The Texas Rangers activated right-hander Josh Sborz (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list on Thursday and optioned right-hander Grant Anderson from Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move. Sborz is returning from a right rotator-cuff strain after making one minor-league rehab appearance for Double-A Frisco on Tuesday. The 30-year-old reliever had 2 2/3 scoreless innings for Texas with no walks and three strikeouts earlier this month before going on the shelf with his right-shoulder injury. Now that he's back, Sborz will return to a high-leverage relief role late in games as a setup man alongside David Robertson and Jose Leclerc ahead of closer Kirby Yates. In 44 relief outings for Texas in the regular season in 2023, Sborz had a 5.50 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 17 walks and 66 K's in 52 1/3 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right forearm extensor tendinitis. The club has recalled left-hander Brendon Little from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. Francis interestingly pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Jays in their loss to the Royals on Wednesday but will seemingly miss some time moving forward. The 28-year-old cracked the rotation out of spring training but struggled out of the gate and has recently pitched in a multi-inning bullpen role. He has struggled to an 8.59 ERA across five outings (two starts) while allowing four home runs in 14 2/3 innings, good for a bloated 2.45 HR/9 clip.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones (back) is still out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting San Diego Padres and right-hander Randy Vasquez. Jones was lifted from Tuesday's win due to back stiffness and did not appear in Wednesday's 5-2 loss. It's been a disastrous start at the plate for the 25-year-old who is hitting just .148 with one homer, two steals, and a .469 OPS across 96 trips to the plate. Following a 20/20 season that included a .297 batting average and a hefty .931 OPS in 106 games in 2023, Jones' early-season production has been wildly frustrating for fantasy managers who utilized a high pick on the promising youngster. Jake Cave will once again take over in left field while hitting seventh on Thursday afternoon.

The Minnesota Twins recalled right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday and optioned right-hander Ronny Henriquez to St. Paul in a corresponding move. Woods Richards, the team's No. 24 prospect per MLB Pipeline, will make his second start of the year and just the third of his career on Thursday in a good matchup against the visiting Chicago White Sox. The Twins sent the struggling Louie Varland to the minors, so the 23-year-old Woods Richardson could stick around for a while in Minnesota's rotation if he has another strong outing on Thursday. He gave up just one run in six innings against the Detroit Tigers on April 13 in a spot start but was sporting a 6.08 ERA in three starts at St. Paul over 13 1/3 innings.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is getting a day off in a matinee game on Thursday versus the visiting Chicago White Sox. With Buxton starting on the bench, Austin Martin is starting in center field and will bat ninth against White Sox right-hander Michael Soroka. Not only has Buxton remained healthy through the first month of the season, but he's starting to pick it up at the plate of late, hitting .323 with a home run, four doubles and a triple in his last eight games to raise his season line to .247/.280/.403 with a home run, 10 RBI and seven runs scored in his first 77 at-bats. Buxton should be back in action for the start of a series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night in Anaheim. Martin has never faced Soroka in his career and will be a low-upside sleeper in DFS in the nine-hole for the Twins.

Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, who went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Cleveland Guardians, is taking a seat for the series finale against Cleveland on Thursday in a matinee contest. With Wong out for this one, Reese McGuire will catch right-hander Chase Anderson and will hit eighth against Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie. In three career at-bats against McKenzie, McGuire has gone hitless. The 27-year-old Wong has been a popular waiver-wire pickup in fantasy leagues at the catcher position early in the 2024 season after his scorching-hot start at the plate. After Wednesday's huge performance, he's now hitting .370 (20-for-54) with five long balls, 11 RBI and seven runs scored in his first 16 games played. The hot start has pushed him past McGuire on Boston's catching depth chart.

Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong went 4-for-4 with two home runs in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Guardians. Wong also was hit by a pitch in the game, making it a perfect 5-for-5 at getting on base. In addition to the two home runs, Wong also had a pair of singles, drove in three runs, and scored twice. Wong's batting average is now up to .370 on the season, with five home runs (all in his last 10 games), 11 RBI, and seven runs scored. The backstop doesn't draw many walks, however, with just one walk compared to 15 strikeouts so far this season. Regardless, he ranks as the seventh-highest scoring catcher in Yahoo leagues as of now, so is certainly a useful fantasy asset, although the 27-year-old has been splitting time with Reese McGuire to start the year. McGuire is getting the start in Thursday's day game against the Guardians.

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger picked up his second save in four days in Wednesday's 7-5 victory over the Tigers. With closer Pete Fairbanks on the IL, Cleavinger has been used to close out games and has been successful so far in doing so. It was thought that this would be a closer-by-committee situation, but Jason Adam was used in the seventh and eighth innings in Wednesday's game, while Colin Poche blew a save opportunity on Tuesday, so Cleavinger might be the front runner for save opportunities at this point. These two saves were Cleavinger's first two of his career, so he has no prior experience in the role, but has a solid 2.53 ERA so far on the season and has struck out 14 batters in 10 2/3 IP. The command could use some work, as he's walked nine batters thus far including one in the ninth inning on Wednesday, but so far it hasn't been a real problem for him. The 30-year-old could get a handful more save opportunities with Fairbanks on the shelf, and could be picked up in most leagues for managers in need of saves.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones (back) is out of the team's starting lineup on Wednesday against the visiting San Diego Padres after he was pulled from Tuesday's victory with back stiffness. With Jones resting on the bench, Jake Cave is getting the start in left field for the Rockies and will hit eighth against Padres right-hander Matt Waldron. Jones should be considered day-to-day for now, but with a day game on Thursday before a scheduled day off on Friday, don't expect the 25-year-old to return in the series against the Friars. After hitting an impressive .297 (109-for-367) with 20 homers, 62 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 106 games in 2023, Jones has really disappointed early in 2024 with a .148 average (13-for-88), just one home run, seven RBI and two steals in his first 24 games. He could use a couple days off.

