Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Friday that right-hander Ryan Brasier (calf) was playing catch but that he remains "a ways out" from returning from the 15-day injured list. Brasier pulled his right calf muscle while doing some sprinting as part of his regular warmups before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 29 and was put on the IL, retroactive to April 28. An MRI exam on April 30 showed that the strain was mild. Once the 36-year-old resumes throwing off a mound, he'll most likely need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before returning to the Dodgers' bullpen. Before getting hurt, Brasier had allowed six earned runs while walking three and fanning 12 in 12 outings (one start) over 11 2/3 innings. Brasier can remain on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues.

Houston Astros first baseman Jon Singleton, outfielder Chas McCormick and catcher Yainer Diaz are all resting on Saturday against the visiting Minnesota Twins. Jose Abreu will start at first base and bat eighth, Mauricio Dubon will play left and hit seventh, and Victor Caratini will do the catching and fill out the nine-hole for Houston against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan. None of Houston's lineup replacements have a ton of DFS upside in the bottom third of the batting order against a tough pitcher. Now that Abreu is back from the minors, the 32-year-old lefty-hitting Singleton is going to find himself on the bench more often. In three games since returning to the big leagues, the struggling Abreu has two hits and an RBI in 10 plate appearances. The veteran slugger is now hitting just .111 (9-for-81) on the year and is still searching for his first homer.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks (elbow) was able to throw fastballs and breaking pitches off the front of a mound on Thursday as he progresses in his throwing program after having Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old Australian reliever overcame a cancer diagnosis to return to the Chicago White Sox in 2023, but he only ended up appearing in five games before undergoing elbow surgery. The three-time All-Star has 116 career saves in the big leagues over 13 seasons, so he'll bring veteran experience to the back end of Boston's bullpen when he's eventually cleared, but there's no current timetable for his return, and he's unlikely to join the team until the second half of the season. For now, Hendriks can be left to the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues, and there's no guarantee he'll be a candidate for saves in Boston as long as Kenley Jansen remains healthy.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith put on a power display in Wednesday's blowout win over the hosting New York Mets, going 3-for-5 with two solo home runs. Smith launched his eighth and ninth homers on Wednesday, first belting a solo home run to left field to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning and later smacking a go-ahead home run to left-center field to give the team a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. The 29-year-old slugging backstop is now slashing .296/.360/.516 with nine home runs, 14 doubles, 36 RBI, and 32 runs scored over 186 at-bats (49 games) as LA's primary option behind the dish. Continue to roll with Smith in all fantasy leagues.

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien is taking his first day off of the year and his first since May of 2022 for Wednesday's matinee game against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. With Semien on the bench, Ezequiel Duran is at the keystone and is batting ninth, while outfielder Travis Jankowski is serving as the designated hitter and batting leadoff against Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson. Semien isn't hurt, but he's been a little banged up after colliding with teammate Adolis Garcia back on May 18. The 33-year-old will also have the day off during the team's travel day on Thursday before returning to action for Friday's series opener against the Marlins in Miami. Semien is currently slashing .249/.302/.425 with nine homers and 34 RBI in 233 at-bats. Jankowski will have some DFS sleeper appeal in the leadoff spot for Texas.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday. He is back in the starting lineup at first base and batting eighth against the Seattle Mariners. Joey Loperfido was optioned back to Triple-A as a corresponding move. Abreu was demoted to the minor leagues after a horrific start to the season that saw him slashing .099/.156/.113 through 22 games. The veteran slugger was also pretty dismal throughout the 2023 campaign, so a return to fantasy relevance seems unlikely at this point. Abreu will also have to battle Jon Singleton, who is starting at DH tonight, for regular playing time. As for Loperfido, the team's sixth-ranked prospect performed well in limited at-bats. He remains a player of interest in dynasty formats, but him and Abreu are both non-factors in redraft leagues at this point.

