers run scored on that play and four more followed before Cole finally escaped the frame. Cole settled back in after that and was in line for the win when he was pulled with one on and two out in the seventh, but the Dodgers tallied a couple runs in the eighth to go ahead for good. In five starts this postseason, Cole held a 2.17 ERA and 22:10 K:BB over 29 frames.
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Walker Buehler SP | LAD
Dodgers' Walker Buehler: Clinches World Series with save
Buehler struck out two in a perfect ninth inning against the Yankees on Wednesday to earn his first-ever save in Game 5 of the World Series.
Buehler, just two days removed from starting and pitching five scoreless innings in Game 3, told manager Dave Roberts that he was available in relief. The skipper turned to Buehler with the game on the line and the right-hander slammed the door to secure the championship for Los Angeles. A free agent this winter, Buehler mostly struggled during the regular season as he made his return from a second Tommy John surgery, going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA over 16 starts.
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Luis Gil SP | NYY
Yankees' Luis Gil: Allows four runs in no-decision
Gil received a no-decision Tuesday, yielding four runs on five hits over four-plus innings as the Yankees took Game 4 of the World Series over the Dodgers. He walked two and struck out one batter.
Gil served up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the first inning before settling in to face one over the minimum from the second to fourth frames. The right-hander remained in to start the top of the fifth but was pulled after allowing a leadoff homer to Will Smith and a walk to Tommy Edman. The Yankees' bullpen locked things down after that with five scoreless frames. Gil has lasted four innings in both of his postseason outings, yielding a total of six runs. He does not project to start another game during the World Series but could be available in relief, if needed, should the Yankees extend the series back to Los Angeles.
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Landon Knack SP | LAD
Dodgers' Landon Knack: Saves bullpen
Knack gave the Dodgers four innings in bulk relief in Tuesday's Game 4 loss to the Yankees, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two.
The Dodgers found themselves down 5-2 after Daniel Hudson allowed a grand slam to Anthony Volpe in the third inning, and Knack's four innings allowed manager Dave Roberts to save his remaining high-leverage relievers. Knack could be in contention for the fifth starter's role or a bulk relief role in 2025.
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Jack Flaherty SP | LAD
Dodgers' Jack Flaherty: Confirmed for Game 5 start
Flaherty (hamstring) will start Wednesday against the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Flaherty reported having issues with his hamstring toward the end of his previous start in Game 1, but the injury was considered minor from the start and will not prevent him from making what will almost certainly be his final appearance of 2024. The 29-year-old right-hander has allowed 14 earned runs over 20.2 innings this postseason, though he surrendered only two runs in 5.1 frames in his last matchup versus New York.
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Carlos Rodon SP | NYY
Yankees' Carlos Rodon: Blister issue considered manageable
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that the blister issue Rodon dealt with during his World Series Game 2 start is "manageable" and is not expected to prevent him from making another start, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
The blister might have affected Rodon's command against the Dodgers, particularly with his slider. However, it does not appear he's in danger of missing a start, which is tentatively slated for Friday in Game 6, if necessary. Rodon yielded three home runs and four runs in total in his Game 2 loss.
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Luis Gil SP | NYY
Yankees' Luis Gil: Will start Game 4
Gil will start Tuesday against the Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Gil allowed three earned runs over 5.2 innings when he went up against the Dodgers in early June, and his performance has been trending downward as of late, as he's yielded 12 runs in 15 frames across his last three outings. He'll be following Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation, as his two teammates will start Games 2 and 3, respectively.