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said that the plan for now is to play Joey Gallo in right field after the team placed outfielder Lane Thomas (knee) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a Grade 2 MLB sprain in his left knee. Rookie infielder Trey Lipscomb, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester, will play multiple positions but probably a decent amount of first base. Gallo is making his first start in the outfield on Wednesday and is hitting fifth against Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed rookie Landon Knack. The 30-year-old left-handed batter has plenty of power offensively, but he swings and misses often and is hitting just .143 (9-for-63) on the year with three home runs, five RBI and 34 strikeouts in 79 plate appearances over 20 games.

Detroit Tigers closer Jason Foley stayed perfect in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rays, earning his seventh save. Foley came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two and delivered a 1-2-3 performance with a strikeout. The 28-year-old has had a spotless start to the season, converting all of his save opportunities with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA, a 9.00 K/9 rate, and a 4.91 BB/9 rate. The walk rate is higher than fantasy managers would prefer, but everything else has been fantastic.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King did not last long in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Rockies. King pitched just 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits (including a grand slam) and three walks with five strikeouts. The 38-year-old has had an up-and-down start to the season with his new team, going 2-2 with a 4.11 ERA, a 9.98 K/9 rate, and a 5.28 BB/9 rate in five starts. He will look to rebound in his next start in a tougher matchup against the Phillies.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones (back) exited Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Padres early with a stiff back, per MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The 25-year-old went 1-for-4 with a single, an RBI, and a strikeout before being replaced by Jake Cave. Fantasy managers should keep an eye out for further updates, but Jones can be considered day-to-day for now. He has been highly disappointing to start the season, slashing just .148/.219/.250 in 96 plate appearances.

Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson is getting his first day off of the season on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Torkelson made it 23 games before getting his first day of rest in 2024, and he's currently hitting .231/.311/.319 with a league-leading eight doubles, no home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored in 104 plate appearances. Mark Canha is getting the start at first base and will hit third for the Tigers, while Riley Greene is the designated hitter and batting leadoff against Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot. It's pretty concerning that Torkelson, the former first overall pick in 2020 out of Arizona State, has yet to clear the bases so far this year. Neither Canha nor Greene have faced Pepiot in their careers.

The Cincinnati Reds have activated left-handed reliever Sam Moll (shoulder) from the injured list on Tuesday. Moll began the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement. The left-hander went 2-3 with a 3.03 ERA last season with the Reds in 70 games, including one start. By activating Moll, Cincinnati optioned right-handed pitcher Casey Legumina.

Outfielder Estevan Florial is in the starting lineup and batting seventh as the designated hitter for the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. Florian last played on April 19 and went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run. The left-handed hitter will be facing right-handed pitcher Tanner Houck, who is starting for Boston. This season, Florial is slashing .235/.316/.500 with two home runs and four RBI in 13 games for the Guardians.

Detroit Tigers second baseman Andy Ibanez (hamstring) had a full workout at second base on Tuesday, according to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Ibanez has been on the injured list due to a left-hamstring strain, and the reports indicate the second baseman looked to be moving well. Ibanez played in five games for the Tigers this season before the injury and was slashing .267/.235/.267.

Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias converted his seventh save of the season in Monday's 3-0 win over the Marlins. Iglesias came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with a strikeout. The 34-year-old veteran has converted all of his save opportunities with a 2.16 ERA, a 6.48 K/9 rate, and a 1.08 BB/9 rate. The strikeouts have been down, but Iglesias should continue to be a higher-end fantasy option serving as the closer on one of baseball's best teams.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack earned his first win of the season in Monday's 7-0 game against the White Sox. Paddack took advantage of a favorable matchup, pitching seven innings while allowing six hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts. Despite this good start, the 28-year-old's return to the starting rotation has not been very successful. He is now 1-1 with a 5.57 ERA in his first four starts. While he was a fantasy prospect early in his career, fantasy managers should wait to see more consistency from him before trusting him. Paddack will look to build on his success in a decent matchup at the Angels.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe (oblique) started a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham over the weekend and hit a home run in his second game back on Saturday with a Statcast-projected 106.4 mph, 403-foot shot to right-center field. He finished the game 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI for the Bulls. The 26-year-old strained his right oblique during spring training and was forced to open the year on the injured list. Lowe is expected back around early May, and there's no reason he should be on your league's waiver wire after breaking out in 2023 with 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases. When Lowe is able to return to Tampa, Amed Rosario and Richie Palacios will likely be hurt the most in terms of playing time in the Rays' outfield. Lowe essentially needs a full spring training's worth of at-bats to get ready.