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Justin Turner and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier are both starting on the bench for Monday's contest in Chicago against the White Sox. Turner has lost playing time of late, with this being the third time in the last five games that he finds himself on the bench to start. Kiermaier, meanwhile, will ride the pine for the second straight day. Daniel Vogelbach is serving as the DH and will hit fifth, while Daulton Varsho starts in center field and bats sixth against White Sox right-handed rookie Nick Nastrini. Davis Schneider is in left field and is batting leadoff for the Jays. Turner has had a disastrous month of May, hitting .102 (6-for-59) without a home run to drop his season line to .222/.301/.359. Kiermaier hasn't been much better in 2024, hitting .226 (.21-for-93) with only one homer and seven RBI.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale was magnificent once again on Sunday, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in an 8-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sale allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight. The veteran lefty improved to 8-1, lowering his ERA to 2.12 and his WHIP to 0.85. Those are Cy Young caliber numbers, and the guy was being drafted outside of the top 100. At this point, it seems that the only thing that can hold him back from being an ace for the rest of the season is an injury.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu will return to the team on Monday to kick off their series against the Seattle Mariners. Abreu had most recently been with Triple-A Sugar Land after the Astros optioned him to the minors due to his early-season struggles. The veteran slugger had produced a dismal .099/.156/.113 slash line with no home runs, three RBI and a 3:18 BB:K through 22 games in 2024. While he had some production in the Florida Complex League immediately after his demotion, he actually went hitless across his seven at-bats in Triple-A. Even with Abreu returning, there is no guarantee he gets regular playing time over Jon Singleton. The former MVP is best left on the waiver wire at this point.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez went yard twice in Friday's win on the road against the Los Angeles Angels, walloping his 13th and 14 home runs of the season. After crushing a Patrick Sandoval sinker for a two-run home run to make the score 4-1 Guardians in the third inning, Ramirez tagged Sandoval for another long ball to extend the Cleveland's lead to 7-2 in the fourth. Over his last 18 games, the 31-year-old fantasy superstar is batting .329 with nine round-trippers, 24 RBI, and three stolen bases as the engine to Cleveland's offense. Ramirez should continue beating up on the Halos this weekend; in 24 games against the Angels since 2021, he's hitting a scalding .353 with 10 bombs, 23 RBI, 20 runs scored, and seven steals.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman shined in Thursday's victory on the road over the Detroit Tigers, fanning a season-high 10 batters while throwing six innings of one-run ball on three hits and two walks for his third win of the campaign. It was almost certainly Gausman's finest effort of the season, as it was his first double-digit strikeout performance this year. The 33-year-old strikeout machine missed some time during spring training due to injury, and while he has work to do to improve on his lackluster 4.47 ERA and 1.43 WHIP through 10 starts, Gausman's superb 53:13 K:BB is a reason for optimism. Tuesday's matchup against the last-place Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field marks Gausman's next projected start, a prime opportunity for Toronto's ace to right the ship further.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos put on a power display as the Phillies completed a sweep of the defending World Series-champion Texas Rangers on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run to raise his batting average on the year to just .206. Castellanos' solo home run in the seventh inning gave the team an insurance run at 5-2 late in the game. The 32-year-old veteran two-time All-Star came into the day hitting just .200 on the year, and his long ball on Thursday was just his fifth in 51 games played. Castellanos definitely isn't the higher-average hitter he was earlier in his career, but he still figures to be a pretty good buy-low candidate in fantasy circles who will also continue to get plenty of RBI opportunities in a potent Phillies lineup. His homer on Thursday was the first time clearing the fences since May 12.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu will remain in West Palm Beach and play Florida Complex League games on Wednesday and Thursday before reporting to Triple-A Sugar Land this weekend, according to manager Joe Espada. It was reported earlier this week that Abreu could rejoin the big-league roster by Friday for the series opener against the Oakland Athletics, but it looks like that won't be the case. The 37-year-old veteran Cuban slugger agreed to head to the minors after starting the 2024 season with a lowly .099 average (7-for-71) with no homers, three RBI and 18 strikeouts in his first 22 games. He's played in four games in the FCL so far, going 6-for-18 (.333) with two doubles and two RBI. When Abreu does return to the Astros, it could just be in a platoon role at first base with the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox. The Blue Jays will play matchups here and give Kiermaier the night off against tough left-hander Garrett Crochet. In his absence, Daulton Varsho will bat seventh and cover center field on Tuesday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Carlos Carrasco (neck), who was scheduled to start on Tuesday against the visiting New York Mets, has been scratched and placed on the 15-day injured list with an acute neck spasm. Xzavion Curry has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus and will make the spot start on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Carrasco will be out for at least the next two weeks and possibly longer given his age. Although he currently has an ERA of 5.16 and a WHIP of 1.46 in 45 1/3 innings this year, Carrasco had been pitching better of late in his last three starts. However, he's also sporting a weak 17.2 percent strikeout rate and doesn't have a ton of fantasy upside in deeper leagues when he's in Cleveland's starting rotation.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale (7-1) completed seven scoreless innings Monday night, improving his record to 7-1 in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres. Sale recorded his fourth straight game of nine or more strikeouts to go with his third straight scoreless start. In May, the lefty slinger looked like his former All-Star self with a total record of 4-0, a 0.36 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts in 25 innings of work. All of that without recording a single walk. Look for Sale to continue his dominant May this weekend against a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has struggled mightily against southpaws this season.

New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez (illness) is back at DH and is batting cleanup for the Mets on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Ben Lively. Martinez was held out of Sunday's lineup in the series finale against the Miami Marlins due to flu-like symptoms but is feeling good enough to return to action against a pitcher he's never faced in his career. The 36-year-old right-handed slugger got a late start to the 2024 campaign after signing with the Mets late. He opened the year playing in minor leagues to get his timing at the plate down, and it seems to have worked, as he's currently hitting .315/.359/.466 with two home runs in his first 21 games of the season. Fantasy managers will want to get the veteran DH back in their starting lineups to begin the week.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu could return to the majors on Friday, according to general manager Dana Brown. Abreu will play in a few more minor-league games before the team makes their decision. The veteran slugger was sent down to the Florida Complex League after a horrific start to the season that saw him carrying a .099/.156/.113 slash line. Jon Singleton has seen most of the playing time at first base while Abreu has been away. Singleton could continue to see action even when Abreu comes back as there is no guarantee that Abreu will return to an everyday role.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Fantasy managers don't have anything to worry about as this appears to be a routine rest day for Smith. In his absence, Austin Barnes will handle behind the plate and bat ninth on Sunday. Fantasy managers should be able to find a better streaming option considering Barnes isn't known for his ability with the bat.