Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill (concussion) told reporters on Thursday that he hopes to be activated off of the 7-day injured list on Tuesday when he is first eligible. O'Neill was diagnosed with a concussion on Thursday and admitted he has been dealing with dizziness and lightheadedness, but he still seemed confident about a quick return. There is no guarantee that O'Neill will be back for Tuesday's series opener against the Cleveland Guardians as head injuries are notoriously finicky. Nevertheless, it seems like fantasy managers will not have to wait too long to get one of the hottest early hitters back in their lineups. He should remain rostered in all formats until that time.

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez went 2-for-5 with two RBI during Thursday's 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. The 25-year-old has not cleared the fences yet this season, but he is enjoying a strong start nonetheless. Gimenez is slashing .293/.360/.387 with 11 RBI, 13 runs scored and two stolen bases through 19 games. He should continue to add in all those categories for the remainder of 2024 while reaching double-digits in home runs for the third straight year. Gimenez is comfortably a top-10 second base option for the rest of the season.

It was announced on Wednesday night that Los Angeles Angels right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson (elbow) would miss the rest of the 2024 season, and now we know why. The Angels revealed on Thursday that Stephenson will undergo elbow surgery, although the exact nature of the elbow surgery isn't known. If it's Tommy John surgery, the 31-year-old probably won't be able to return until next summer at some point. The Halos signed Stephenson in the offseason hoping that he could be a strong late-inning bridge to closer Carlos Estevez, but instead, Stephenson wasn't able to appear in a single big-league game in 2024. The former 27th overall pick in 2011 by the Cincinnati Reds had one of the best cut fastballs in baseball in 2023.

The Boston Red Sox on Thursday placed outfielder Tyler O'Neill (head) on the seven-day injured list (retroactive to April 16) and reinstated outfielder Rob Refsnyder (toe) from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. O'Neill had cleared the league's concussion protocol after colliding with third baseman Rafael Devers in the outfield on Monday, but he hadn't played since and required eight stitches to close up a cut on his forehead. It's a bummer for O'Neill's fantasy managers that he wasn't able to return this weekend, but based on the fact that he had cleared concussion protocols this week, his stay on the seven-day IL should be a short one. Keep him stashed everywhere after his hot start to the year. Refsnyder isn't on the fantasy radar in mixed leagues and will serve as outfield depth behind Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.UPDATE: O'Neill has been diagnosed with a mild concussion.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (elbow) is throwing at 120 feet on Thursday and Friday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. Pivetta is on the 15-day injured list due to a right-elbow sprain, and while he's making progress in his throwing program, he still has a ways to go and will eventually need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before returning to Boston's starting rotation. Fantasy managers definitely shouldn't expect the 31-year-old to make it back before the calendar flips to May, but Pivetta should be stashed after looking excellent in his first two starts of 2024. He allowed just one earned run on eight hits (one home run) while walking one and striking out 13 in 11 innings pitched for a 0.82 ERA.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill (head) remains out of the lineup on Thursday in the series finale against the Cleveland Guardians. O'Neill has passed the league's concussion protocols after colliding with third baseman Rafael Devers in the outfield on Monday but needed stitches for a cut on his head and hasn't played since. The 28-year-old should be able to avoid going on the seven-day concussion list and he could even return to the lineup as early as Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jarren Duran is starting in left field again and batting leadoff, while Wilyer Abreu is in right and hitting third against Guardians right-hander Carlos Carrasco. Fantasy managers are hoping O'Neill can return as soon as possible, as so far he's hitting .313 (15-for-48) with seven home runs, eight RBI and one stolen base.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena is not in the team's starting lineup on Thursday for the series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. With Arozarena starting on the bench, Harold Ramirez will start in left field for the Rays and will hit cleanup against Angels right-hander Griffin Canning. Arozarena could use a day off, as he's hitting just .174 (12-for-69) with two homers, six RBI, four steals and 19 strikeouts in his first 18 games, and he's currently in a 2-for-23 slump. Hopefully, the day off helps the 29-year-old get right heading into this weekend. Ramirez has gone 18-for-71 (.254) in the early going with a homer, eight RBI and a stolen base. He has never faced Canning in his career but could be a nice producer at a low cost in DFS on Thursday out of the cleanup spot for Tampa.

New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes notched his seventh save of the season in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Blue Jays, tying him for the league lead in all of baseball. Holmes allowed one hit but did not allow a run, a feat he's managed in all of his appearances so far this season, resulting in a perfect 0.00 ERA. The 31-year-old also has a 1.11 WHIP, although he isn't striking out many batters at just 15.4%. As long as he's locking down saves though, fantasy managers won't mind. After two straight 20+ save campaigns with New York, Holmes appears well on his way to 20+ again and is a top option at closer.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez fanned 10 Colorado Rockies en route to his first win of the 2024 campaign on Wednesday, firing six scoreless innings on five hits and one walk in the 7-6 victory. Spotted to an early four-run lead, Sanchez mostly cruised through Colorado's lineup on Wednesday. Brenton Doyle reached on Alec Bohm's fielding error in the opening frame, so Ezequiel Tovar's score went down as an unearned run. The 27-year-old southpaw will take a strong 2.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 25:8 K:BB across 21 1/3 frames (four starts) into his next appearance that's slated for Tuesday at the Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds, which is a tough matchup for fantasy purposes.

