Boston Red Sox infielder Enmanuel Valdez has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester with Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) likely to make his Red Sox debut on Friday against the Minnesota Twins. The 25-year-old struggled mightily at the plate to begin the season, hitting just .156 with two homers and just a 4.1% walk rate against a bloated 30.6% strikeout rate across 98 trips to the plate. His 18 wRC+ suggests his offensive production was a whopping 82% below the league average. Valdez was much better in his big-league debut last season, when he hit .266 with six homers, five stolen bases, and a 102 wRC+ across 49 games and 149 trips to the plate.

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Detroit Tigers right-hander Reese Olson will take the bump to start Friday's series opener versus the New York Yankees. The 24-year-old has enjoyed a nice start to his season, tossing a 3.18 ERA across his first five starts and 28 1/3 innings of work, although his 4.09 SIERA suggests some regression may be on the horizon. Nonetheless, Olson has been one of the most unlucky pitchers in the game from a win/loss standpoint as he has allowed just four earned runs over his last three starts and has managed to take the loss in each of those outings. He worked seven innings of one-run ball while striking out eight in his last start against the Royals but failed to gain a single run of offensive support.

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New York Mets reliever Brooks Raley will not return to the club when first eligible from the injured list on Sunday, according to skipper Carlos Mendoza. Mendoza said "We're going to take it slow" in regards to Raley's left elbow inflammation. The southpaw has been excellent to begin the season, working seven scoreless innings across eight appearances thus far, punching out nine of the 25 batters he has faced in that time (36% K%). It's another big-time performance for the 35-year-old who tossed a 2.80 ERA across 66 outings with the team last season and a 2.68 ERA across 60 outings with the Rays in the 2022 campaign.

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The Los Angeles Angels have released outfielder Aaron Hicks after he was designated for assignment just two days ago. Originally slated for every day playing duties, Hicks struggled mightily in his brief time with the club, hitting just .140 with a homer and a massive 36.5% K% across 63 trips to the plate. The ugly stint with the Angels is an unfortunate drop from what Hicks was able to do to revitalize his career after a move to the Orioles last season. Following a slow start with the Yankees, Hicks hit .275 with seven homers, six steals, and an .806 OPS across 65 games with the Orioles a season ago. He is now free to sign with any team.

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Houston Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti will be looking for some improvement when he takes the mound to take on the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. The 24-year-old has been rocked for 13 earned runs through three starts and 10 2/3 innings to begin his big-league career, good for a 10.97 ERA. While his 12.1% BB% leaves much to be desired, Arrighetti also sports a 4.14 xFIP, 4.06 SIERA, and a strong 25.9% K%, suggesting he hasn't been nearly as bad as his surface ERA indicates. The issues with the free passes and big-time strikeout numbers are a continuation from his minor-league career, however, giving fantasy managers a baseline of what to expect from the youngster.

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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler (elbow) will make his return from Tommy John surgery on Monday to face the Miami Marlins, according to manager Dave Roberts. Buehler will come off the 15-day injured for his first start of 2024 after having elbow reconstruction in August of 2022. The 29-year-old didn't pitch at all in the big leagues last year. Because of his long layoff, fantasy managers may want to temper expectations, but if Buehler returns to his pre-injury form, he could be the difference-maker for fantasy staffs. In his six minor-league starts, he had a 4.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP with nine walks and 21 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Rust should be expected from Buehler, but his first start against Miami will be a great matchup for fantasy purposes.

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New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (illness) is out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs after being pulled from Wednesday's contest due to flu-like symptoms. Joey Wendle is back at shortstop and will hit eighth for the Mets against Cubs right-hander Ben Brown. This will be Lindor's first game starting on the bench in 2024. Fantasy managers will want to check back on Friday to see if the 30-year-old is feeling good enough to play on Friday for the start of a series in Tampa against the Rays. Wendle will be a very low-ceiling, deep-sleeper option for DFS gamers on Thursday, as he's hitting just .222 (6-for-27) on the year with no homers, one RBI and a stolen base in limited action for the Mets.

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The New York Yankees reinstated outfielder Alex Verdugo from the paternity list on Thursday and optioned catcher Carlos Narvaez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move. Verdugo is back in Thursday's lineup after missing the last three games. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter is starting in left field and is batting sixth against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish, who is making his season debut for the O's. He'll return to face a pitcher that he's had some pretty good success against, as he's hit .368 with an .894 OPS and three RBI in 19 career at-bats against Bradish. In his first 101 at-bats with the Yankees, Verdugo has 27 hits (four home runs), 13 RBI, one stolen base and 17 runs scored in 29 contests.

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Baltimore Orioles left-hander John Means (forearm), who was activated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, will make his 2024 season debut on Saturday against the Reds in Cincinnati. Although the 31-year-old lefty has been bothered by injuries in recent seasons, he's worth a flier in mixed fantasy leagues now that he's back in Baltimore's starting rotation. The matchup in Cincinnati against the Reds in his first start isn't the greatest spot to roll him out there, but his final minor-league rehab start should have fantasy managers encouraged that he can transfer it into his first big-league start of the year. Means struck out eight over seven shutout innings for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. He was an All-Star for the O's back in 2019 and placed second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting that season.

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Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Hays (calf) said his left calf feels much better and he has run the past few days. He is running the bases and doing some hitting on Thursday, but he's unsure if he'll need to go on a brief minor-league rehab assignment. Not only is the 28-year-old on the 10-day injured list with a left-calf strain, but before his injury, he had fallen out of favor in Baltimore's outfield due to the impressive start for rookie outfielder Colton Cowser. Since his placement on the IL, the O's also called up top outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad, although Kjerstad could be sent back to the minors once Hays is ready to return. Hays is currently hitting just .111 (5-for-45) with no homers and two RBI, and he'll almost certainly return to a bench role when he's eventually reinstated.

