4 days agoThe Los Angeles Angels have released outfielder
Aaron Hicks after he was designated for assignment just two days ago. Originally slated for every day playing duties, Hicks struggled mightily in his brief time with the club, hitting just .140 with a homer and a massive 36.5% K% across 63 trips to the plate. The ugly stint with the Angels is an unfortunate drop from what Hicks was able to do to revitalize his career after a move to the Orioles last season. Following a slow start with the Yankees, Hicks hit .275 with seven homers, six steals, and an .806 OPS across 65 games with the Orioles a season ago. He is now free to sign with any team.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB Transaction Tracker
4 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers right-hander
Walker Buehler (elbow) will make his return from Tommy John surgery on Monday to face the Miami Marlins, according to manager Dave Roberts. Buehler will come off the 15-day injured for his first start of 2024 after having elbow reconstruction in August of 2022. The 29-year-old didn't pitch at all in the big leagues last year. Because of his long layoff, fantasy managers may want to temper expectations, but if Buehler returns to his pre-injury form, he could be the difference-maker for fantasy staffs. In his six minor-league starts, he had a 4.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP with nine walks and 21 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Rust should be expected from Buehler, but his first start against Miami will be a great matchup for fantasy purposes.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Fabian Ardaya
4 days agoNew York Mets shortstop
Francisco Lindor (illness) is out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs after being pulled from Wednesday's contest due to flu-like symptoms.
Joey Wendle is back at shortstop and will hit eighth for the Mets against Cubs right-hander
Ben Brown. This will be Lindor's first game starting on the bench in 2024. Fantasy managers will want to check back on Friday to see if the 30-year-old is feeling good enough to play on Friday for the start of a series in Tampa against the Rays. Wendle will be a very low-ceiling, deep-sleeper option for DFS gamers on Thursday, as he's hitting just .222 (6-for-27) on the year with no homers, one RBI and a stolen base in limited action for the Mets.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Mets
4 days agoThe New York Yankees reinstated outfielder
Alex Verdugo from the paternity list on Thursday and optioned catcher
Carlos Narvaez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move. Verdugo is back in Thursday's lineup after missing the last three games. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter is starting in left field and is batting sixth against Baltimore Orioles right-hander
Kyle Bradish, who is making his season debut for the O's. He'll return to face a pitcher that he's had some pretty good success against, as he's hit .368 with an .894 OPS and three RBI in 19 career at-bats against Bradish. In his first 101 at-bats with the Yankees, Verdugo has 27 hits (four home runs), 13 RBI, one stolen base and 17 runs scored in 29 contests.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Yankees PR Department
4 days agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder
Austin Hays (calf) said his left calf feels much better and he has run the past few days. He is running the bases and doing some hitting on Thursday, but he's unsure if he'll need to go on a brief minor-league rehab assignment. Not only is the 28-year-old on the 10-day injured list with a left-calf strain, but before his injury, he had fallen out of favor in Baltimore's outfield due to the impressive start for rookie outfielder
Colton Cowser. Since his placement on the IL, the O's also called up top outfield prospect
Heston Kjerstad, although Kjerstad could be sent back to the minors once Hays is ready to return. Hays is currently hitting just .111 (5-for-45) with no homers and two RBI, and he'll almost certainly return to a bench role when he's eventually reinstated.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Roch Kubatko
4 days agoBaltimore Orioles left-hander
John Means (forearm), who was activated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, will make his 2024 season debut on Saturday against the Reds in Cincinnati. Although the 31-year-old lefty has been bothered by injuries in recent seasons, he's worth a flier in mixed fantasy leagues now that he's back in Baltimore's starting rotation. The matchup in Cincinnati against the Reds in his first start isn't the greatest spot to roll him out there, but his final minor-league rehab start should have fantasy managers encouraged that he can transfer it into his first big-league start of the year. Means struck out eight over seven shutout innings for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. He was an All-Star for the O's back in 2019 and placed second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting that season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Roch Kubatko
4 days agoThe Baltimore Orioles reinstated right-hander
Kyle Bradish (elbow) from the 15-day injured list on Thursday and designated right-hander
Yohan Ramirez for assignment in a corresponding move. Bradish is making the start on Thursday in the series finale against the visiting New York Yankees. First of all, if Bradish is available on your league's waiver wire, run there and scoop him up immediately. The 27-year-old is finally back after being diagnosed with a sprained UCL in his right elbow in spring training. While he should be rostered in all fantasy leagues after his mini breakout in 2023, managers should be hesitant to throw him right into the fire against a strong Yankees lineup after he threw only 77 pitches in his final minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk. Bradish had a strong 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with a 168:44 K:BB in 168 2/3 innings last year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Baltimore Orioles
4 days agoMiami Marlins left-hander
