The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who To Consider Dropping for Fantasy Baseball (Week 5)

April 26, 2026

The fantasy baseball Cut List for Week 5 of 2026. Jamie analyzes potential fantasy baseball busts, overvalued players, and injured players to consider dropping.

Welcome back to The Cut List as we head into Week 5 of the 2026 season. For those who are not familiar, this is our weekly article looking at players whom fantasy managers might be considering cutting from their teams and struggling players who need a closer look.

We'll look at players who are worth monitoring for replacing and someone on the hot seat who should be held on to... for now. Experienced Cut List readers will know I'm a strong advocate for not making knee-jerk reactions. A bad week or two shouldn't be a reason to push the panic button and dump someone, especially early in the season.

If there's ever someone you want me to take a look at, drop their name in the Reddit comments, the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms, or reach out to me on X (@Baseball_Jimbo). Maybe you'll see them included next week. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo!) reflect when this piece was written.

Pitchers

Nathan Eovaldi - SP, Texas Rangers - 92% rostered

After a rough start to the year, which saw Eovaldi give up 11 earned runs across his first two starts, the veteran had turned things around. Eovaldi more than cut his ERA in half (from 11.42 to 5.06) in his subsequent three outings. Then, on Friday, things went south again.

Eovaldi was tagged for six earned runs over six innings against the Athletics. He only allowed six hits and one walk. Unfortunately, four of those hits were home runs, and Eovaldi goes into his next start with an unslightly 5.79 ERA. Obviously, the home runs are a concern.

Eovaldi has now been taken deep nine times this year, after giving up just 10 home runs in 22 starts last year. The good news is that Eovaldi's underlying numbers are encouraging. He has a 3.61 xFIP and 3.66 SIERA, so Eovaldi can consider his ERA a product of some bad luck.

Verdict: Eovaldi's xFIP and SIERA suggest better days are ahead. His 25.7% HR/FB is the highest among 78 qualified pitchers and won't sustain. He likely draws the Yankees next, so benching Eovaldi next week makes sense. He's still someone I'd be holding in all formats.

Edwin Diaz - RP, Los Angeles Dodgers - 91% rostered

Diaz's Dodgers career had gotten off to a solid start, with four saves and a 1.80 ERA after five appearances. Things then went downhill. Fast. Back-to-back outings of allowing three earned runs had people concerned, and it came as little surprise that Diaz was dealing with an injury.

After testing, it transpired that Diaz had loose bodies in his elbow and would head to the injured list (IL). Since the news broke, we've been getting a clearer picture of Diaz's outlook. He had successful surgery earlier this week but is set to miss most of the season.

Edwin Diaz Expected to Miss Around Three Monthshttps://t.co/BKgqDlP82O

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) April 20, 2026

A quick reminder to download the free RotoBaller app to get all the latest news, updates, and articles.

The best-case scenario is that Diaz returns for the final two months of the season. His availability shouldn't prevent the Dodgers from reaching the playoffs, so they will more than likely err on the side of caution rather than rushing Diaz back.

Verdict: If you have a spare IL spot and can put Diaz on there without causing you to use a bench spot on an injured player, then do that. If you're having to sacrifice a spot on a shallow bench to keep Diaz, you should seriously consider dropping Diaz.

Jeff Hoffman - RP, Toronto Blue Jays - 85% rostered

Hoffman seems to be one of many relievers who entered 2026 as their team's closer but has been anything but secure. The season wasn't even three weeks old before Hoffman had his third blown save. Despite his struggles, Hoffman got a vote of confidence from Toronto's manager, John Schneider.

John Schneider:

“I know there may be people who don’t want to hear this, but I’ve got a lot of trust and confidence in Jeff Hoffman.”

“If there’s a situation to close out a game, I’ll take Jeff Hoffman.” #BlueJays

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 19, 2026

Just five days later, Hoffman was out as closer. Most fantasy managers were expecting it to come sooner rather than later.

News: Jeff Hoffman is out as the #BlueJays’ closer.

They’ll go with a closer by committee for now while Hoffman works on things in lower-leverage spots.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 24, 2026

It's still a blow to someone who was poised for a second straight 30+ save season. If we look at some of Hoffman's numbers, there's a good chance he can win the job back.

