Ben Rice takes a seat against lefty starter

Pratt is back at shortstop and hitting ninth following a one-game absence due to illness. The 22-year-old rookie has held his own at the highest level this season, slashing .273/.341/.369 with 31 runs scored, three homers, 30 RBI and 13 steals in 232 plate appearances over 64 games.

The encouraging development here is that X-rays came back negative for any fractures after Montgomery was hit by a pitch during Wednesday’s critical showdown in Cleveland. The 24-year-old shortstop is presumably day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series opener against the Tigers. It wouldn’t be surprising if he needed a couple days off to rest and recover.

De Paula takes a seat with veteran Teoscar Hernández at DH and Kyle Tucker in right field to face Cincinnati southpaw Andrew Abbott. The 21-year-old phenom went 0-for-5 out of the leadoff spot on Tuesday and is hitting just .143 (2-for-14) with one homer, three RBI and one steal in five games since being promoted from Double-A Tulsa last week. The fact that he’s hitting some initial turbulence isn’t a surprise at all considering his relative inexperience while facing big-league arms for the first time. He has an extremely bright future ahead of him as an all-around fantasy contributor. The big question is whether he’ll have a spot with Los Angeles once Shohei Ohtani (biceps, knee) is ready to return from the injured list next week.

Abrams is back at second base and hitting cleanup after sitting out Tuesday’s contest with neck tightness. It didn’t sound like a serious concern at the time and he’s back following a one-game absence. He’ll continue to split time between shortstop and second base for the final two weeks of the season.

Yan had a 5.68 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, and a 17/11 K/BB ratio across his 12 2/3 innings with the Mets earlier this month. He’ll go back to pitching and leaping out of the bullpen over the final weeks of the season.

Curry will start for the Mets on Wednesday against the Orioles. The 28-year-old has a 3.44 ERA for the Mets in 18 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He has allowed one run on nine hits in 9 1/3 innings across two starts in Triple-A Syracuse this month, so he could give the Mets four or five innings tonight if he can limit the damage.

Stock had a 5.93 ERA in 30 1/3 innings for the Mets this season in eight appearances (seven starts). This injury will likely end his season.

Duarte has been really solid for the Mets this season, pitching to a 2.12 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 30/7 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings. Sadly, this will end his 2026 season.

The team is “hoping this will be the last check mark in his recovery from a blister,” which means he could be activated as soon as this weekend. As of now, it remains unclear if the Dodgers will put him back in rotation or shift him to the bullpen once he’s activated

Grisham has been sidelined since September 5th with a right hamstring strain. With just 11 days left in the season, Grisham’s progress is likely more about him making it back to the Yankees for the postseason than the regular season. He may be able to return for a few games to end the regular season, but he is not a major stash candidate in fantasy leagues, outside of the deepest formats.