5 days agoArizona Diamondbacks right-hander
Ryne Nelson (shoulder) will throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, according to manager Torey Lovullo. If Nelson's bullpen goes well on Tuesday, it sounds like he could make his return this weekend for the final regular-season series at Chase Field against the division-rival San Diego Padres. Lovullo said that whether Nelson returns as a starter or reliever depends on what pitch count the team feels he can safely reach. At this point in the year with less than a week until the postseason, it's likely that the 26-year-old will be brought back for a relief role if Arizona gets into the playoffs as a wild-card team in the National League. Nelson was put on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 14 with right-shoulder inflammation. He's been a back-end starter for Arizona with a career-best 5.5% walk rate, a 20.1% K rate and a 4.33 ERA in 27 outings (25 starts) in his third MLB season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: PHNX Sports - Jesse Friedman
5 days agoThe Toronto Blue Jays optioned infield prospect
Orelvis Martinez to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Monday after he finished serving his 80-game suspension. Martinez will now return to the team's spring training complex to close out the year after being suspended for 80 games due to performance-enhancing substances. The team's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, made his big-league debut this year but played in just one game. In 74 games at Triple-A Buffalo, he hit .267/.346/.523 with an .869 OPS, 17 home runs, 49 RBI and 54 runs scored in 319 plate appearances. The 22-year-old Dominican will likely stick at either second or third base at the next level and has great power despite his shorter stature. Martinez has already shown impressive improvement in the plate-discipline department and seems likely to have a regular role in the big leagues in 2025 for a team looking for more offense.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoHouston Astros outfielder/designated hitter
Yordan Alvarez (knee) had an MRI exam on Monday afternoon after X-rays on Sunday showed "inflammation" in his knee, according to manager Joe Espada. The skipper said that Alvarez woke up on Monday morning "pretty sore." The 27-year-old left-handed slugger was removed from Sunday's game early against the Los Angeles Angels due to discomfort in his right knee after a slide. He was not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the division-rival Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park and should be considered day-to-day until further notice. The Astros would be dealt a huge blow if Alvarez, one of the best hitters in the game, isn't ready for the start of the playoffs next week, so he may not play much, if at all, the rest of the week.
Jason Heyward got the start in left field for the Astros on Monday against the M's.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
5 days agoColorado Rockies outfielder
Charlie Blackmon announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Monday. Blackmon has decided to hang up his cleats at the conclusion of the 2024 season after an iconic 14-year career with the Rockies. Blackmon represented Colorado in four All-Star games and also won two Silver Slugger awards. Chuck Nazty is 38 years old but hit homers in back-to-back games over the weekend against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers and has 11 homers and 48 RBI in 118 at-bats this year. Blackmon is the team's career leader in triples with 67, and his 1,797 hits, 2,942 total bases, 333 doubles and 1,618 games played rank second in team history only to Hall of Famer Todd Helton. During the bearded outfielder's six-year prime from 2014-19, he hit .306 with a 120 OPS-plus, 163 home runs and 472 RBI. Blackmon was aided by Coors Field, but it definitely didn't define his greatness.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: FOX Sports
5 days agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder
Mike Yastrzemski is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It looks like the Giants will play matchups here and give Yastrzemski a day off against left-hander
Eduardo Rodriguez. In his place,
Heliot Ramos will cover right field and bat leadoff on Monday. Ramos is crushing left-handed pitching with a .369 batting average with nine home runs and 23 RBI in 54 games against left-handers this season. Ramos is looking like a strong fantasy option for Monday's slate.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
5 days agoSan Francisco Giants catcher
Patrick Bailey is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This appears to be a routine rest day for Bailey after he started in three of the last four games.
Curt Casali will do the catching and bat ninth versus left-hander
Eduardo Rodriguez on Monday. The veteran catcher is hitting under .200 on the season and can be avoided for fantasy purposes. The assumption is that Bailey will be back in the lineup following Monday's contest.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
5 days agoArizona Diamondbacks catcher
Gabriel Moreno (groin) appears to have avoided a major injury after exiting early during Sunday's game. It looks like Moreno had a setback with a groin injury that he suffered last month. Luckily, the MRI came back clean and Moreno should be able to rejoin the lineup on Tuesday. That is great news for the D-Backs who thought they might be without Moreno for the rest of the regular season.
