Clay Holmes, Kevin Gausman to start vs. Royals

It sounds like there’s a decent chance that Greene is back for Monday’s series opener against the division-rival Twins. The 25-year-old run-producer has been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since early August. He’ll get in a pair of minor league contests over the weekend before the Tigers make a decision on his next steps. They could certainly use his formidable bat back in the middle of their lineup.

It sounds highly unlikely that Ohtani will make his return to Los Angeles’ rotation this weekend based on Roberts adding that the two-way superstar isn’t feeling 100 percent physically due to ongoing left knee and right biceps issues. The club is expected to make a final decision following Saturday afternoon’s contest in Detroit. Regardless, it’ll be Tyler Glasnow doing the heavy lifting on Sunday. The general expectation remains that Ohtani will return to the Dodgers’ rotation in the near future, but it doesn’t sound imminent after Friday’s abbreviated bullpen session didn’t go exactly as anticipated. Simply put, the franchise can’t really afford to take any chances with the postseason right around the corner. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

The pitcher they call “Tugboat” will presumably come up as the 27th man and draw the starting assignment from the front-end of Saturday’s doubleheader at Oracle Park. The 23-year-old allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings across a pair of appearances earlier this month. He misses enough bats to be interesting from a long-term standpoint, but he’s not a recommended fantasy option at this stage of his career.

It’s an extremely challenging matchup for Montero, who gets the ball on extra rest against a loaded Dodgers’ lineup at Comerica Park. The 26-year-old has hit a little bit of a rough patch in recent weeks, but has still delivered a solid 3.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 89/30 K/BB ratio across 133 2/3 innings this season. It’s absolutely a risky spot, but Montero is worth trusting in deeper fantasy leagues.

Valencia gets a look behind the plate for Saturday afternoon’s matinee in the Motor City with Dillon Dingler getting a break from the field at DH. The 26-year-old rookie backstop has cooled off in recent weeks, but he’s still hitting .333 (24-for-72) with six homers and 17 RBI in 25 games since early July.

There was some social media chatter late Friday that Anthony and Trevor Story (abdomen) would potentially return for Saturday’s doubleheader against the Yankees. That isn’t happening. There’s a chance that the pair return for Sunday’s series finale in New York based on comments from interim manager Chad Tracy on Friday, but that decision won’t be made until after Saturday’s twin bill. There’s understandably plenty of excitement to see Anthony back in Boston’s lineup, but they obviously want to make sure he’s 100 percent ready before bringing him back, especially since he hasn’t played in the big leagues since May 4.

Jones receives an opportunity to face Yankees veteran southpaw Carlos Rodón in the front-end of Saturday’s twin bill in New York. It’s just his third start since the beginning of August. His only real path to a potential postseason roster spot with the Red Sox is to show he can do damage against left-handed pitching.

Burgos provides Boston with another left-handed weapon out of the bullpen to combat New York’s southpaw-heavy lineup. The 27-year-old has give up only three runs over 10 innings of work across three relief appearances for the Red Sox this season.

Whitlock returns to Boston’s high-leverage mix for Saturday’s critical doubleheader against the division-rival Yankees. The 30-year-old setup specialist wound up requiring just a minimum stay on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He’s forged a sparkling 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49/7 K/BB ratio across 44 innings of work this season.

Olds collected his first career win and allowed just four runs across six innings of work in his first taste of the majors after being promoted earlier this month. The 27-year-old rookie figures to return in a couple weeks as middle relief depth.