MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday on Jomboy Media's "Talkin' Yanks" podcast that Cruz (elbow) has resumed throwing and is doing "pretty well."

Cruz was diagnosed with a partial tear in his right elbow UCL in late August. There's a distinct possibility that he'll eventually require surgery, but Cruz is attempting to pitch through the injury. He could return to make one or two late-season appearances if the reliever continues to progress.

Fried (5-5) took the loss in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Rays, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out four.

The veteran lefty kept things close until the seventh inning, when Tampa Bay tagged Fried for three runs and chased him after 97 pitches (64 strikes). With the 6-1 loss, the Rays clinched the AL East crown, but the Yankees are still locked into a wild-card spot. Tuesday's outing was the first time Fried had allowed more than one run since July 27, and he wraps up his regular season with a 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 104:33 K:BB in 112.2 innings. His next start should come in the first round of the playoffs, which will begin for New York next Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Messick did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Red Sox, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five over five innings.

Tuesday's pitchers' duel featured two candidates in the American League Rookie of the Year race in Messick and Payton Tolle. Messick got the better of Tolle, with the former allowing only one run on an RBI groundout in the second inning. Messick was in line for his 13th win of the season before the Red Sox tied things up at 2-2 in the eighth on a solo homer by Mickey Gasper. Messick is currently slated to make one final start in the regular season this weekend against the Royals, though the 25-year-old southpaw may not pitch depending on the Guardians' playoff situation. If Tuesday's outing at Fenway Park was Messick's last of the regular season, he'll finish with a 12-9 record across 31 starts with a 2.55 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 191:48 K:BB over 183.1 innings.

Torres is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Torres' playing time has tapered off a bit this month as the Tigers look ahead to 2027, as this will be his eighth day off. Zach McKinstry will be at second base, and Hao-Yu Lee will fill the designated hitter spot.

Smith earned the save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Red Sox, allowing one walk while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Guardians took the lead in the top of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by Nathaniel Lowe, setting up Smith for the save opportunity. The right-hander struck out Isiah Kiner-Falefa before issuing a walk to Jarren Duran, but Smith secured the save after getting the next two batters to ground out, needing 16 pitches (11 strikes) to lock down the win for the Guardians. Smith's 40 saves are tied with Bryan Baker for most in the majors, and the former sports a 1.99 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 104:23 K:BB over 72.1 innings.

Tolle did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Guardians, allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings.

In what will be Tolle's final start of the regular season, the hard-throwing southpaw ended up tossing 91 pitches (63 strikes) and generating 10 whiffs while falling one out short from a quality start. The eight hits allowed were one short of a season worst, though he extended his streak of five-plus strikeouts to six. Tolle didn't initially make the Red Sox's 26-man roster at the end of spring training but was quickly promoted from Triple-A Worcester in late April and stayed with the big club from there. He'll end the regular season with a 9-6 record over 26 starts with a 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 171:40 K:BB over 148.2 innings. Tolle appears in line to start in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, which is currently slated for next week on the road against the Yankees.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with four RBI in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees.

After going 0-for-4 in the matinee as the Rays got blanked 2-0, Diaz powered a 6-1 win in the nightcap, driving in a pair of runs in both the seventh and ninth innings with singles. With the victory, Tampa Bay clinched the AL East title and a first-round bye in the playoffs. The performance ended a 10-game slump in which Diaz had gone just 3-for-40 (.075) with one RBI, but he still hasn't produced an extra-base hit since Sept. 8.

Walls went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees.

The shortstop led the charge in a 6-1 win for the Rays that clinched the AL East crown, and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Walls is in the lineup for his defense, not his offense, but despite a hip issue that cost him a good chunk of September, he's put together a .289/.364/.342 slash line over 46 plate appearances since Aug. 28 with two doubles, two steals, five RBI and nine runs in 13 contests.

Rasmussen (16-5) picked up the win in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over 6.2 innings. He struck out 11.

With the 6-1 victory, the Rays clinched the AL East crown and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but a leadoff double by Heliot Ramos led to New York's only run of the game. The quality start was the right-hander's 18th of the season, while the 11 Ks represented his third outing of the season in double digits, and first since Aug. 1. Unless the Rays decide to get him some work on the final day of the regular season to keep him on turn, Rasmussen wraps up the 2026 campaign with new career bests in innings (172), wins (16), strikeouts (174) and WHIP (0.91), and he seems almost certain to be on the bump for Tampa Bay's first postseason contest Oct. 3.

Martinez (15-5) took the loss in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out seven.

The right-hander made only one real mistake, but Cody Bellinger put it into the right-field seats in the fourth inning for a two-run homer, accounting for the only runs in the game. The seven strikeouts were a season high for Martinez, while the quality start was his 16th of the season. Martinez has given up three runs or fewer in six straight outings, posting a 2.52 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 25:3 K:BB in 35.2 innings over that span. The Rays clinched the AL East title and a first-round bye in the playoffs with a win in the nightcap, so it remains to be seen whether Martinez will stay on turn and get the start for the final game of the regular season, on the road Sunday in Philadelphia.