Despite his 7.59 ERA, Hoffman has a 1.68 xFIP and 1.94 SIERA. Of the 202 relievers to have pitched at least eight innings, none have a higher BABIP than Hoffman (.609). And Hoffman's 42.1% K% ranks in the 99th percentile. There's no way his ERA doesn't start to drop.

This isn't to say that Hoffman doesn't have some significant concerns. Hoffman's 10.5% BB% is still too high, especially when he's giving up as many hits as he has. Most significantly, the Blue Jays have multiple other relievers who have excelled so far.

Louis Varland allowed his first earned run of the season yesterday (14 innings), but still recorded the save. Tyler Rogers has a 0.68 ERA (13 1/3 innings), and Braydon Fisher has a 1.93 ERA (14 innings). Hoffman will need to be lights out and hope others stumble if he's going to return to being the sole closer in Toronto.

Verdict: If you have a deep bench, it may be worth holding on to Hoffman. His underlying numbers are promising. In leagues counting holds, Hoffman could still provide value in the short term. Outside of that, you should be looking elsewhere for saves. 

Hitters

Chase DeLauter - OF, Cleveland Guardians - 70% rostered

DeLauter got off to a blistering start in his rookie campaign. He homered twice on opening day and had hit his fifth home run in just the seventh game of the season. That was the last one he hit. DeLauter's numbers are still solid. He's hitting .225/.320/.472 with five home runs, 16 RBI, 12 runs, and no stolen bases.

If we look at DeLauter's numbers since that seventh game of the year, they're less encouraging. He's hitting .175/.303/.286 with no homers, eight RBI, six runs, and no steals (18 games). DeLauter does have six extra-base hits in that period (five doubles and one triple).

The good news is that DeLauter is still not striking out much, with an 11.7% K%. He's also been walking a lot, with a 12.6% BB%. It seems like pitchers quickly realised DeLauter was a power threat and have been much more careful when facing him.

DeLauter struck out yesterday for the first time since April 14. His 20.4% Chase% (91st percentile) is equally as encouraging as DeLauter hasn't been overpowered by Major League pitching. That shouldn't come as a surprise, given he was considered one of the best hitting prospects coming into 2026.

The only knock against DeLauter as a pro has been his health. DeLauter had only played 138 Minor League games in three seasons before this year, so it remains to be seen whether he can complete a full Major League campaign. That's not something fantasy managers should worry about for now.

Verdict: As a rookie, there will always be ups and downs. DeLauter's still hitting second in the Guardians lineup, and his hot start wasn't a fluke. I'd still be holding onto the rookie and using the last couple of weeks as a reminder that there will be more highs and lows throughout the season.

Kazuma Okamoto - 1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays - 66% rostered

Okamoto has been overshadowed by compatriot Munetaka Murakami. While not many people will have expected Okamoto to replicate his numbers from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he's still on pace to have a good debut MLB season.

After 25 games, Okamoto has five homers, 11 RBI, 12 runs, and no steals along with a .237/.324/.419 slash line. That's a 162-game pace of 32 home runs, 71 RBI, 78 runs, and no steals. If Okamoto does hit 30 homers, I'd expect him to better 71 RBI as well.

Okamoto's got a .230 xBA (expected batting average) and .420 xSLG (expected slugging percentage). Both similar to his actual numbers, but still nothing special. His xSLG ranks in the 60th percentile, and xBA ranks in the 35th percentile.

This time last week, Okamoto had a .205/.275/.301 slash line and just two home runs. He's more than doubled his RBI and run totals since last Sunday and is another example of how players can turn around a slow start this early in the season.

Verdict: The dual positional eligibility helps but Okamoto is likely only going to cover your corner infield spot anyway. I expect some more ups and downs from Okamoto in the coming months as MLB pitchers continue to adjust to him. Okamoto deserves to be rostered in all but the shallowest leagues.

Brenton Doyle - OF, Colorado Rockies - 48% rostered

The further Doyle's 2024 season is in the rear-view mirror, the more of an outlier it seems. It was difficult to assess Doyle's 2025 campaign, given the unimaginable tragedy he and his family went through. If we just look at the numbers, Doyle's 2026 campaign is set to be worse.

Last year, Doyle hit .233/.274/.376 with 15 homers, 57 RBI, 57 runs, and 18 steals. The power and speed combo was solid, but it was still a far cry from his 23 home runs and 30 stolen bases season in 2024. This year, Doyle is hitting .219/.288/.288 with a 35.0% K%.

