Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (eye) has inflammation in his left eye and is out of the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. His doctor gave him eye drops for treatment, and skipper Dave Martinez said Cruz is day-to-day. Fantasy managers need to remove him from their daily lineups. The 42-year-old left the game early on Tuesday due to blurred vision, but hopefully he'll be able to return to the lineup in short order. Washington has a day off on Thursday before starting a series against the Miami Marlins on Friday. With Cruz out Wednesday, Luke Voit is serving as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup against Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (knee) is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the New York Mets. Cruz was removed from Friday's game after he fouled a ball off his left knee, and isn't feeling well enough to get back in the lineup tonight. He could need a few days to fully recover, but he is expected to avoid the injured list. Cruz appears to have finally slowed down in his age 42 season, as he is slashing just .235/.315/.343 with 10 homers, although he has managed four steals, which is his most since his age 32 season. He doesn't hold much value outside of very deep leagues anymore, and can be dropped elsewhere.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (shoulder) exited Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Cubs early with right shoulder soreness, per MASNSports.com's Mark Zuckerman. The veteran went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being removed. Manager Davey Martinez said he could tell that Cruz's swing didn't look right and that the Nats will reevaluate him tomorrow morning. Age may finally be catching up to Cruz, who has dealt with a number of injuries this season and is slashing just .233/.318/.342. Fantasy managers should consider Cruz day-to-day until they hear more tomorrow.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (neck) remains out of the starting lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cruz is dealing with neck stiffness and will miss his third straight game. Fantasy managers should consider the 42-year-old slugger day-to-day for now. The Boomstick has struggled a bit in his first year in D.C., hitting just .231/.315/.343 with eight home runs, 52 RBI, 41 runs scored and four stolen bases in 95 games. The newly acquired Luke Voit will serve as the designated hitter on Friday and is batting third against Phillies right-hander Kyle Gibson. Voit went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored in his first game with Washington, and he's hitting .229/.320/.419 on the season with 13 home runs, 49 RBI, 39 runs scored and a steal in 301 at-bats. The 31-year-old has power to spare, but he strikes out (111 this year) with the best of them.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz is currently on the trade radar for the New York Mets, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman writes that the Mets are looking for an upgrade at designated hitter as neither Dominic Smith nor J.D. Davis have been getting the job done at the plate this year. Cruz hasn't been great at the plate himself this season. Over 77 games, he's slashed .239/.321/.365 with eight home runs, 46 RBI and 38 runs. However, the 42-year-old's underlying stats look a lot better as he has a .266 xBA and a .494 xSLG to go along with a 93rd percentile max exit velocity of 113.8 mph. Heyman also mentioned Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini and Cruz's teammate Josh Bell as potential trade options for the Mets.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (illness) is back in the starting lineup as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup on Thursday against Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Bailey Falter. Cruz missed the last two games with a stomach issue, but he's back in there for the series finale against Philadelphia. With Cruz returning as the DH, outfielder Juan Soto will return to right field. The ageless Cruz is showing his age a bit this year in D.C., hitting .241/.322/.369 with only eight home runs, but he does have 46 RBI and 38 runs scored in 76 games played. The 42-year-old is surprisingly hitting just .215 (20-for-93) with three home runs and 15 RBI in 108 plate appearances this year against left-handers.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz was scratched from the starting lineup just before first pitch on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies for an undisclosed reason. We'll likely have the reason why Cruz was scratched shortly, so stay tuned for more information. The Nats will be without both Cruz and slugger Juan Soto (calf) against Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez. Maikel Franco started the game as Washington's DH while hitting fifth in the batting order. Cruz has hit just .196 (9-for-46) with a homer, nine RBI and 13 strikeouts in 12 games over the last two weeks, so we wonder if he's dealing with anything physically. Overall, he's slashing .241/.322/.369 with eight long balls, 46 RBI, 38 runs scored and even two stolen bases in 76 games.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (back) was scratched from the starting lineup on Thursday night against the Miami Marlins due to back tightness. Skipper Dave Martinez said that Cruz is scheduled to get an MRI exam, which should give us a better idea of whether the veteran slugger will need a stint on the injured list. The 41-year-old made the All-Star team for the seventh time in his career last year, but he could finally be slowing down in his 18th MLB season. Cruz is slashing .247/.332/.361 with five home runs, 29 RBI, 26 runs scored and one stolen base in 222 plate appearances in 53 games. Yadiel Hernandez took over the DH duties on Thursday with Cruz out.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz was scratched from the starting lineup on Thursday against the Miami Marlins for undisclosed reasons. We'll update you when we receive word on why Cruz is now out of the lineup. Yadiel Hernandez will serve as the DH and bat sixth on Thursday against Marlins left-hander Trevor Rogers. Cruz came into the day hitting .247/.332/.361 with five home runs, 29 RBI, 26 runs scored and a stolen base in 222 plate appearances over 53 games in his first year in D.C. Hernandez hasn't been bad this year with a .272 average, four homers, 23 RBI and two steals in 43 games, but he's gone 4-for-31 (.129) with 11 strikeouts in nine games over the last two weeks.