MLB Player News

It’ll be Dylan Coleman taking the ball as Kansas City’s opener for Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals before Zerpa gets the ball for a multi-inning relief outing.

If Castro can stick this high in the order all season, it will benefit his run and RBI totals and give him some decent traction in deeper fantasy leagues. The full Rockies lineup against RHP Sandy Alcantara is: LF Jake McCarthy, C Hunter Goodman, Castro, SS Ezequiel Tovar, 1B TJ Rumfield, RF Jordan Beck, CF Brenton Doyle, DH Edouard Julien, and 3B Kyle Karros.

Apparently the Marlins preferred Austin Slater in the leadoff spot against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. The (righty-heavy) lineup against Freeland is: Slater, C Agustín Ramírez, Marsee, SS Otto Lopez, 1B Christopher Morel, DH Connor Norby, LF Heriberto Hernández, 2B Xavier Edwards, and 3B Javier Sanoja.

Salazar cleared waivers. The 30-year-old will be a depth piece for the Astros in 2026 assuming he reports to Sugar Land. Christian Vázquez, who signed on just a few weeks ago, won the Astros’ backup catcher job.

He’ll have a bench role while Mickey Moniak is out. Perhaps Hunter Goodman will grab some of Moniak’s DH time and let Fulford catch a game here or there, but he’s not someone who needs to be on the fantasy radar for the time being.

No word yet on how much time Moniak will miss, but there were no reports that we’ve seen that indicated he was dealing with an injury in the first place. The Rockies recalled C Braxton Fulford to replace Moniak on the roster, and since Moniak wasn’t a must-use outfielder for Colorado they could slide any of their bench players into Moniak’s role against right-handers. Troy Johnston and Kyle Karros would seem to be the main options. It goes without saying that neither profiles as a useful fantasy player right now.

He played one game for the Diamondbacks last season and wound up with the Nationals in spring training. Alcántara will probably help fill in for Aidan Miller at shortstop at Triple-A Lehigh Valley while Miller deals with a sore back that has him on the minor league injured list.

He’ll likely report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Mercado hasn’t been in the big leagues since 2023 and, in his age-31 season, would probably need a rash of outfield injuries to see major league playing time in 2026.

LHP Chris Sale is on the mound, so the Royals have opted to bat righty Lane Thomas third and place Starling Marte in right field. Caglianone only started 12 games against a left-handed pitcher last year, so this isn’t a total surprise, but it’s disappointing that he’ll apparently have to earn his way into those situations. The full lineup for the Royals is: 3B Maikel Garcia, SS Bobby Witt, Thomas, C Salvador Perez, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Marte, 2B Jonathan India, LF Isaac Collins and DH Carter Jensen.

LHP Robbie Ray is starting. The Yankees promised they would play Rice against more left-handers this year. One game isn’t a whole season. But ... yeah, not ideal for Rice managers. Those with Rice in daily lineups should pivot. Paul Goldschmidt is batting first and leading off. The rest of the lineup is: Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, Amed Rosario, Jazz Chisholm, Jose Caballero, Randal Grichuk, and Austin Wells.

Heyward was one of the most-hyped prospects in recent memory, but never quite developed the power that would have made him a generational player. Instead he became a five-time Gold Glove winner with speed and on-base skills in a corner. He signed an eight-year, $194 million contract with the Cubs in free agency and helped the club break the curse in 2016. Heyward was released from that contract before it was over and bounced around with the Dodgers, Astros, and Padres in recent years.