April 8, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays right-handed reliever
Edwin Uceta (shoulder) will pitch one inning on Friday and on Sunday for Double-A Montgomery on a minor-league rehab assignment before being sent to Triple-A Durham to build his arm up further, according to Ryan Bass. "I'm hopeful just before May 1," manager Kevin Cash said on a possible return timeline. "He didn't have a spring training, so he's gonna get built out, and then it'll kind of decide how we want to navigate."
Griffin Jax began the 2026 season as Tampa's first option for saves with Uceta sidelined, but he quickly blew two saves and has been surpassed by
Bryan Baker for the time being in the closer hierarchy in Tampa. Uceta, who was one of only five relievers with 100-plus strikeouts in 2025, could quickly become the team's closer once he's activated from the 15-day injured list later this month. The Dominican reliever had a sparkling 1.51 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, and five saves in 2024 as well, and is one of the most talented arms in the Rays' bullpen.
--Keith HernandezSource: Ryan Bass
April 8, 2026
Chicago Cubs outfielder
Ian Happ (heel) is out of the starting lineup on Wednesday for a second straight night against the Tampa Bay Rays while dealing with a bruised left heel, according to Taylor McGregor of Watch Marquee Sports. Happ is available off the bench, though, which means he should be able to return to action for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates after an off day on Thursday. With Happ out again,
Michael Conforto will start in left field for the Cubbies and will hit eighth against Rays right-hander
Joe Boyle. Although Happ has already gone deep four times in his first 40 at-bats, he only has eight hits in total (.200 batting average) while driving in seven runs and scoring seven runs for the Cubs. Fantasy managers should check back on Friday to make sure that Happ is back in the lineup before returning him to their starting lineups. Conforto has gone hitless in just two career at-bats against Boyle.
--Keith HernandezSource: Watch Marquee - Taylor McGregor
April 8, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that right-hander
Drew Rasmussen, who is away from the team right now for the birth of his child, could return to the team's starting rotation on Friday against the New York Yankees, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 30-year-old was scratched from his scheduled outing against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday after his wife went into labor. At the latest, Rasmussen will rejoin the team on Saturday for the weekend series against the Yankees. After being named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2025, Rasmussen is off to a good start in 2026 after two starts, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits (two homers) while walking just one and striking out 10 in 10 innings pitched. Rasmussen is looking to take the next step in his seventh year in the big leagues, but he'll have a pretty big challenge on his hands against New York in his third start of the season after he comes off the paternity list.
--Keith HernandezSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
April 8, 2026
Kansas City Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans (thumb) "should be good" going forward after suffering a left-thumb contusion in his start on Wednesday versus the Cleveland Guardians, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. It sounds as though the Royals avoided the worst with Ragans after he was hit by a comebacker off the bat of
Jose Ramirez in the first inning. He initially stayed in the game, but his thumb proved to be too stiff for him to continue, so the Royals pulled him as a precaution. The 28-year-old southpaw was charged with three earned runs while walking one and striking out two in just two-thirds of an inning on Wednesday. It's great news for Ragans, who made only 13 starts in 2025 due to injuries after his All-Star campaign in 2024. Ragans struck out 223 hitters in 32 starts for the Royals in 2024, and he's a prime bounce-back candidate this year if he can manage to stay healthy. His next scheduled start will come against the division-rival Detroit Tigers next Tuesday on the road.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
April 8, 2026
Atlanta Braves right-hander
Reynaldo Lopez has been suspended for seven games for his role in a brawl with Los Angeles Angels designated hitter
Jorge Soler during Tuesday night's game, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. After Lopez threw a pitch up and in during the fifth inning, Soler charged the mound, with both players throwing haymakers as the benches cleared at Angels Stadium. Both Soler and Lopez will appeal their suspensions, which means they'll be eligible to play until the league hears their suspensions. Lopez will likely end up missing one turn through Atlanta's rotation. Lopez, who only made one start in 2025 due to a shoulder injury, has been great in his three starts this year, allowing four runs (two earned) while walking five and striking out 13 in 15 2/3 frames. The 32-year-old veteran's next scheduled start will come on Monday against the Miami Marlins, so fantasy managers will be hoping his suspension doesn't kick in before that start.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
April 8, 2026
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter
Jorge Soler has been suspended for seven games for brawling with Atlanta Braves right-hander
Reynaldo Lopez on Tuesday night, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Soler took exception to a pitch up and in from Lopez in the fifth inning and charged the mound before throwing punches in a benches-clearing brawl. Until Soler's appeal is heard by the league, he'll be eligible to play for the Angels, including in Wednesday's contest against Atlanta at Angels Stadium. The 32-year-old veteran right-handed power hitter is slated to start in right field and bat cleanup for the Halos in Wednesday's series finale against Braves right-hander
Grant Holmes. To begin his second season in Anaheim, Soler heads into Wednesday's action sporting a .220 average (9-for-41) with two home runs, 10 RBI, and seven runs scored in 12 games played. Keep Soler in your starting lineups for now until his suspension kicks in.
