Boone: Fried/Warren could piggyback next start

Kranick lost his spot with Washington after allowing 19 runs over 18 1/3 innings since returning from the injured list in mid-July. The 29-year-old reliever will presumably stick around with the Nationals to wrap up the season.

Hernández allowed two runs over three innings during a pair of relief outings for Cleveland after being called up at the start of the month. The 29-year-old righty has made 193 career appearances dating back to 2020.

Bethancourt didn’t end up making an appearance for the Pirates after being brought up in early September. The 35-year-old journeyman backstop has appeared in 428 games in the majors since 2013.

Yesavage, who threw a 34-pitch bullpen session in Florida on Monday, figures to make it back to Toronto’s pitching equation before the regular season concludes, but he’s at least a few steps away based on his throwing progression. The 23-year-old starter underwent left knee meniscus surgery back in early August. It sounds like he’s going to need at least one minor league rehab start next week before he’s an option for the Blue Jays again.

The forgotten man in Toronto, Santander has played just 54 games over the last two seasons combined due to shoulder issues. The 31-year-old slugger is unlikely to make much of a fantasy impact over the final few weeks of the season considering how much time he’s missed. He’ll need at least a handful of rehab games before he’s ready to return to the majors.

Start spreading the news. Judge is back. The 34-year-old generational talent returns for Tuesday’s series opener against the Rockies in New York following a three-month absence recovering from a rib fracture. His return should obviously have a massive impact for the Yankees, and fantasy managers as well, over the final three weeks of the regular season.

Hampton was one of New York’s brightest pitching prospect before an avalanche of elbow injuries derailed his trajectory. The 25-year-old has struggled to a disastrous 9.59 ERA across 11 starts for Double-A Somerset this season. Hampton is young enough that there could be another organization out there willing to roll the dice on him as a reclamation project.

Merrill supplied a pair of key run-scoring hits for San Diego with two outs in the first and third innings, respectively, which made the difference in a low-scoring affair at Petco Park. The 23-year-old has put together a nice stretch at the plate recently, hitting .263 (15-for-57) with three homers, nine RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. He’s on pace to establish career-high marks in both the home run and stolen base departments after injuries limited him to just 115 games last year following his impressive rookie campaign.

Crews was responsible for nearly half of Washington’s five hits during a low-scoring series opener out in San Diego. The 24-year-old former top prospect took lefty reliever Kyle Hart deep in the sixth inning for his 11th big fly of the season. He also singled against Padres elite closer Mason Miller to put the potential game-tying run on-base in the final frame. He hasn’t offered much from a batting average standpoint, but Crews continues to show a little bit of the power/speed combo skillset that made him such a coveted fantasy prospect just a few years ago.

It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that Tatis has been one of the more impactful hitters in the fantasy landscape during the second half, batting .296 (55-for-186) with 15 home runs and nine steals in 47 games since the All-Star break. The dynamic 27-year-old outfielder has already notched his fourth 20-homer, 20-steal campaign in the last five seasons and will establish a new career-high mark in the stolen base department on his next theft.