MLB Player News

Wheeler makes his return to Philadelphia’s rotation after undergoing surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome last August. The 35-year-old former fantasy ace’s velocity has been down consistently during a handful of recent minor league rehab outings, which makes it challenging to forecast how he’ll fare from a fantasy perspective. It’s impossible to dismiss Wheeler entirely based on his lengthy track record of success, but a wait-and-see approach seems like the best idea given his extended layoff and how he’s looked in minor league games recently.

Black had been hitting .282/.378/.410 in 45 plate appearances with the Sounds, hitting one homer and stealing two bases. He’s been an interesting prospect for a bit. We’d wait-and-see what the role looks like in the bigs before we pounced — at least outside of deeper leagues — but it’s certainly possible Black carries some fantasy value while Christian Yelich is sidelined.

He’ll be shut down a week to let inflammation go down. Holliday said it felt like he had broken his hand again, but nothing was structurally wrong and “I guess whenever a tendon rolls over a nerve, it can kind of cause that. It kind of freaked me out.” He now would appear very unlikely to be activated before May.

It’s Kwan’s first missed start of the season, as he’d played at least seven innings in each of Cleveland’s first 25 games. He’s hitting .227/.315/.289 in the early going and hasn’t had a multi-hit game since April 16. Angel Martinez is in left field for the Guardians tonight against RHP Max Scherzer.

The veteran can refuse the assignment if he’d like. He allowed three runs in his only MLB appearance earlier this season. He has already been outrighted by the Braves once this year and seems likely to stick around as depth.

Garcia told reporters after Thursday’s game that he was feeling better and expected to play Friday, but that did not come to pass. We’ll keep our ears to the ground for any new Garcia news, but we’re regarding him as day-to-day for the moment. Nick Loftin is starting and leading off for the Royals against LHP Yusei Kikuchi.

Harris left Thursday’s game with a quad injury, but it doesn’t appear like it’s a serious issue at the moment. He’s good to go in leagues with day-to-day transactions, and with how Harris has played this year, fantasy managers relying on him have to be breathing a sigh of relief that this wasn’t anything more serious.

Byron Buxton will slide over to DH, giving Austin Martin a start in center field. Bell’s off to a fine .253/.347/.414 start for the Twins with three homers and 16 RBI. He’s started all but one game for the Twins so far this season.

Tyrone Taylor will play center field and bat eighth. The Mets have been careful with Robert, wanting him to get plenty of scheduled rest days. He’s slumped of late, lowering his overall line to .232/.330/.341 in his first 94 plate appearances, with two homers and two stolen bases.

Jeff Hoffman will attempt to iron out his issues in lower-leverage appearances. The Jays won’t say as such, but this probably makes Louis Varland the favorite for saves. Pitching well for the Jays at the moment are Varland (0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched), Tyler Rogers (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched) and Braydon Fisher (2.08 ERA in 13 innings pitched) — saves will likely come out of that trio. But Varland is the easy pickup in fantasy leagues where he’s available.

Uceta had a setback last week while attempting to return from a shoulder impingement that has sidelined him all spring. He’ll remain out through at least May. This moves him off the 40-man roster and allows the Rays a spot to acquire Casey Legumina from the Mariners.