Arizona

Diamondbacks

There was some optimism that Burnes would jump into Arizona’s rotation this week after tossing two perfect innings for Triple-A Reno over the weekend. However, he’s going to need at least a few more rehab outings to continue building up his pitch count and stamina before the Diamondbacks consider bringing him back.

Nelson is working his way back from an elbow strain that put him on the shelf back in mid-June. It might be unrealistic to expect him to make it back before the end of the regular season, but he could be available to pitch in relief if Arizona makes the playoffs.

Gurriel is back with Arizona, mostly to face left-handed starters in a platoon role, after missing more than six weeks with an adductor strain. He can be safely ignored in nearly all fantasy leagues.

Walston returns to Arizona’s relief mix after missing most of the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. It’s been a long road back for the 25-year-old southpaw who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since September 24, 2024.

The procedural move opens up a spot on Arizona’s 40-man roster. Thompson has been out with a lower back strain since early August.

Pfaadt, who struck out just one, allowed two runs or fewer for the 10th time in 12 starts since rejoining Arizona’s rotation, but since there was little run support to be had tonight, he took his first loss since way back on Apr. 11. He definitely hasn’t been as impressive recently as he was in his first six weeks back in the majors, so those in daily leagues might have better options than to start him in Houston on Sunday.

FanGraph’s Eric Longenhagen wrote that Marte didn’t appear to be having any issues with his troublesome left knee during a couple bridge league games in Arizona last week. That’s a positive sign. The 32-year-old second baseman is back at DH and hitting cleanup following a bizarre two-week saga that included his absence from Fenway Park, a knee injury subplot and a trip to an Arizona casino that generated plenty of social media buzz. At the end of the day, Marte appears healthy and ready to help Arizona with their playoff push, which means fantasy managers shouldn’t hesitate to put him back in their lineups.

Fernandez draws the short straw with Arizona needing to add Ketel Marte back onto their active roster. The 22-year-old figures to be back in a couple days when first eligible to return. He’s hit .262/.305/.356 with three homers and nine steals in 207 plate appearances over 65 games as a rookie this season.

Romero claims that Marte will DH on Monday and also address his teammates before the game. While the second part may not seem important in fantasy, locker room dynamics can absolutely impact player and team performance, and this has been one of the more unique situations we’ve seen. We assume the Diamondbacks will be happy to have Marte back in the lineup as they try to hold off the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot.

Expectations are that Marte, currently on the 10-day IL with a knee injury following his stint on the restricted list, will play during the series. If the D-backs hold off activating him until Tuesday, they wouldn’t have to send down someone to make room for him. But, then, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is close to returning, too, so someone (Jose Fernandez?) is getting sent down pretty soon.