--Keith HernandezSource: ESPN.com - Jeff Passan
April 8, 2026
Houston Astros right-hander
Cristian Javier (shoulder) was removed from his start early on Wednesday at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies with "right-shoulder tightness," according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. In his one inning of work before hitting the showers early, Javier allowed an earned run on three hits while walking none and striking out one.
AJ Blubaugh, who took over for Javier in this contest, will be a top candidate to enter Houston's starting rotation if Javier's injury is serious enough to send him to the 15-day injured list. The 29-year-old Dominican is off to a rough start to the 2026 season, as he has allowed 12 earned runs on 10 hits (two homers) while walking nine and striking out only three in 8 1/3 innings in his two starts before Wednesday's outing in Denver. Javier made only eight starts for the 'Stros in 2025 in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2024, so injuries have been an issue.
--Keith HernandezSource: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
April 8, 2026
Houston Astros outfielder
Jake Meyers (side) was removed from Wednesday's game early against the Colorado Rockies with "lower-back tightness," according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Meyers suffered the injury in the second inning and was pulled in favor of
Brice Matthews. For now, fantasy managers should consider Meyers to be day-to-day until we know more. If his injury is significant, Matthews and
Joey Loperfido would both be candidates to see more playing time in center field for Houston. Meyers hit a career-best .292 in 104 games in 2025 for the Astros, but he's mostly a defense-first player in center field. In 11 games to open the year going into Wednesday's contest at Coors Field, Meyers had gone 9-for-37 (.243) with a homer, four RBI, five runs scored, and one stolen base.
--Keith HernandezSource: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
April 8, 2026
Updating a previous report, Kansas City Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans (thumb) was diagnosed with a left-thumb contusion after leaving his start early on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians after he was hit in the throwing hand by a comebacker off the bat of third baseman
Jose Ramirez in the first inning, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The 28-year-old southpaw appears to have avoided a serious injury, but he could still have his next turn in the starting rotation skipped as a precaution. Before leaving, Ragans was unfortunately charged with three earned runs on two hits while walking one and striking out two in two-thirds of an inning pitched. If the Royals clear Ragans to make his next start, he's scheduled to face the division-rival Detroit Tigers next week. If he can avoid further injuries, Ragans has a good chance to bounce back in 2026 for fantasy managers.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
April 8, 2026
Colorado Rockies first baseman
TJ Rumfield stayed hot at the plate on Tuesday, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the 5-1 win over the Astros. He's got back-to-back multi-hit efforts and has hit safely in eight of the 10 games he's started. The 6-foot-5 slugger is now batting .389 with two home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored, along with better-than-average strikeout (17.5 percent) and walk rates (10.0 percent), good for a .478 wOBA and 191 wRC+. The left-handed slugger hit for average (.285) and power (16 home runs) last year at Triple-A in the Yankees' organization, with similar strikeout and walk rates, so this isn't totally out of nowhere for the Virginia Tech product. However, with a high BABIP of .444, along with an xBA of .287 and xwOBA of .369, there could be some regression coming. Still, with the skills he's shown and playing half of his games at Coors Field, there are plenty of reasons for the 25-year-old to be rostered in deeper leagues; he's available in 95 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
April 8, 2026
Los Angeles Angels right-handed reliever
