MLB Player News

While the Red Sox are hopeful that Triston Casas will be able to return early during the 2026 season, it sounds like they’re trying to secure a backup plan just to be on the safe side. The Red Sox already completed one trade with the Cardinals — acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray — and it’s unclear if the discussions around Contreras were a part of those talks or a separate discussion. Even if a deal were to be consummated, the 33-year-old slugger holds a full no-trade clause and would need to approve the swap.

Winn was removed from Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch just below his right knee. He sat out Saturday’s game as a precautionary measure and it sounds like he needs at least another day before he’ll be ready to return to action. The encouraging news for fantasy managers is that it doesn’t sound like he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Thomas Saggese will take his place at shortstop once again on Sunday and will bat eighth against Brayan Bello and the Red Sox.

Díaz has exhibited decreased velocity early in the season — including while giving up three runs in a blown save against the Rangers on Friday night. They’ll see how he’s feeling on Sunday before making a determination on his status, but it’s possible that the club ends up taking an extremely cautious approach and sits him down for a while to make sure that he gets right. Alex Vesia picked up a save in his absence on Saturday.

The Astros are dealing with a plethora of injuries in their rotation at the moment and need all the help that they can get, so it sounds like Bolton will have an opportunity to stick around if he pitches well. He allowed just two runs over 4 1/3 innings in a spot start against the Rockies on Monday.

Antonacci has been seeing time in the outfield at the Triple-A level and could potentially step right into an everyday role there for the White Sox. The 23-year-old has hit .317/.509/.488 with two homers, six RBI, four stolen bases and a remarkable 6/14 K/BB ratio through his first 12 games this season. He’ll immediately make for an intriguing addition in deeper mixed leagues.

Smith blistered a pair of doubles and singled twice. The 23-year-old was in a mini-slump with a 1-for-11 mark over his last three games, but this is more inline — to a higher extent, of course — to what we’ve seen to begin the 2026 season. He’s now up to an OPS of .941, and it’s a wonderful reminder of why fantasy managers were so excited to see what he can do in 2025.

Crawford lashed a single with the bases loaded to give him his third RBI of the night and the Mariners a comeback win. The 31-year-old hit at the top of the lineup with Brendan Donovan (illness) unavailable, although Donovan did appear as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and drew a walk. Crawford has hit .217/.419/.261 since coming off the injured list last week.

Trammell just missed a grand slam with a three-run double off Luis Castillo in the second. The 28-year-old isn’t all that far removed from being one of the top prospects in baseball, but at this point, he’s much more likely to be organizational depth than a consistent fantasy producer.

Alvarez is just scorching hot over the first two-plus weeks of the year, and he shellacked a Luis Castillo offering for his sixth homer of the season. He’s hitting .316 with an .800 slugging percentage, but it is worth noting he popped out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning in a time game. Still, fantasy managers have to be thrilled with the early production from Alvarez, who remains as good of hitter as there is in baseball when he’s healthy enough to show off those skills.

Abreu has been awful to begin the 2026 season, and it just continued Saturday. He walked three, and while he did pick up a strikeout, he gave up a scorching line drive to J.P. Crawford with the bases loaded to take the loss. His ERA is now a reprehensible 20.25, and no matter how small the sample, it’s at least a smidgen concerning. Josh Hader isn’t far behind, and to say he doesn’t have to worry about his closer job being usurped is an understatement. Not now, anyway.

Raleigh also drove in a run on a sacrifice fly for a three-RBI night. The 29-year-old backstop has “only” homered twice this year, and is well off the 60-homer mark he reached last year. Expect plenty more roundtrippers for Big Dumper going forward, and 40-plus homers are well within reason for a player with his pop.