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Miami Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo (elbow) threw a successful bullpen session on Thursday, but he won't be accompanying the team on their upcoming road trip that starts on Friday. Instead, Luzardo will make a minor-league rehab start at some point. If the 26-year-old southpaw has a successful rehab outing in the minors, he could return from the 15-day injured list and start when he's eligible to return on May 10 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He's trying to return from a mild left flexor strain and should remain rostered in all fantasy formats despite a disappointing start to the year. Through his first five starts in 2024, Luzardo has gone 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA (5.06 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP while walking 13 and striking out 27 in 26 innings pitched.

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The Baltimore Orioles reinstated right-hander Kyle Bradish (elbow) from the 15-day injured list on Thursday and designated right-hander Yohan Ramirez for assignment in a corresponding move. Bradish is making the start on Thursday in the series finale against the visiting New York Yankees. First of all, if Bradish is available on your league's waiver wire, run there and scoop him up immediately. The 27-year-old is finally back after being diagnosed with a sprained UCL in his right elbow in spring training. While he should be rostered in all fantasy leagues after his mini breakout in 2023, managers should be hesitant to throw him right into the fire against a strong Yankees lineup after he threw only 77 pitches in his final minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk. Bradish had a strong 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with a 168:44 K:BB in 168 2/3 innings last year.

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Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase recorded his ninth save of the season on Wednesday in a 3-2 victory over the Astros. With the Guardians up one run in the tenth inning and a runner on second to begin the inning, Clase needed just five pitches to end the game. The righty struck out the first batter he saw on four pitches, then got the Astros' Mauricio Dubon to line out on one pitch with Victor Caratini getting doubled off at second base to end the game. The 26-year-old now sports a superb 0.55 ERA on the season with a 0.80 WHIP and a 25.4% K-BB% to go along with his nine saves. After posting 40-plus saves in each of the past two seasons with solid ERA and WHIP numbers, Clase appears poised to do it all over again this season.

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Miami Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson (thumb), who was scratched from Wednesday's lineup due to a mild left-thumb sprain that he suffered on Monday, is back at shortstop and is hitting sixth for the Fish on Thursday against the visiting Colorado Rockies and right-hander Peter Lambert. The 30-year-old veteran missed the last two games but is now back in there and is ready to go. After falling off a cliff in his final year with the Chicago White Sox in 2023, Anderson has continued to disappoint fantasy managers so far with a .221/.267/.253 slash line with no home runs, five RBI, three stolen bases and eight runs scored in the first month of the season. Hopefully, we start to see some signs of a turnaround from Anderson in May.

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Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker hit a 422-foot home run in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Guardians, a solo shot in the seventh inning off of Guardians starter Triston McKenzie. It was the lefty's eighth home run of the year and third in his past four games. It also extended his hitting streak to seven games and he's hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 16-for-44 (.364) over the 12-game stretch while raising his season batting average to .298. The 2x All-Star has also walked more than he's struck out this season, with 21 walks to 20 strikeouts. It seems his early-season discrepancy between BA and xBA is starting to even out with the 27-year-old making another push for an All-Star selection and possibly an MVP-caliber season.

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There aren't many players seeing the ball as well as Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan right now, as he picked up three hits in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Astros, raising his season average to .360 and extending his personal hitting streak to seven games. During the hit streak, the 26-year-old is 11-for-28 (.393) with a double, two triples, a home run, four RBI, six runs scored, and a stolen base. He's also walked three times and remarkably hasn't struck out even once. His Contact% of 93.1% for the season is tops in the majors for players with at least 100 plate appearances, and with three home runs on the year, he is on pace to set a new personal best with the lefty's six home runs in 2022 his current career high.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith continued his success against left-handed pitching in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Diamondbacks when he hit his fourth home run of the season off of left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery. The solo shot was his only hit in the game, finishing 1-for-5, but he's now got three homers in his last five games. The 29-year-old is mashing lefties this season, now slashing .425/.489/.725 against them (.314/.338/.457 vs RHP) with six doubles, two home runs, and a 6:5 BB:K. He remains one of the top options at catcher for season-long fantasy so continue to fire him up there, but certainly take a closer look at him for DFS purposes on days when he's facing a southpaw.

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Despite a strong performance from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson collected three of the five hits that the righty allowed in the outing, with Pederson ending the game 3-for-4. Although all three hits were singles and the D-backs were unable to scratch across even one run in the contest, Pederson was able to raise his batting average to .317 while increasing his OBP to .451, which is second-best in baseball to only NL MVP front-runner Mookie Betts. The inflated OBP is also due in part to his robust 15.7% BB% on the season. The 32-year-old has shown a little pop too, with six doubles and two home runs in 2024.

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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Arizona Diamondback bats in check in Wednesday's 8-0 victory, picking up his third win of the season. The 25-year-old pitched six scoreless frames, allowing five hits and walking two while striking out five. He now owns a strong 2.91 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through seven starts, although excluding his first start of the season where he allowed five earned runs it would be a 1.64 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over the last six starts. The righty continues to look as good as advertised and takes on a Marlins team in his next start that is currently 8-24 while scoring the seventh-fewest runs in the league so far in 2024.

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The Chicago White Sox have promoted pitcher Jared Schuster on Wednesday. Shuster was one of the many players acquired from the Atlanta Braves this offseason for Aaron Bummer. It will be his second go-around at the big-league level this season with him tossing 6 1/3 innings earlier in the year out of the bullpen. Shuster fared well with four strikeouts and no walks with one run allowed. Shuster has struggled with a 6.39 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Charlotte, but it is expected that he will work out of the bullpen for the White Sox. He can safely remain on the waiver wire in all formats.

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