Royals add Scott Alexander on minors contract

Guerrero returns to Toronto’s lineup for Saturday’s early-afternoon matinee against the Yankees following a one-week absence due to a concussion. The positive news is that he cleared final concussion protocol after reaching base safely in all three plate appearances during a minor league rehab game for Low-A Dunedin earlier this week. He’s gone more than a calendar year without homering in the Rogers Centre and holds a calamitous .693 OPS with seven homers in 115 games heading into the final five weeks of the season.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.

This qualifies as an all-time unexpected late-season development. Woodruff told reporters last month that he was undergoing season-ending capsule surgery on his right shoulder. That didn’t end up happening after followup imaging showed better than expected healing to the point that Dr. Keith Meister told him that surgery wasn’t required. He’ll begin a five-week throwing progression next week with the aim of being ready to pitch for Milwaukee in the postseason. Unreal. He won’t be ready in time to help fantasy managers down the home stretch, but his unexpected return would be a massive development for the Brewers heading into the playoffs.

Bellinger told reporters he’ll return later this weekend after playing six innings in left field during a minor league rehab game for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre on Friday. The 31-year-old will make it back to New York’s lineup after missing exactly one month with a left hamstring strain. His return should have a significant impact for the Yankees over the final five weeks of the season.

Stanton is in obvious jeopardy of missing the remaining five weeks of the season after straining a calf muscle for the third time since late April. It’s completely fair to question whether Stanton, heading into his age-37 campaign next year, will be able to stay healthy enough to have any sort of impact for New York. He still has two years and $30 million left on the mega-deal that he signed with the Marlins back in 2015.

Chisholm has been scuffling in recent weeks, hitting .188 (18-for-96) with four homers and seven steals in 28 games since last month’s All-Star break. He’s been ice-cold recently, batting only .148 (8-for-54) with two extra-base hits in 17 games since the beginning of August. He’ll continue to be penciled into the lower third of New York’s lineup card, especially with Cody Bellinger (hamstring) and Aaron Judge (rib) expected to return soon.

Hernández predictably went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He’ll stick around as emergency organizational depth after posting an underwhelming 5.68 ERA across 21 1/3 innings for the Dodgers this season.

Pirates manager Don Kelly told reporters it went well when Griffin began swinging a bat for the first time since suffering a torn sagittal band in his left ring finger nearly two months ago. The 20-year-old is expected to ramp up baseball activities over the next few weeks with the aim of returning to Pittsburgh’s lineup at some point in early September. He’s one of, if not the most, impactful stash candidates in the entire fantasy landscape heading into the final five weeks of the season given his tremendous raw talent.

Francona didn’t rule it out entirely, but noted that his odds of returning are “lessening” as he’s not expected to resume swinging until early October. At this point, there’s zero reason for fantasy managers in redraft leagues to continue holding onto Steer. He’s been on the injured list with a right wrist sprain since late July.

Thorpe struck out six, issued two walks and threw 83 pitches (51 strikes) during his sixth minor league rehab outing since late July. He’s in the final stages of his rehabilitation from last year’s Tommy John surgery and figures to be in the mix to help the White Sox at some point in late August or early September. He’s a name to watch in deeper mixed leagues given his former top pitching prospect status.