Jose Herrera will do the catching and bat ninth versus right-hander
Hayden Birdsong. Herrera is hitting .221 with 13 RBI on the season, so he'll be an avoidable fantasy option for Monday's slate.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Nick Piecoro
5 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies outfielder
Austin Hays (kidney) is expected to be activated off the 10-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs. It appears Hays is almost ready to play after missing nearly a month of action due to a kidney infection. He'll rest on Monday after playing in rehab contests over the weekend. Hays is hitting .254 with one home run and five RBI over 19 games since being traded to the Phillies at the trade deadline. Fantasy managers should be able to get him back in their lineups on Tuesday.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Matt Gelb
5 days agoChicago Cubs catcher
Miguel Amaya is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. This appears to be a regular rest day for Amaya, who smacked a home run during Sunday's game. In his absence,
Christian Bethancourt will be behind the plate and bat eighth versus right-hander
Aaron Nola. Bethancourt has been great during his short period with the Cubs. Through 22 games, Bethancourt is hitting .306 with three home runs and 15 RBI on the North Side.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
5 days agoChicago Cubs shortstop
Dansby Swanson is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. This is a rare day off for Swanson who has started nearly every game since June. The Cubs have been eliminated from playoff contention, so they might as well give a younger player a chance in the lineup.
Luis Vazquez will fill in at shortstop and bat ninth versus right-hander
Aaron Nola. It wouldn't be shocking to see Swanson get a few more rest days with only a handful of games left on the schedule.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
5 days agoChicago Cubs outfielder
Ian Happ (back) remains out for the series opener on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. With Happ out again,
Mike Tauchman will start in left field and bat leadoff for the Cubbies against Phillies right-hander
Aaron Nola. Happ was scratched from Chicago's lineup on Sunday in the series finale against the Washington Commanders due to lower-back tightness and will now miss a second straight game. The 30-year-old left-handed slugger should be considered day-to-day for the final week of the regular season. Happ needs one more home run to set a new career-high mark of 26 and is one steal shy of his previous career-high in that category, which he set in 2023. Happ already has a career-high 85 RBI in 148 games this year. Tauchman is in a nice lineup spot but has a tough matchup against Nola for DFS purposes.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoAfter much speculation about whether the Atlanta Braves would have left-hander
Chris Sale make two starts -- Tuesday and Sunday -- on regular rest in the final week of the regular season, manager Brian Snitker announced that Sale will start on Wednesday against the division-rival New York Mets on an extra day of rest. It's something Sale, the presumptive National League Cy Young winner, and the other Braves starters have done for most of the season. If Atlanta makes the postseason, Sale would be in line to start a wild-card series opener. The plan presumably rules Sale out of pitching in the season finale on Sunday against the Royals, because he'd be on short rest, something no Braves starter has done all year. Sale's fastball velocity was down 2.1 mph from his season average in his last start on Thursday against the Reds. Rookie
Spencer Schwellenbach will start on Tuesday and Sunday in the final week.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - David O'Brien
5 days agoHouston Astros outfielder/designated hitter
Yordan Alvarez (knee) is absent from the team's starting lineup for Monday's series opener at Minute Maid Park against the division-rival Seattle Mariners. The left-handed-hitting
Jason Heyward is starting in left field and is batting eighth, with
Jon Singleton serving as the DH and batting fifth against Mariners right-hander
Bryce Miller.
Victor Caratini is at first base and is hitting sixth. It's not a surprise that Alvarez is out on Monday after leaving Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels due to a right-knee contusion that he suffered while sliding. Until we know the results of the 27-year-old's MRI exam, consider him day-to-day. The Astros can ill-afford to lose one of the best hitters in baseball with the playoffs beginning next week. The three-time All-Star is currently hitting .308/.392/.567 with a .959 OPS, 35 homers, 86 RBI and even six steals in 147 games.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
5 days agoBoston Red Sox outfielder
Tyler O'Neill (back) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup on Monday against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays and right-hander
Chris Bassitt at Rogers Centre. A back injury caused O'Neill to rest for both contests during Sunday's doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins, but he's back in action to start the series opener against the Jays to begin the final week of the 2024 regular season. The left-handed-hitting
Masataka Yoshida will begin the game on the bench. O'Neill has gone hitless in his last four games and is hitting under the Mendoza Line with 25 strikeouts in 72 plate appearances in 17 games in September, but he has managed to clear the fences six times while driving in 11. DFS managers may want to avoid him, though, as he's hitting .083 with a .250 OPS in 12 career at-bats against Bassitt.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoOakland Athletics right-hander
Ross Stripling (back) came away feeling healthy from a 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday at Oakland Coliseum and is scheduled to face live hitters on Tuesday. If all goes well with that session, Stripling is expected to be activated from the injured list in time for the team's final series of the season against the division-rival Seattle Mariners on the road this weekend, which starts on Friday, Sept. 27. It's unclear if the A's will use Stripling for a traditional start or just out of the bullpen for the final series of the year this weekend, but fantasy managers should stay away regardless. When the 34-year-old veteran hasn't been hurt this year, he's been way too hittable, going 2-11 with a 6.08 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with only 49 strikeouts and 21 walks in 21 appearances (14 starts) covering 84 1/3 innings in his first year in Oakland.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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