Royals place Stephen Kolek on paternity list

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Dylan Crews taking over in center field with José Tena entering the lineup at DH. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Beck gets the nod to replace an injured Carlos Rodón (elbow) in New York’s rotation. The 27-year-old allowed two runs over three innings during a bulk relief outing against the Rangers in his major-league debut back on May 7. He’s posted an encouraging 3.07 ERA across 88 innings at the Triple-A level this season. He’s not a recommended option for fantasy purposes.

Ober kicked off a rehab assignment by allowing three runs over 3 1/3 innings for High-A Cedar Rapids last Sunday. The 30-year-old starter is working his way back from a mild flexor strain that put him on the shelf back in late May. He figures to be ready to rejoin Minnesota’s pitching mix at some point in early-to-mid July. His fantasy appeal is limited to deeper mixed leagues as a matchup-dependent back-end rotation arm.

Stratton rejoins Pittsburgh’s low-leverage relief mix with Evan Sisk hitting the injured list with elbow inflammation. The 29-year-old was reacquired from the Braves in the Joey Bart trade last month. He made 47 appearances for the Pirates from 2023-2025.

Sisk hits the shelf after posting a strong 2.23 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 43/13 K/BB ratio across 36 1/3 innings for the Pirates since mid-April. No word yet regarding how much time he’ll miss.

Valdez has been on a tear since returning to the majors back on June 11, hitting .411 (19-for-46) with four homers and 11 RBI across 15 games. The most encouraging aspect of his recent performance is that he’s struck out just a shade over 25 percent of the time during that span. The 22-year-old projects as a streaky power hitter given his strikeout issues in the upper minors. However, he’s in a groove right now and should continue batting in the heart of Pittsburgh’s lineup. Those factors alone make him a worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats.

It’ll be lefty Carson Palmquist taking the ball as Washington’s opener before turning things over to Littell for an extended relief outing. The 30-year-old veteran has routinely pitched behind an opener this season and boasts a pedestrian 5.29 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 49/25 K/BB ratio across 80 innings of work. He’s not a recommended fantasy option, especially with temperatures hovering in the triple-digits at Nationals Park during this Fourth of July mid-day affair.

Trout went through his normal pregame routine prior to Friday’s showdown against the visiting Red Sox at Angel Stadium and appears on track to return next week without requiring a rehab assignment. The 34-year-old generational talent has been recovering from a hamstring strain that put him on the shelf back on June 18. It also looks increasingly likely that the New Jersey native will be ready for the upcoming Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia in mid-July. If so, it would mark his 12th career All-Star selection and first appearance since 2019.

Venable didn’t offer an exact timeline for Murakami to kick off a rehab assignment, adding that he’ll need to run the bases before he’s officially cleared. The original expectation was that he would miss 4-6 weeks after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain back in late May. The fact that he’s progressed to on-field hitting means he’s getting close to game action again. There should be a definitive update on his status in the coming days. Fantasy managers should anticipate Murakami making it back to Chicago sometime around this month’s All-Star break.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters the move was merely precautionary after Simpson jammed his fingers sliding into second base earlier this week. He’s day-to-day heading into the final two games of a series against the Astros this weekend.