MLB Player News

Early (elbow) is tentatively slated to make a rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday, MLB.com reports.

The southpaw threw 30 pitches in a bridge league game Tuesday, so he could be ready to handle around 40-to-50 during his upcoming appearance with Harrisburg. Early has yet to make his Nationals debut after being acquired from the Red Sox in July, but he may be able to join the big-league club before the end of the season if all goes well Sunday. Over 17 starts for Boston prior to being shut down with elbow inflammation, Early delivered a 3.44 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 93:34 K:BB through 91.2 innings.

Ewing went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The rookie outfielder was one of three Mets to collect three hits in a 15-run, 15-hit outburst from the offense. Ewing has hit safely in six straight games, batting .478 (11-for-23) during that blistering stretch with two doubles, a homer, a steal, six runs and seven RBI. His 23 stolen bases on the season puts him one back of Mookie Wilson's 1981 campaign for the franchise rookie record in that category, but teammate Carson Benge is also in the hunt for the record with 22 steals.

Torrens went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and four RBI in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The 30-year-old backstop was one of three Mets to collect three hits in a 15-run, 15-hit outburst from the offense. Torrens had gone just 3-for-22 (.136) over his prior nine games, and on the season he sports a .240/.303/.399 slash line in 85 contests with eight homers and 37 RBI as the backup to Francisco Alvarez.

Thomas was scratched from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Rays due to left side tightness, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Thomas had been slated to receive a rare start in left field, but now his status moving forward is up in the air. Dominic Smith will enter the lineup at designated hitter, and Brewer Hicklen will shift from DH to left field for Atlanta.

Santucci allowed one run on five hits over five innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. He struck out six without walking a batter.

The 23-year-old southpaw initially struggled upon his promotion to Triple-A at the beginning of August, but over his last three starts, Santucci has a 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 19:2 K:BB over 15 innings. A second-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Santucci isn't on the 40-man roster and won't need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this winter, so the Mets have little incentive to bring him up to the majors before the end of the season. A strong finish at Syracuse would position him to compete for a spot in the big-league rotation next spring, however.

Pauley went 3-for-6 with a run scored and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

Seven different Marlins hitters recorded multiple hits en route to a 20-hit, 14-run eruption from the offense, and it wasn't enough as the pitching staff coughed up 15 runs. Pauley has taken over the strong side of a platoon in September, batting .286 (6-for-21) over his last seven games with a triple, two homers, five runs and nine RBI. If he keeps producing at the plate, he could hang onto the job even when Xavier Edwards (thumb) is cleared to return and Javier Sanoja isn't needed at second base.

Conine went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

Seven different Marlins hitters recorded multiple hits en route to a 20-hit, 14-run eruption from the offense, and it wasn't enough as the pitching staff coughed up 15 runs. Conine has cooled down significantly since his August power surge, and over his last 19 games he's sagged to a .194/.324/.258 slash line with one home run, six RBI and a 28.4 percent strikeout rate.

The Nationals recalled Pinckney from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday.

He'll absorb the roster spot vacated by Nasim Nunez (bereavement). Pinckney has held his own during his time in the big leagues this season, going 6-for-22 with one home run and one stolen bases. He'll likely return to Rochester next week when Nunez rejoins the active roster.

Bender (lower leg) has ceased baseball activities and will get another opinion on the lingering soreness in his shin, MLB.com reports.

That likely ends any chance the right-hander might have had of pitching again in 2026. Bender last took the mound for the Marlins in late June but was putting together another strong campaign before being shut down due to a stress reaction in his right shin, recording one win, two saves and nine holds in 35 appearances with a 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 41:12 K:BB over 34.1 innings.

The Nationals placed Nunez on the bereavement list Thursday.

Nunez will miss the weekend series against the Angels before likely returning for next week's series versus the Phillies. Andrew Pinckney will take Nunez's spot on the active roster.