MLB Player News

DeGrom (elbow) will not pitch again this season, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

DeGrom reportedly hasn't suffered a setback, as he felt fine following a side session Monday. Manager Luis Rojas indicated that deGrom would return if they Mets still had anything to play for, but since that's no longer the case, the team decided there wasn't any reason to risk anything with their ace. Given that he's effectively healthy at this point, deGrom should be in line for a relatively normal offseason.

Syndergaard isn't expected to throw more than one inning in his return to action Tuesday against the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Syndergaard will at least get to pitch a small amount this year after missing almost two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery, but he isn't built up enough for a proper start. He'll essentially be little more than an opener Tuesday, and if he starts again Sunday against Atlanta, he's likely to have his workload limited in a similar way.

Lopez (shoulder) threw three simulated innings in a bullpen session Tuesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Lopez has missed the entirety of the second half with shoulder strain. He threw two innings in a rehab game Thursday and reached three this time around, so it's possible he's activated to start over the weekend and asked to throw approximately four innings. The Marlins will wait to see how his shoulder responds before making a decision, as they have no incentive to risk aggravating Lopez's injury given that they're no longer in the playoff race.

The Pirates may recall Contreras to start Wednesday's game against the Cubs, according to Hector Gomez.

The team has not made an announcement regarding Contreras, so we'll have to wait for the move to become official. If the right-hander is recalled, then he has a decent matchup at home against the Cubs. One of the team's top pitching prospects, Contreras has compiled a 2.64 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 58 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. He also features an impressive 82:13 K:BB. Contreras missed time this summer with a forearm muscle strain and will likely be on a short leash, if he does make his MLB debut Wednesday.

Syndergaard (elbow) was activated off the injured list and will start the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Marlins, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Tommy John surgery wiped out the entirety of Syndergaard's 2020 campaign, but he won't quite wind up missing all of 2021 despite a late-May elbow setback and another setback in late August due to COVID-19. He only threw a single inning in both of his rehab appearances after he got over the virus, so don't expect him to pitch deep into Tuesday's game. He'd be on normal rest to start Sunday's season finale against Atlanta as well, so he could be in line for a two-start week to close the season, but it's unlikely that he'll throw many innings in that game, either.

Kikuchi's turn in the rotation is being skipped Tuesday and he may not make another start this season.

Tyler Anderson is starting Tuesday on short rest while top prospect Matt Brash was called up to piggyback Anderson. Logan Gilbert is listed as Wednesday's starter, so all signs point to Kikuchi moving to the bullpen over the final few games of the season. The 30-year-old lefty has a 7.82 ERA, 2.29 WHIP and 14:9 K:BB in 12.2 innings over his last four starts.

Anderson is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Athletics in Seattle, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Seattle looks set to shorten its rotation to four men for the final week of the season as it attempts to secure a wild-card berth. The struggling Yusei Kikuchi is expected to move to the bullpen, while Anderson will return to the hill on three days' rest to take the hill Tuesday. In his last start Saturday against the Angels, Anderson was blasted for nine runs over two innings, but because the lefty tossed only 54 pitches in that outing, he may not face significant restrictions with his workload versus Oakland.

Irvin (10-15) allowed five runs on six hits and three walks over three innings Monday, striking out four and taking a loss against the Mariners.

Irvin worked through two scoreless innings to begin the game before Seattle hung three runs on him in the third. He was pulled after walking the first two batters in the fourth inning and was charged with two more runs when they both came around to score. Irvin has given up eight runs in as many innings over his last two outings, going 0-2 and raising his season ERA to 4.18 in the process. The 27-year-old southpaw is tentatively lined up to take the mound in Houston this weekend.

Flexen (14-6) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings Monday, striking out six and earning a win over Oakland.

It wasn't Flexen's most efficient start but he extended his winning streak to three games thanks to Seattle's offense dropping 13 runs. He coughed up a three-run shot to Seth Brown in the first inning and later allowed another run in the fourth. He's posted a 3.06 ERA and a 17:5 K:BB over his last three outings, lowering his season ERA to 3.67 through 174.1 frames. Flexen is projected to face the Angels at home this weekend.

Gry (2-2) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over 5.1 innings Monday, striking out four and earning a win over the Rockies.

Gray kept Colorado off the board through five innings and didn't face much of a threat until the sixth. He allowed the first three batters of the inning to reach base and eventually coughed up a three-run double to Ryan McMahon, ending his outing. The 6-foot-1 rookie has completed at least five innings in four straight starts but owns a 6.23 ERA during that span. Gray is expected to make his final start of the year this weekend at home against Boston.