A glance at Doyle's 2026 Statcast Profile points to things not getting any better. He's also starting to find himself in a part-time role. That makes it even tougher if you're starting Doyle in home games only, as he may only start three or four games in a week.

Verdict: Even in deeper leagues, I'd be looking at moving on from Doyle. It's tough to see a route back to fantasy relevance when he is starting. With playing-time concerns also now factoring in, Doyle is offering very little to fantasy managers in any format.

On the Hot Seat

Bo Bichette - 3B/SS, New York Mets - 95% rostered

The Mets season has been something resembling a Greek Tragedy so far. Injuries to Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Jorge Polanco haven't helped matters. Even still, a double-digit losing streak this early in the season is not something anyone would have predicted.

Nor would the struggles of big money signing Bo Bichette have been on many people's bingo cards. After 26 games, Bichette is hitting .239/.270/.312 with one homer, 12 RBI, 12 runs, and one steal. Apart from the pleasing symmetry in his numbers, there's little there to appease his fantasy managers.

While I've never been much of a Boliever, there's enough to suggest that Bichette will see an upturn in fortunes soon. He's got a .288 xBA, which ranks in the 88th percentile and makes him one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball this season.

If we look at his expected batting average as the season has rolled on, we can see that Bichette's batting average should have been climbing recently.

Now compare that to his actual slash line, and we can see that Bichette's numbers haven't really improved by much over the last fortnight.

Bichette enters today's doubleheader against the Rockies with a four-game hitting streak. Bichette has recorded a hit in eight of his last nine games. The problem is, only one was a multi-hit game. Just three of the 10 hits in that time were doubles, and the rest were all singles, which hasn't helped matters.

Although Bichette has shown little to no power this year, we should expect him to come close to matching last year's home run total (18). Bichette should also be able to hit close to .300 if his luck turns around. If he continues as the Mets' leadoff hitter, Bichette should also score plenty of runs.

There are a few things that need to improve, with his luck being the most notable. Bichette's strikeout and walk rates are trending in the wrong direction compared to previous seasons. That's not down to bad luck and is something that Bichette will need to improve as well.

Bichette's dual position eligibility provides some value. Even still, according to Yahoo, he ranks 33rd among third basemen and 36th among shortstops. If you swap his RBI (94) and runs (78) totals around from last year, Bichette's 2025 numbers are about the best we can hope for this year.

Verdict: Bichette should have better stats than he does. And he has been hitting better of late. There's still enough in his profile to warrant holding Bichette. But if his recent modest production disappears and he reverts back to the 2024 version we saw to start the season, it'll be increasingly difficult to make a case for rostering Bichette.

Reader Requests

As always, we're keen to hear who you want us to analyze. If there is anyone you want to include on next week's Cut List, drop their names on the Reddit thread or in the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms. Alternatively, you can reach out to me on X, and we'll endeavor to cover some requests each week.

Just a reminder that while we'll cover as many players as we can, there's no way we can include everyone. With over 200 messages on last week's Reddit post, we've included a couple of extra names that have been requested recently as a bonus and thank you for everyone's support.

Rafael Devers - 1B, San Francisco Giants - 97% rostered

I think we need to accept that Devers won't be putting up the numbers in San Francisco that he did in Boston. Following last year's trade, he hit .236/.347/.460 in 90 games with the Giants. The good news is that the homers were still there. This year, he's hitting .213/.248/.296 (27 games).

Devers homered 20 times with the Giants last year but has gone deep just twice in 2026. Devers has not been helped by a lack of protection behind him in the lineup. Nor has he been helped by a lack of production from the whole team. But Devers hasn't exactly been helping the situation either.

Verdict: I'm not dropping Devers. But I do think we need to temper expectations. A .240 batting average with ~25 home runs seems more likely than anything he did in Boston. The Giants' lineup won't be this bad all season, so we should expect an uptick in his counting stats moving forward.

Jarren Duran - OF, Boston Red Sox - 94% rostered

Devers isn't the only one we need to temper expectations with. Last year, Duran couldn't replicate his 2024 season. And he won't again this year. Duran did show signs of life earlier this week when going 3-for-4 with two doubles against the Yankees. And he's now got a modest four-game hitting streak going.

