Crawford will be officially added to Philadelphia’s active roster in advance of next week’s season-opener. The 22-year-old top prospect will open the season as the Phillies’ starting center fielder after batting .334/.411/.452 with seven homers and 46 steals in 112 games at the Triple-A level last year. His stolen base potential gives him immediate relevance in deeper fantasy formats, although he’s likely to bat near the bottom of the order at the outset of the season, which limits his realistic across-the-board ceiling. He’s a talent worth rostering in deeper leagues.

Mayo adds that the two sides have discussed a potential nine-year deal worth more than $100 million. Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, was the talk of the Grapefruit League earlier this spring and remains in the mix to break camp as Pittsburgh’s starting shortstop. The 19-year-old phenom would become just the 18th teenage position player to reach the majors in the past 40 years, and only the sixth since 2005, according to Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. He would be the first to debut on Opening Day since Ken Griffey Jr. back in 1989. A long-term agreement would remove any financial obstacles to him starting the year in the big leagues. His sky-high power/speed combo following a 20-homer, 60-steal campaign in the minors last year gives him one of the highest ceilings of any player available outside the early rounds of fantasy drafts this spring.

That had been a foregone conclusion for a while now, but is now official. The bigger question will be whether he or Taijuan Walker gets bumped once Zack Wheeler (shoulder) is ready to return. Cristopher Sanchez will work on Opening Day for the Phillies and will be followed by Aaron Nola. Jesus Luzardo, Walker and Painter in that order.

Brandon Woodruff would have likely received the honor if he were fully healthy, but his status for the start of the season is still in question. Misiorowski, 23, has registered a 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 12/3 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings during Cactus League play this spring.

Crews seemed very likely to not only make the Nationals out of spring training coming into Grapefruit League action, but to be a part of the lineup. He’s looked horrendous in Florida, however, and the 24-year-old will begin the year in Rochester. There’s still upside in his bat in the long-term, but fantasy managers can safely ignore Crews to begin 2026.

Obviously, Joel Sherman is not a member of the Mets’ front office, so he does not have an official say, but he has been covering the Mets for long enough that it’s worth noting when he makes a declarative statement like this. It doesn’t hurt that Benge has hit .406/.472/.500 in 11 games this spring, and the Mets don’t have another candidate to really push him for the starting right field job aside from Mike Tauchman. While many fantasy managers are focused on Kevin McGonigle and Konnor Griffin, Benge also should likely be drafted in a similar range after hitting .281/.385/.472 with 15 home runs and 22 steals across 116 minor league games last season.

Mendoza said Alvarez will “go through a workout today and swing the bat, and if all goes well, the plan is still for him to be back in the starting lineup tomorrow.” Looks like the Mets and fantasy managers avoided any real trouble here.

Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the game that Alvarez was lifted for precautionary reasons and that if had been the regular season he would have continued playing. While it doesn’t sound like anything to worry about, he will be re-evaluated on Friday. It’s at least something that fantasy managers should keep an eye on.

Most of the Wheeler updates have been positive this offseason, but this will be his first game action. The former fantasy ace continues to look likely to return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery sometime in mid- to late-April and will likely start the year on the injured list. He’ll be limited to 40 pitches in the outing.

Yesavage’s build up has been slow all offseason, and this helps explain why. He arrived to camp with the injury, per Schneider. He’s not slated to stop throwing, so it’s possible this is just a minor delay for Yesavage’s 2026 season. He’ll throw off a mound again next week. Eric Lauer will likely take Yesavage’s rotation spot in the early season.