Blackburn underwent surgery Oct. 11 to repair a cerebrospinal fluid leak, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Per the Mets, it's a procedure which typically carries a return to play timeline of 4-5 months. That would seemingly give Blackburn a shot to be ready in time for Opening Day, provided there are no setbacks along the way. If healthy, Blackburn should open the 2025 season in the Mets' rotation. He held a 4.66 ERA and 59:21 K:BB over 75.1 innings covering 14 starts between the Athletics and Mets in 2024.

Hoerner underwent surgery Oct. 11 to repair his right flexor tendon, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

It's not clear when Hoerner suffered the injury, nor did the Cubs offer a timetable for his recovery. The second baseman should be ready to roll come Opening Day, although it's possible he'll be eased into things in spring training. Hoerner slashed .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs and 31 stolen bases over 151 games for the Cubs in 2024.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that there's a "good chance" Cortes (elbow) will be on the team's World Series roster, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Cortes will throw another live batting practice session Tuesday and, as long as he gets through that with no concerns, it sounds like he'll be part of the Yankees' roster for the Fall Classic against the Dodgers. It's expected that Cortes would be used as a reliever, although Boone hasn't officially committed to that. The southpaw has been out since late September with a left flexor strain.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Cole will start Friday in Game 1 of the World Series, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

The Yankees wrapping up the ALCS in five games allowed them to set up their rotation as they wanted, and that means Cole taking the ball in Game 1. Boone added that Cole will likely be followed by Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, in that order, although he has not yet etched that into stone. Cole holds a 3.31 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 16.1 innings in three starts this postseason.

Lux (hip) is absent from the Dodgers' lineup for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Lux is sitting not just because of the Mets sending southpaw Sean Manaea to the mound, but also because Lux is still not fully recovered from a hip flexor injury, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. Chris Taylor will start at second base for Game 6 of the NLCS, but Lux will be available off the bench.

Taylor will start at second base and bat ninth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

With Freddie Freeman (ankle) out of Sunday's lineup, Taylor will start at second base while Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez man first and third base, respectively. Taylor started in Game 4 of the NLCS, during which he went 1-for-4 with one walk and one run scored.

Muncy will start at first base and bat fifth in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

Enrique Hernandez will start at third base Sunday while Muncy shifts to first base due to Freddie Freeman (ankle) being absent from the starting lineup. Muncy has gone 5-for-13 with nine walks, two home runs and four RBI over the first five games of the NLCS.

Hernandez will start at third base and bat sixth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

With Freddie Freeman (ankle) out of the starting lineup for Game 6, Hernandez will serve at the hot corner while Max Muncy shifts to first base against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea. Through the first five games of the NLCS, Hernandez has gone 6-for-20 with two walks, one home run and three RBI.

Smith (hand) will start behind home plate and bat eighth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his glove in the seventh inning of Game 5. The results came back negative, and Smith will serve behind home plate as the Dodgers turn to Michael Kopech and the rest of the bullpen. Smith has gone 3-for-19 with two walks and two RBI during the NLCS.

Kopech will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

Ryan Brasier served as the opener the last time the Dodgers went with a bullpen day in Game 2, but after suffering a 7-3 loss in that contest, Los Angeles will go a different route Sunday. Kopech's lone appearance in the NLCS came in Game 3 on Wednesday, when he scooped up a win while striking out one batter over one scoreless inning. He's appeared in five postseason games this season, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six batters across 4.1 scoreless innings.