Jesus Luzardo (elbow) threw a successful bullpen session on Thursday, but he won't be accompanying the team on their upcoming road trip that starts on Friday. Instead, Luzardo will make a minor-league rehab start at some point. If the 26-year-old southpaw has a successful rehab outing in the minors, he could return from the 15-day injured list and start when he's eligible to return on May 10 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He's trying to return from a mild left flexor strain and should remain rostered in all fantasy formats despite a disappointing start to the year. Through his first five starts in 2024, Luzardo has gone 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA (5.06 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP while walking 13 and striking out 27 in 26 innings pitched.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Christina De Nicola
4 days agoMiami Marlins shortstop
Tim Anderson (thumb), who was scratched from Wednesday's lineup due to a mild left-thumb sprain that he suffered on Monday, is back at shortstop and is hitting sixth for the Fish on Thursday against the visiting Colorado Rockies and right-hander
Peter Lambert. The 30-year-old veteran missed the last two games but is now back in there and is ready to go. After falling off a cliff in his final year with the Chicago White Sox in 2023, Anderson has continued to disappoint fantasy managers so far with a .221/.267/.253 slash line with no home runs, five RBI, three stolen bases and eight runs scored in the first month of the season. Hopefully, we start to see some signs of a turnaround from Anderson in May.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Christina De Nicola
4 days agoCleveland Guardians closer
Emmanuel Clase recorded his ninth save of the season on Wednesday in a 3-2 victory over the Astros. With the Guardians up one run in the tenth inning and a runner on second to begin the inning, Clase needed just five pitches to end the game. The righty struck out the first batter he saw on four pitches, then got the Astros'
Mauricio Dubon to line out on one pitch with
Victor Caratini getting doubled off at second base to end the game. The 26-year-old now sports a superb 0.55 ERA on the season with a 0.80 WHIP and a 25.4% K-BB% to go along with his nine saves. After posting 40-plus saves in each of the past two seasons with solid ERA and WHIP numbers, Clase appears poised to do it all over again this season.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoHouston Astros outfielder
Kyle Tucker hit a 422-foot home run in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Guardians, a solo shot in the seventh inning off of Guardians starter
Triston McKenzie. It was the lefty's eighth home run of the year and third in his past four games. It also extended his hitting streak to seven games and he's hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 16-for-44 (.364) over the 12-game stretch while raising his season batting average to .298. The 2x All-Star has also walked more than he's struck out this season, with 21 walks to 20 strikeouts. It seems his early-season discrepancy between BA and xBA is starting to even out with the 27-year-old making another push for an All-Star selection and possibly an MVP-caliber season.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoThere aren't many players seeing the ball as well as Cleveland Guardians outfielder
Steven Kwan right now, as he picked up three hits in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Astros, raising his season average to .360 and extending his personal hitting streak to seven games. During the hit streak, the 26-year-old is 11-for-28 (.393) with a double, two triples, a home run, four RBI, six runs scored, and a stolen base. He's also walked three times and remarkably hasn't struck out even once. His Contact% of 93.1% for the season is tops in the majors for players with at least 100 plate appearances, and with three home runs on the year, he is on pace to set a new personal best with the lefty's six home runs in 2022 his current career high.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers catcher
Will Smith continued his success against left-handed pitching in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Diamondbacks when he hit his fourth home run of the season off of left-handed starter
Jordan Montgomery. The solo shot was his only hit in the game, finishing 1-for-5, but he's now got three homers in his last five games. The 29-year-old is mashing lefties this season, now slashing .425/.489/.725 against them (.314/.338/.457 vs RHP) with six doubles, two home runs, and a 6:5 BB:K. He remains one of the top options at catcher for season-long fantasy so continue to fire him up there, but certainly take a closer look at him for DFS purposes on days when he's facing a southpaw.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoDespite a strong performance from
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter
Joc Pederson collected three of the five hits that the righty allowed in the outing, with Pederson ending the game 3-for-4. Although all three hits were singles and the D-backs were unable to scratch across even one run in the contest, Pederson was able to raise his batting average to .317 while increasing his OBP to .451, which is second-best in baseball to only NL MVP front-runner
Mookie Betts. The inflated OBP is also due in part to his robust 15.7% BB% on the season. The 32-year-old has shown a little pop too, with six doubles and two home runs in 2024.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher
Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Arizona Diamondback bats in check in Wednesday's 8-0 victory, picking up his third win of the season. The 25-year-old pitched six scoreless frames, allowing five hits and walking two while striking out five. He now owns a strong 2.91 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through seven starts, although excluding his first start of the season where he allowed five earned runs it would be a 1.64 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over the last six starts. The righty continues to look as good as advertised and takes on a Marlins team in his next start that is currently 8-24 while scoring the seventh-fewest runs in the league so far in 2024.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
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