Yovanny Cruz back up with Nationals

Ohtani will make his return to Los Angeles’ lineup following a minimum stint on the injured list due to ongoing biceps and knee issues. The 32-year-old generational talent is expected to play in each of their final five games against the Padres and Giants, respectively, to close out the regular season. He’s expected to lead off against right-handed starters with Mookie Betts getting the nod against lefties, a trend that will likely continue into the postseason.

It’s an extremely favorable spot for fantasy purposes as the Giants are basically rolling out a glorified Triple-A lineup at this point of the season. Skubal has been away from the Dodgers on bereavement leave for the last few days. He’ll make his final regular-season start later this week.

Helman provides the Rangers with a versatile bench option for the final week of the regular season as they cling to a one-game lead over the Astros for the AL West division title. The 30-year-old has been out since mid-June after suffering multiple hand fractures when he was hit by a pitch.

It finally happened. The Rangers waited as long as they could for Pederson to attempt to make it back from a small fracture in his left hand, but they simply couldn’t continue to play with a shortened bench while sitting one game ahead of the Astros for the AL West division title entering the final week of the season. The 34-year-old righty-masher was going to be out of the lineup for the eighth straight game on Tuesday against the Mets. There’s still a chance that Pederson is ready for the outset of the playoffs, but he won’t return before then.

It’s merely a paperwork move to free up a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster. Quantrill is done for the season after hitting the injured list with lat tightness over the weekend. The 31-year-old righty was an unexpected revelation for the Rangers this season, posting a strong 2.86 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 81/25 K/BB ratio across 110 innings as a versatile swingman. There’s a good chance that this run earns him another opportunity at the highest level next year.

It’s the highest spot that Rodriguez has batted since being called up back on September 12. The 23-year-old top prospect launched a solo homer during Monday’s series opener at Oracle Park, but is hitting just .194 (7-for-36) with 13 strikeouts and one walk through 10 games at the outset of his big-league career. He’s hitting directly behind fellow top prospect Walker Jenkins with Luke Keaschall back in the leadoff spot in this one.

Varsho takes a seat for the second straight contest with Brice Matthews getting an opportunity in center field. He’s really struggling at the dish recently, hitting .083 (2-for-24) over his last seven games. He’s posted a disastrous .535 OPS with five homers and three steals in 41 games since being acquired from the Blue Jays at last month’s trade deadline.

Roxby returns to San Francisco’s relief mix in place of an injured Blade Tidwell (elbow). The 27-year-old rookie allowed two runs over two innings of work during his first stint in the majors a couple weeks ago.

It’s potentially another significant hit to San Francisco’s long-term pitching depth as Tidwell told reporters that initial imaging revealed a high-grade UCL sprain. He’ll undergo further evaluation and receive additional medical opinions to determine whether he’ll require elbow surgery. There’s a strong possibility he winds up missing a significant portion, if not all, of next season, if he ends up needing Tommy John surgery. There should be a definitive update on his status in the coming weeks.

Machín figures to elect free agency after passing through waivers. The 32-year-old journeyman went 3-for-6 at the plate during a brief stint with the Rockies earlier this month.