MLB Player News

Muncy (lower body) will be available for Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Reds on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Muncy has been trending in the right direction over the last few days after being held out at the end of the regular season due to lower-body soreness, and Ardaya notes that he'll get a few more swings in Monday evening during a live BP session. Assuming he's able to avoid any kind of last-minute setback, expect Muncy to be in the starting nine for Tuesday's matchup.

Boyd will start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday against the Padres, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Boyd has been named the top choice for Chicago to open up the wild-card round after Cade Horton went down with a rib injury. Shota Imanaga was presumably also in the conversation, but given his shaky 5.97 ERA over his last six starts, it'll be Boyd who gets the call in Game 1, with Imanaga a candidate to follow in Game 2. Boyd faced San Diego in two starts during the regular season, both in April, surrendering two runs on 11 hits and three walks while striking out eight across 11.1 frames.

Hendriks recently underwent right elbow ulnar nerve transposition with posterior interosseous nerve release surgery, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

There's no word yet on a timeline for Hendriks' recovery, but it's possible his availability for the beginning of next season is affected. Hendriks was limited to only 13.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2025, mostly due to a hip injury, and held a 6.59 ERA and 12:7 K:BB. He will turn 37 in February and will be a free agent this winter.

Alvarez will undergo surgery in the coming days to repair a sprained UCL in his right thumb, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez suffered the injury in late August, but he elected to delay surgery until the offseason and returned to play in early September. The operation could delay Alvarez's offseason workouts a bit, but it should not affect his availability for the beginning of spring training.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday that Bregman should be fine to play in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday versus the Yankees despite missing the final two games of the regular season due to illness, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Bregman was kept away from the club for most of the past two days and traveled separately from the team to New York, but he worked out on the field at Yankee Stadium on Monday and will be ready to roll for Game 1. The 31-year-old stumbled a bit to the finish line in slashing just .216/.310/.330 in September, but his full-season OPS of .821 was his highest mark since 2019.

Padres manager Mike Shildt said Monday that King will be available out of the bullpen for the National League Wild Card Series against the Cubs, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease will start Games 1 and 2, respectively, and Yu Darvish is in line to take the ball in a potential Game 3. King was limited to only five starts from late May on due to shoulder and knee problems, and he posted a 6.11 ERA and 12:9 K:BB over 17.2 innings in those outings. The righty could be added back to the rotation if the Padres advance to the NLDS, but he'll be assigned to the bullpen for the wild-card round.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that Giolito is dealing with a right elbow injury and will not be on the team's American League Wild Card Series roster against the Yankees, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

If healthy, Giolito would have started a potential Game 3. Instead, he is headed to visit with Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, who performed the right-hander's March 2024 internal brace surgery. More clarity on Giolito's possible availability for later playoff rounds could be available following that exam. Connelly Early would now seem to be the favorite to start a potential Game 3 against the Yankees, though Cora declined Monday to divulge who would pitch that contest.

Burnes (elbow) said Monday that he's hoping to be ready to rejoin the Diamondbacks' rotation sometime in July next season, Jack Janes of Cronkite News reports.

Burnes underwent Tommy John surgery in June, so a season debut next July, while optimistic, is possible. The pace of Burnes' rehab will ultimately be dictated by the team, and it's unclear whether the Diamondbacks have the same midseason goal as the pitcher. Burnes finished the 2025 season with a 2.66 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63:26 K:BB across 64.1 innings.

Greene will start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The Reds left open the possibility of using Greene out of the bullpen Sunday in the final game of the regular season, but once that didn't happen, he became the obvious choice to take the ball in Game 1. Greene collected a 2.76 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 132:26 K:BB over 107.2 innings covering 19 starts this season. He'll be opposed by Blake Snell on Tuesday.

Manager Aaron Boone said that Chisholm (forearm) will be available Tuesday for Game 1 of the Yankees' wild-card series with the Red Sox, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Though he didn't start in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Orioles after being plunked in the left forearm by a pitch a day earlier, Chisholm was deployed off the bench in the regular-season finale, going 0-for-1 with a strikeout while also playing the final two innings at second base. Chisholm has apparently checked out fine following that contest and will be good to go as the Yankees begin their playoff run. With a tough lefty (Garrett Crochet) on the mound for Boston on Tuesday, however, it wouldn't be surprising if the left-handed-hitting Chisholm was held out of the lineup in favor of Amed Rosario, who has gone 6-for-9 against Crochet in his career.