Robert Stephenson (elbow) underwent elbow surgery and is expected to be out for the entire 2026 season, manager Kurt Suzuki told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Stephenson has dealt with elbow issues with the Angels and pitched only 10 innings during his three-year deal with the organization. More right-elbow issues surfaced for the 33-year-old veteran during spring training, and he landed on the 60-day injured list before the start of the regular season. Stephenson specifically had ligament and flexor-repair surgery, so he was able to avoid another UCL reconstruction, but it doesn't change the fact that he'll miss the entire season. The Angels have a $2.5 million team option on Stephenson for the 2027 season, but after all of his right-elbow issues, it wouldn't be a surprise if they let him reach the open market next winter. Right-hander
Jordan Romano has looked good as the Angels' closer early on this year, with Stephenson (elbow),
Ben Joyce (shoulder), and
Kirby Yates (knee) all sidelined.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Rhett Bollinger
April 8, 2026
Cincinnati Reds second baseman
Matt McLain smacked a pair of doubles in a 2-for-5 effort in Tuesday's 6-3 extra-innings win over the Marlins, driving in two runs, scoring once, and stealing a base. Perhaps the former first-rounder is rounding into form with three multi-hit efforts in his last five games, raising his batting average from .190 to .238 on the season. The 28-year-old scorched the ball this spring, batting .509 with seven home runs, which inflated his ADP in fantasy drafts, so managers who invested in a bounce-back campaign should be encouraged by his recent play. The right-handed hitter will go up against the Marlins'
Eury Perez on Wednesday, and although he's seen Perez only twice, McLain does have a home run off of him.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
April 8, 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar
Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3 in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays, with an RBI and a pair of walks. After collecting just three hits in his first six games of the season, the four-time MVP is now riding a five-game hit streak, during which time he's gone 9-for-24 (.375) with three home runs, eight RBI, and five runs scored. He's yet to steal his first base of the season, but a .448 xwOBA and 156 wRC+ point to yet another productive campaign in the making. The five-time All-Star will also make his second start of the season on the mound on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto and will bat leadoff. The right-hander allowed one hit and three walks while striking out six batters in six innings of shutout ball his last time out against the Guardians.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
April 8, 2026
Athletics relief pitcher
Mark Leiter Jr. came on in the eighth inning to help secure a win for his club on Tuesday, but allowed four runs on four hits instead, including a go-ahead three-run home run to
Amed Rosario, resulting in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees. It was the second blown save of the season for the right-hander, who has now allowed at least one hit in all five of his appearances this season, with 10 hits and a walk in his 4 1/3 innings pitched thus far (2.54 WHIP). Although the 35-year-old owns the only save of the season of any A's reliever, he may be hard to trust with the next opportunity to close down a game. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on who that next opportunity goes to, as another bullpen option could emerge as the favorite for saves if they can prove capable of shutting the door on the opponent.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
April 8, 2026
New York Mets manager
Carlos Mendoza said he's happy with where his top five starters are at early in the 2026 season, so left-hander
Sean Manaea will remain in the bullpen for now, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets will not move to a six-man starting rotation this week, as they had previously indicated they might. Manaea has looked good in his two appearances out of the Mets' bullpen early on this year, but his fantasy value is basically shot unless he can get back into New York's rotation at some point in 2026. The veteran left-hander has allowed just one earned run on five hits (one homer) while walking four and striking out four in five innings pitched. He had a late-career resurgence in 2024 in his first year in Queens with a 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 184:63 K:BB in 32 starts (181 2/3 innings), but the injury bug bit him in 2025, and he made just 12 starts. Manaea's velocity was noticeably down in spring training, and it remains to be seen if he can ever regain his 2024 form.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Anthony DiComo
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