MLB Player News

Hopkins has been included on the Rays' roster for the ALCS, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

He will take the roster spot of Garrett Cleavinger, as the Rays will swap out a righty for a lefty in their bullpen. Hopkins made six appearances out of the bullpen down the stretch for the Rays, allowing three runs with a 7:6 K:BB in 5.1 frames. The 24-year-old has electric stuff, but manager Kevin Cash might not feel comfortable using Hopkins in high leverage due to his control problems.

Cleavinger will not be on the Rays' ALCS roster, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Cleavinger returned from a forearm injury in time to be part of the ALDS roster, but the southpaw did not make an appearance against the Yankees. He's roster spot will be absorbed by Brody Hopkins.

Cecconi has been added to the Guardians' roster for the ALCS, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The Guardians have opted for another bullpen arm with Cecconi over utility player Daniel Schneemann. Cecconi has not pitched in a game in more than two weeks but offers the club some length, if needed.

Scheemann is absent from the Guardians' roster for the ALCS, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The Guardians will go with an additional pitcher against the Rays instead, with Slade Cecconi joining the bullpen. Schneemann did not make an appearance during the ALDS versus the White Sox.

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.