MLB Player News

Griffin will start Game 1 of the ALCS against the Rays on Monday, Nick Camino of WKYC Channel 3 Cleveland reports.

Griffin will take the mound for the series opener after tossing 2.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out seven batters in Game 3 of the ALDS against Chicago. The southpaw threw 53 total pitches (39 strikes) in his last outing, and he will likely be operating under a similar workload Monday in Tampa Bay.

The Rays named Rasmussen as their starting pitcher for Game 1 of the ALCS against the Guardians on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Tampa Bay's three-game sweep of the Yankees made it easy to set up their ace to start Game 1 of the ALCS, so this announcement is hardly a surprise. Rasmussen dominated New York in the division series, striking out 10 with just one hit and two walks allowed across eight scoreless innings.

McClanahan (forearm) won't be available to pitch during the rest of the postseason, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It would have been a great story for the left-hander to rejoin the Rays during their playoff run after going down with forearm soreness in early September, but it's not a major surprise he's been ruled out given that there's been no indication he's close to game ready. McClanahan also spent time on the IL earlier in the season due to a back issue, limiting him to 24 starts. He posted a 3.36 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 106:39 K:BB across 118 innings this season and is entering his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility in 2027. Manager Kevin Cash indicated that McClanahan should be fully ready for the start of spring training, per Topkin.

Guerrero has undergone laser-eye surgery since the end of the regular season.

After posting full-season career worsts in 2026 with nine homers, 57 RBI and a .688 OPS, Guerrero elected to undergo corrective eye surgery early in the offseason. It's unclear if the vision issues played a part in his struggles this year, but it certainly wasn't the lone issue given that a lack of power was the major problem. Guerrero entered the campaign with a .207 ISO through seven MLB seasons, but his .096 mark in 2026 was massive drop. Given how early after the season he underwent the procedure, Guerrero should be ready for his typical offseason schedule.

The Red Sox announced Sunday that Durbin underwent a successful reconstructive surgery of the PIP joint in his left pinkie finger last week, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

The 26-year-old dealt with a dislocated pinkie over the summer, but he never went to the injured list and played through the injury. Durbin struggled early in 2026 but bounced back with a .738 OPS during the second half, resulting in a .248/.332/.378 slash line with 13 homers and 20 steals in 153 regular-season games. He'll likely be fully healthy for the start of spring training since he has three-plus months to recover from the procedure.

Burke was charged with the loss in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians on Saturday, giving up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks over five innings.

The White Sox couldn't have asked for much more from Burke, who surrendered the only runs of the game on a two-run homer by Jose Ramirez during the fourth inning. The right-hander can hardly be faulted for the long ball given that the pitch was a mere 0.74 feet off the ground, which is the lowest pitch hit for a home run in the playoffs since tracking was implemented in 2008. Burke received his first taste of the postseason this year and equipped himself well in three games with a 3.77 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 18:1 K:BB across 14.1 innings.

Williams earned the win in Game 5 of the ALDS against the White Sox on Saturday, striking out 12 and allowing one hit and two walks across 5.2 scoreless innings.

Williams took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but he was unable to complete that frame after loading the bases via a hit-by-pitch, a single and a walk. Still, it was a dominant performance from the right-hander, who helped the Guardians set an MLB record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game -- both regular season and playoffs -- with 21, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Williams made two starts and one relief appearance during the ALDS, punching out 24 with a 1.54 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 11.2 innings. He now tentatively lines up to start Games 3 and 7 of the ALCS against the Rays, but manager Stephen Vogt has already shown he's willing to utilize his starter pitchers flexibly this postseason.

Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk during Game 5 of the ALCS against the White Sox on Saturday.

The veteran third baseman golfed a two-run homer during the fourth inning for the only runs of the game to help complete the Guardians' comeback from a 2-0 series deficit. Just like Cleveland, Ramirez had a slow start to the ALDS and was hitless in the first two games, but he responded by going 5-for-12 with four extra-base hits, seven RBI and five runs over the final three contests of the series.

Martinez isn't in the lineup for Game 5 of the ALDS against the White Sox on Saturday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Martinez will retreat to the bench Saturday after going 0-for-15 to begin the Guardians' postseason run. Steven Kwan will shift to left field as a result, allowing Petey Halpin to start in center.

Montgomery isn't in the lineup for Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians on Saturday.

Montgomery will begin Saturday's win-or-go-home contest on the bench after going 3-for-23 across the White Sox's first six postseason games. Tristan Peters will shift to right field while Montgomery sits, opening up center field for Brenton Doyle.