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (ankle) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the New York Mets. The veteran was hit in his left ankle by a pitch in Monday's game and the injury forced him to exit the contest. Cruz was riding a 10-game hitting streak prior to Monday's game, but he was unable to keep the streak intact as he went 0-for-1 along with reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. Over 46 games on the year, Cruz is slashing .237/.316/.343 with four home runs, 27 RBI and 23 runs.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (ankle) is back as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup on Monday against Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson. Cruz left the game early on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers with a sprained ankle, but the Nationals knew then the injury wasn't very serious. The 41-year-old veteran slugger has been much better in the month of May -- .276/.328/.397 with two homers and 10 RBI in 16 games -- to raise his season slash line to .204/.283/.296. Cruz has clubbed four home runs and driven in 21 runs in 142 at-bats in his first year in D.C., and fantasy managers should be looking to get him back into their lineups on Monday.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (illness) is back in the starting lineup on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins and right-hander Cody Poteet, serving as the designated hitter while batting cleanup. Cruz was a late scratch to Monday's lineup due to a non-COVID illness, but he's back in there a day later. The Boomstick is hitting just .194/.279/.577 on the season with four home runs, 20 RBI and 17 runs scored, but he has picked it up in the month of May, hitting .275/.333/.450 with a .783 OPS, two home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored in 11 games. Get him back into your starting lineups in single-year fantasy leagues.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (illness) was a late scratch from the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Miami Marlins. He was dealing with flu-like symptoms when he arrived at the park. He spoke with the team's training staff, then wound up leaving the park. He was originally slated to hit out of his usual cleanup spot for the game, but Yadiel Hernandez will be hitting cleanup instead and slotting in as designated hitter. We expect more updates on Cruz's status later tonight or tomorrow morning so make sure to stay tuned.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (back) remains out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. It's the second straight game he's missed after being taken out of the game early on Tuesday due to back stiffness. The 41-year-old slugger, who has really struggled at the plate this year, could wind up landing on the injured list if he doesn't improve soon. The Boomstick is just 13-for-91 with two home runs, 12 RBI and 18 strikeouts in his first 24 games in his first season in Washington. Yadiel Hernandez will serve as the designated hitter again and hit cleanup, while Dee Strange-Gordon is in left field and batting seventh against Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela. Hernandez is off to a strong start this year and makes for a nice DFS sleeper at Coors Field on Thursday.

Washington Nationals outfielder Nelson Cruz (back) is being held out of the starting lineup against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. The veteran slugger had to exit early on Tuesday due to a back issue. The Nationals are going to be cautious and hold Cruz out of this contest. Fantasy managers should consider Cruz day-to-day, so he should avoid a trip to the injured list. In the meantime, Yadiel Hernandez will serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup versus lefty Austin Gomber on Wednesday.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (back) left the game early on Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies due to back stiffness. Manager Dave Martinez said the team will see how Cruz feels on Wednesday. The 41-year-old veteran slugger went 0-for-3 with a strikeout before he was removed from the game in the seventh inning. It wouldn't be a bad time for Cruz to take a few days off after starting the season with a rough .143/.233/.209 slash line with two home runs, 12 RBI and 18 strikeouts in his first 24 games for the Nationals. At his age, this is certainly an injury that could cause Cruz to go on the injured list and miss more than the minimum of 10 days. Stay tuned for updates on his status on Wednesday.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (groin) is back in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves. The veteran slugger sat out their last contest due to groin soreness. Cruz was able to get through his pregame routine without issues, so he'll return to the lineup. He'll bat third and serve as the designated hitter against left-hander Max Fried. The 41-year-old is off to a slow start this season, but everyone knows he has the potential to take a pitcher deep at any moment.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz (groin) was a late scratch from the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves. No reason was initially given for his removal from the lineup, but Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post clarified after the game that Cruz had been dealing with right groin tightness. Dougherty added that the plan is for Cruz to be reevaluated on Wednesday to see if he'll be able to partake in Wednesday's afternoon game.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz was scratched from the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves about a half hour before the first pitch of the game. Yadiel Hernandez is now slotting in as the team's designated hitter and batting cleanup for the game. No word has been given yet on the reason for Cruz being scratched. The 41-year-old started each of the team's first five games of the year. He's slashing .200/.273/.350 on the young season with one home run, three RBI and three runs.

Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz launched his first home run in a Nationals jersey in Sunday's series finale against the New York Mets. He went 2-for-4 overall in the game and his home run was a three-run shot, providing three of the team's four runs on the day. The 41-year-old is off to a slow start to the year overall. He went just 3-for-16 over the four-game set. Cruz tallied 32 home runs over 140 games last year, splitting his season between the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. Father Time will certainly take its toll on the 18-year veteran at some point in the near future, but until further notice he should be rostered and started in just about all fantasy leagues.