The Los Angeles Angels announced on Wednesday that relief pitcher Robert Stephenson (shoulder, elbow) will miss the rest of the 2024 season due to an elbow injury, and they'll have more details on his setback on Thursday. Working his way back from discomfort in his right shoulder, Stephenson was removed from his first rehab minor-league appearance on Sunday after facing just one hitter and feeling something in his right elbow. The hard-throwing 31-year-old right-hander signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Halos after notching a 2.35 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 60:8 K:BB over 38 1/3 innings with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023, and it's worth noting he dealt with inflammation in his right elbow in 2023. Carlos Estevez will be leaned on for ninth-inning work in Anaheim's bullpen for the remainder of the year, and he's converted three of his first four saves while giving up only two runs with a 5:0 K:BB in six innings.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill (head) doesn't sound likely to return to the lineup on Thursday in the series finale against the Cleveland Guardians and he's just doing OK, per manager Alex Cora, after colliding with third baseman Rafael Devers in the outfield on Monday. O'Neill has been working out but hasn't done anything on the field yet. The good news is that he continues to clear the league's concussion protocol and should be able to return at some point this weekend after needing eight stitches to close up a cut above his eye. Fantasy managers should check back on Friday to see if the 28-year-old outfielder is back in there against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Jarren Duran is starting in left field again and batting leadoff on Wednesday against Guardians right-hander Ben Lively, with Wilyer Abreu in right field and hitting cleanup.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session on Friday and could be activated from the injured list after that. It sounds as though the Phillies have liked what they've seen from Walker's two minor-league rehab starts after they initially said they wanted to see him make four rehab starts before joining the big-league starting rotation. The 31-year-old veteran could make his 2024 debut for the Phils on Monday in what would be an excellent matchup at home against the punchless Chicago White Sox. Even though it would be Walker's first start of the year, he'd be a pretty attractive fantasy streamer in the great matchup. The most in danger of losing their current rotation spot in Philly could be Spencer Turnbull with Walker's return on the horizon.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Ben Lively (illness) has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's contest in Boston against the Red Sox. The Guardians signed the 32-year-old to a one-year contract this winter after he made his big-league return with the Reds in 2023. Lively spent three seasons in the KBO before returning to North America for the 2022 season but stayed at Triple-A with the Reds that year. He worked to a 5.38 ERA across 19 outings (12 starts) for the Reds last season and has made a pair of starts with Triple-A Columbus this season, posting a 3.24 ERA across 8 1/3 innings of work.

Colorado Rockies infielder Brendan Rodgers (illness) will remain out of the starting lineup on Wednesday. The 27-year-old was scratched from Monday's lineup due to an illness and also sat out of Tuesday's 5-0 loss as well. It's been a sluggish start to the season for Rodgers, as he's hitting just .211 without a homer alongside a .553 OPS across the first 59 trips to the plate of the season. The oft-injured infielder has largely underperformed as a former top prospect, as he has hit .262 with 32 homers and a .720 OPS across 333 career games while playing his home games in the league's most hitter-friendly venue at Coors Field in Denver.

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (back) is out of the starting lineup for the second straight day on Wednesday against the New York Mets. Hayes was scratched from Tuesday's contest due to some lower-back tightness and will now sit a second game this week. The 27-year-old missed some time with a back injury last year as well, so the Pirates are probably being extra cautious so that he can avoid another trip to the injured list. For now, fantasy managers should consider him as day-to-day. With an off day on Thursday, perhaps Hayes will be able to return to action for the start of a series on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Jared Triolo is starting at third and batting eighth on Wednesday against Mets right-hander Luis Severino.

New York Mets relief pitcher Drew Smith earned his first save of the season in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Pirates. Smith came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with two strikeouts. Edwin Diaz had pitched each of the last two days, so Smith was called upon to close things out. The 30-year-old has pitched well this season, going 1-0 with two holds and a 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 IP. However, he has not seen enough high-leverage situations to warrant fantasy attention at this time.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez continued his strong start in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Rockies. Suarez pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. The 28-year-old is now 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA, a 9.35 K/9 rate, and a 1.38 BB/9 rate in his first four starts. He is rostered in 67% of leagues, so fantasy managers should pick him up if available. He will look to keep things rolling in his next start, which projects to be a tougher matchup at the Reds.

Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (shoulder) said he's fine on Tuesday after getting injured in Monday night's extra-inning loss while sliding into home plate as a pinch-runner late in the game. Freeland will throw like normal in between his starts and be good to go at some point this weekend for a matchup against the Seattle Mariners. The 30-year-old southpaw's injury was to his right, non-throwing shoulder, so it shouldn't affect his next start at all. Even though Seattle's offense hasn't looked good at all early this year, Freeland will still be a shaky streaming option in fantasy after posting a rough 13.21 ERA and 2.55 WHIP with eight walks and nine strikeouts in his first four starts. Freeland currently leads the league in hits allowed (32) and earned runs allowed (23).

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (undisclosed) has been scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the New York Mets. The organization has not given a reason as to why Hayes was pulled ahead of the game. Jared Triolo will be taking over third base and bat third for Tuesday's game. Fantasy managers should get an update on Hayes status shortly.

San Diego Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth (calf) is not in the lineup on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers after being pulled from Monday's 7-3 win with calf tightness late in the game. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee points out that the Padres recalled infielder Matthew Batten from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, which presumably means that Cronenworth will miss some time with his injury. However, he hasn't officially been placed on the injured list, so it could just be a day-to-day situation for now. Jurickson Profar is handling first base and batting third on Tuesday, while Jose Azocar is in left field and batting ninth against Brewers left-hander Wade Miley. Profar is hitting .417 with an RBI in 12 career at-bats against Miley, while Azocar has gone hitless versus the soft-tossing lefty in four career ABs.