But in something of a symbolic performance, he only went 1-for-5 yesterday (a single) with a run scored, despite the Red Sox putting up 17 runs on 17 hits. Duran is also striking out more (25.8% K%) and walking less (6.5% BB%) than he did over the last two seasons.

Verdict: Like Devers, I'm not dropping Duran. But I am lowering expectations. Last year seems like the best outcome you can expect, which would still be a good outcome. While you won't get a return similar to Duran's ADP in any trade, I wouldn't hesitate to accept any reasonable offer you might get for him.

Salvador Perez - C/1B, Kansas City Royals - 88% rostered

Father Time comes for us all. It's fair to believe that he may have come for Perez. The veteran catcher is turning 36 years old in a couple of weeks, and few catchers have the body of work in recent seasons that Perez has. With a .186/.222/.333 slash line Perez might finally be slowing down.

We found out last weekend that he's also been dealing with a hip issue. The good news is that Perez will catch fewer games in the near future. That should keep him in the lineup and minimise the injury impact. The bad news is that Perez is playing hurt.

That's even more evident when we look at how his numbers have been declining.

Perez did manage to have his best game of the year yesterday. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs. Perez had a multi-hit game last week with a homer and then went 0-for-4 in each of the next two games. It's hard to trust that yesterday will lead to a run of production.

Verdict: We'll still see 20+ homers from Perez, but don't bank on his batting average improving from last year (.236). If anything, a .220 batting average is more likely. There are available catchers in most leagues that Perez can be replaced with if his power isn't worth the hit to your team's batting average.

Isaac Paredes - 3B, Houston Astros - 45% rostered

When being requested last Sunday, Paredes had a .186/.314/.254 slash line and had yet to hit a home run. Since then, he's hitting .304/.333/.565 with two home runs. Both homers did come in Monday's game, and his other five hits in this spell have all been singles.

But Paredes has finally shown signs of life at the plate. The Astros lineup isn't the formidable force it was, but they still rank fifth in runs scored (144). With Paredes hitting in the heart of the lineup, he should be able to start stacking up some RBI and runs if he can continue his recent resurgence.

Verdict: If you've held Paredes this long, it's a good idea to keep rolling with him while he's starting to perform well. Paredes is still only a deeper league option. If he can maintain his recent burst of production, Paredes could play himself into a lot more fantasy lineups. That makes him a hold for now.

Kodai Senga - SP, New York Mets - 29% rostered

Coming into this season, Senga scared me with the number of walks he allows. His 11.4% BB% last year (113 1/3 innings) was pretty atrocious and ranked in the eighth percentile. This year, Senga has a 12.2% BB% after four starts (17 1/3 innings).

Senga did have a 3.00 ERA (285 innings) in the Majors coming into 2026. He's failed to come close to that this year, with an 8.83 ERA. Despite the unsightly ERA, Senga can consider himself unlucky. He has a 4.13 xFIP and 4.09 SIERA with a .413 BABIP.

It's difficult not to predict that his ERA will come down in the coming weeks. My big concern is that Senga's ERA will drop after he moves into a relief role. His 26.8% K% will partly offset the high walk-rate. If he continues to play with fire and get burned, the bullpen may be his calling.

Verdict: There's been no noise to suggest Senga's role is in jeopardy. There's also been little to suggest that Senga can provide much fantasy value. He's set to face the Rockies at home today. If he can't navigate that outing safely, is there any situation you can trust Senga in enough to start him?

Caleb Durbin - 2B/3B, Boston Red Sox - 13% rostered

Although Duran was unable to fill his stat line up against the Orioles yesterday, Durbin did. Not only did he hit his first home run of the year, but he also stole his first base of 2026. Durbin tallied three RBI and three runs in the Red Sox's rout, reaching double-digits on the season in both categories.

It's still a far cry from last year, when Durbin finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. If we go by Durbin's Statcast Profile, he won't come close to duplicating last year's numbers.

Durbin's 11 home runs in 2025 are the most we should ever expect from him in a season. We should still expect a much better slash line than his current .165/.260/.271 one. Even if he comes close to his .256 batting average last year, there's little else to get excited about from a fantasy standpoint.

Verdict: Durbin has enough speed to warrant consideration in deeper leagues. His batting average will improve, but Durbin's speed will be capped by his inability to get on base consistently. He's still someone I'd consider in the deepest leagues, but that's the only format I'd be considering rostering Durbin.

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