Pirates fortify bullpen mix with Luke Weaver

Cox has taken advantage of his opportunity with the rebuilding Giants, hitting .313 (15-for-48) with three homers and five steals in 18 games since returning from the minors on August 14. The unheralded 25-year-old rookie offers an interesting power and speed blend for fantasy purposes and should be rostered in deeper formats, especially since he appears poised to continue batting near the top of San Francisco’s lineup for the final three-plus weeks of the season.

Walker heads back to the minors to open a spot in San Francisco’s bullpen for waiver claim Joel Kuhnel. The 30-year-old former high-leverage reliever is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and could wind up being a non-tender candidate.

Stowers is at DH and hitting leadoff following a brief one-game absence due to hamstring tightness. The 28-year-old corner outfielder is batting .303 (10-for-33) with two homers and seven RBI across 10 games since returning from the injured list back on August 24.

Caissie missed time earlier this week with neck spasms, but has been available off the bench. The 24-year-old is in right field and hitting sixth against his former team in Miami on Saturday afternoon.

Assad draws the starting assignment for Saturday’s game against the Marlins. It’s a decent matchup and a favorable ballpark. However, Assad hasn’t been a trustworthy option for fantasy managers over the last few months and doesn’t offer any strikeout upside. He’s posted a respectable 3.46 ERA and 55/21 K/BB ratio across 83 1/3 innings in the majors this season.

Ferguson returns to the minors to make room for Javier Assad to come up and start Saturday’s game against the Marlins. The 32-year-old made one relief appearance after being called up earlier this week.

Burnes, who reportedly hit 93 mph during this latest session, has continued steadily increasing his pitch count after making a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Reno last weekend. The 31-year-old is roughly 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery and a teres major muscle strain that cropped up during his rehabilitation process. There’s a chance he returns to the majors to take the ball at some point during Arizona’s three-game series against the Royals next week. There should be additional clarity on his next steps before the end of the weekend. Simply put, he’s close. Given his track record, Burnes is worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues.

Montes underwent precautionary X-rays that came back negative for any fractures after crashing into the right-center field wall during Friday’s contest against the Athletics. The 21-year-old rookie slugger, who is hitting .273 (3-for-11) with one homer and three RBI in three games since being called up earlier this week, appears to have avoided serious injury, which is the most encouraging news here. He’s likely to receive some additional time off to rest and recover this weekend.

Ryan, who threw 42 pitches during a minor league rehab start for Triple-A St. Paul earlier this week, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. MLB.com’s Matthew Leach notes that Minnesota’s pitchers typically throw a bullpen session two days before their next start and Monday is an off-day in the minors. He’s been out with a glute strain since early August and would likely be on a strict pitch count in his return. There should be a definitive update on Ryan’s next steps at some point this weekend, but it certainly sounds like he could get the ball on Monday at Comerica Park. The club hasn’t announced their rotation plans for the series. Connor Prielipp would be in line to start if Ryan doesn’t come off the shelf.

The exact timing remains unclear with Shelton adding that they’re trying to figure out a way for Buxton to contribute at some point before the regular season concludes. It certainly sounds like Buxton, who has been battling lingering hip issues for the past few months, can be safely dropped in all redraft fantasy leagues. There should be a definitive update regarding the exact type of procedure and recovery timeline at some point in the early stages of the offseason.