The writing was on the wall after Painter was torched for six runs over two innings during Wednesday’s blowout loss to the Marlins. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect has a bright future but he’s struggled mightily in his first opportunity in the majors, posting a bloated 7.06 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 53/24 K/BB ratio across 65 innings. He earns a ticket back to the minors after allowing five runs in three consecutive starts since June 6. He can be safely dropped in all re-draft fantasy formats at this juncture.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman adds that Atlanta is going to exercise a fair bit of caution with Acuña’s rehabilitation process since the hamstring injury is in the same spot as the previous strain that kept him sidelined for three weeks earlier this season. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain last week. It’s hardly an official return timetable, but it sounds like fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate Acuña returning until after next month’s All-Star break.

DeLauter will require some extra time off to rest and recover after imaging earlier this week revealed a bone bruise and a small fracture in his right ribs. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt expressed optimism on Tuesday that DeLauter could potentially be able to manage the injury and play through it, but the club has opted against taking that route. The 24-year-old has cooled off considerably after a surreal start to the year, but has still put together a sensation rookie campaign so far, slashing .263/.337/.408 with seven homers and two steals in 270 plate appearances in 66 games. There is no timetable for his return but fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate a lengthy absence.

Scherzer was scheduled to start Wednesday’s contest against the Red Sox at Fenway Park after reaching the 3,500 strikeout milestone his last time out against the Phillies. It’s fair to wonder whether Toronto should continue committing a rotation spot to Scherzer since he’s posted a calamitous 10.23 ERA and 13/12 K/BB ratio across 22 innings this season. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer is likely to miss at least a couple weeks. It’ll be Chad Dallas coming up to take the ball for a bulk relief appearance against Boston in his place.

Stewart served as Cincinnati’s primary offensive catalyst in this one, socking a tone-setting three-run homer off Mets starter Kodai Senga in the opening frame. It was his 14th long ball of the season and second time leaving the yard in his last seven games. He also delivered a key insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Schwarber ripped a line-drive into the right-field seats off Marlins starter Tyler Phillips in the fourth inning while making his first appearance at the cold corner since October 20, 2021. Amazingly he didn’t have a single ball hit in his direction during the contest. The 33-year-old power-hitter has just three round-trippers since the calendar flipped to June, but he’s hitting over .300 during that 14-game span. That’ll do.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.

Ramírez underwent surgery to remove the hook of his fractured left hamate bone after suffering the injury on a swing during last Saturday’s game against the division-rival Tigers. The 33-year-old perennial fantasy force will be on the shelf until at least late July. He was hitting .239/.339/.418 with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 33 RBI and 24 stolen bases across 314 plate appearances in 72 games, delivering top-five overall fantasy value at the hot corner. It’ll be challenging for fantasy managers to replace Ramírez’s contributions, but at least he’ll make it back sometime after next month’s All-Star break.

Not good. Palencia will presumably undergo an MRI to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. There should be a clear return timetable at some point later this week. The hard-throwing 26-year-old stopper has converted all three of his save chances and holds a 2.70 ERA and 19/6 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings this season. He missed a couple weeks earlier this season with a lat strain. It’ll likely be some combination of Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton handling the closing duties in his absence. It’s probably a complete stay-away for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep formats.

Raleigh returns to Seattle’s lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles following a one-month absence recovering from a right oblique strain. The 29-year-old slugging backstop seemed to unlock something with his swing during his minor league rehab stint where he went 6-for-14 with five homers across four games at Triple-A Tacoma. He broke nearly every single-season offensive record for a catcher last year and could be in line for a monster second half if he’s rediscovered his previously elite form at the dish.