The Oakland Athletics acquired right-hander Brandon Bielak from the Houston Astros on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations. The move comes after the Astros had designated Bielak for assignment. The 28-year-old will stay in the American League West and will take his 5.71 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 17 1/3 relief innings to the Bay Area. Bielak has spent all five of his big-league seasons with the Astros since debuting in the big leagues in 2020. Over that time, he's posted a 4.65 ERA (5.25 FIP), a 1.52 WHIP, one save, 85 walks and 155 strikeouts in 191 2/3 innings over 70 appearances (21 starts). Bielak has some starting experience, but he's unlikely to be used as anything more than a spot starter with the A's when their rotation needs some help.

Houston Astros right-hander Luis Garcia (elbow) threw another bullpen session on Wednesday as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery that he had in May of 2023. Garcia started throwing bullpens in April and is taking a slow progression to eventually go out on a minor-league rehab assignment. The expectation is that he will be able to rejoin Houston's starting rotation at some point in the middle of the season. The 27-year-old will mostly likely not be activated from the injured list until the second half of the season after the All-Star break in mid-July. When healthy, Garcia has been quite intriguing for fantasy managers because of his ability to create plenty of swings and misses. However, given his long layoff, you should temper expectations for him in 2024 as he returns from Tommy John surgery.

Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick (hamstring) played in his second straight minor-league rehab game on Wednesday with Double-A Corpus Christi and went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter. McCormick went 0-for-2 in five innings in center field on Tuesday after going 2-for-5 in his first rehab game on Sunday for Triple-A Sugar Land. He'll have the day off on Thursday before playing for Corpus Christi again on Friday. If the 29-year-old outfielder comes out of Friday's game fine, there's a good chance the Astros will reinstate him from the injured list and have him available for Saturday's contest against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. When he returns to the majors, McCormick will continue to battle for playing time in Houston's outfield as a platoon option. Through his first 72 at-bats in 2024, he's hit .236 (17-for-72) and is still searching for his first home run.

New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu (foot) will do a full workout on Thursday at Double-A Somerset with the expectation being that he will start his minor-league assignment on Friday. LeMahieu went on a rehab assignment in the minors last month before being shut down after just one game due to renewed soreness in his right foot, so hopefully this time around he'll be able to get through a handful of games and then be activated from the injured list in order to make his 2024 debut in the Bronx. The Yankees surely won't rush the 35-year-old veteran back to the majors, but when he's ready, he figures to be the team's primary option at the hot corner despite a disappointing performance at the plate in 2023.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls (hip) has started a spring training-type progression at the team's spring complex in Port Charlotte, Fla., which will take about two weeks before he starts getting into games. Manager Kevin Cash said the team received a "very good report" from Walls' visit with Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd on April 1. But given the amount of time that Walls has missed, it's likely he'll have to recreate a progression similar to spring training when he returns to game action. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 20 after having surgery on Oct. 27 of last year to fix a labral tear and to relieve discomfort from an impingement in his right hit. It's something that Walls had been dealing with for more than a year. It's unclear what Walls' role will be when he eventually returns to the majors, but it's likely to be a bench role.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Devenski (knee) is throwing pain-free bullpen sessions and will soon face hitters in live batting practice at the team's spring complex in Port Charlotte, Fla. Devenski landed on the injured list on April 29 (retroactive to April 26) with right-knee tendinitis. Devenski said he was optimistic that he wouldn't miss much time. An MRI exam on April 30 revealed what manager Kevin Cash called "pretty strong patella tendinitis." The 33-year-old swingman is now ramping up his throwing program and could return to the Rays before the end of May, barring any setbacks with his knee. When he's healthy enough to be reinstated from the injured list, Devenski will return to a relief role for Tampa. He's not on the fantasy radar, though, and was sporting a 7.71 ERA and 1.79 WHIP with 11 K's and six walks in 14 innings before his injury.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones (back) started his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday and went 0-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout for the Isotopes while playing five innings in left field. It was the 26-year-old's first game since going on the 10-day injured list in late April with a lower-back strain. If Jones doesn't suffer any setbacks in the minors, he should be ready to return to the big-league roster pretty soon, possibly as early as this weekend against the Giants in San Francisco. The former second-round pick of the Cleveland Guardians in 2016 hit nearly .300 in 2023 with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases, so his power/speed combination makes him intriguing in all fantasy formats, especially playing half his games at hitter-friendly Coors Field. His fantasy managers will be hoping he can turn around his slow start in 2024 when he's activated, as he's currently slashing .170/.243/.277 with a homer and seven RBI in 26 games.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (knee) will play another minor-league rehab game with Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, and if all goes well, he'll be back from the injured list to rejoin the Twins on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians. Buxton went 0-for-3 while playing seven innings in center field on Wednesday in his first rehab game with St. Paul and should be cleared to return to the big leagues if he gets through one more game with the Saints on Thursday. The 30-year-old oft-injured outfielder has already had surgery on the same knee twice and has been sidelined with right-knee inflammation since early May. Fantasy managers should expect the Twins to ease Buxton back into the fold when he returns, but if his knee cooperates, he'll eventually return to starting duties in center field.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning earned his second win of the year on Wednesday in a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals. Canning went six innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits and three walks while striking out five. The lone run came on a solo shot off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt. After a rough start to the season, Canning has pitched well in his three May starts, posting a 1.53 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, a 6:13 BB:K, and limiting opponents to a .190 batting average. His May LOB% of 98.7% is not sustainable though, so he's probably due for some regression. We'll see if he can keep it up as the 28-year-old will take on Houston on the road in his next start.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb picked up his fourth win of the season on Wednesday in a 4-1 victory over the Dodgers. Webb threw six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and three walks (also one HBP) while striking out five. The 27-year-old now has a 3.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 12.0% K-BB% on the year. While the low strikeout rate is a bit disappointing (18.7%) and his walks are up over last year (6.8% vs 3.6%), he's limited batters to just two home runs in 59 1/3 IP. The righty will take on a Pittsburgh team on the road his next time out. The Pirates have scored the fifth-fewest runs in the league to this point.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Braves. Tauchman's homer set the tone of the game early, as it came on the first pitch of the game off Braves starter Charlie Morton. The 33-year-old had a solid start to the season, hitting .307 in April with three of his four home runs coming during the month, but so far is hitting just .208 in May. He's still making good contact (80.8% Contact%), walking a lot (16.0% BB%), and his 26 runs scored puts him just one behind the likes of Freddie Freeman (27), so hopefully this is just a cold spell for him and Wednesday's homer gets him back on track.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jon Gray improved to 2-1 on the season after throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Guardians. The 32-year-old allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out three. The outing was his fourth straight quality start and lowered his ERA to 2.08. Removing the righty's first start of the season (five earned runs allowed) from the equation, Gray has a 1.30 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 0.19 HR/9, and boasts a 20.0% K-BB% over his last nine appearances (eight starts). He'll be put to the test in his next start, which is against one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park next Tuesday.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers cranked his fifth home run of the year in Wednesday's loss to the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, but it wasn't enough to lift his team to victory. Devers lined one over the wall in center field for a 431-foot solo homer off Rays right-hander Phil Maton in the sixth inning. The 27-year-old All-Star slugger is slashing a robust .281/.383/.488 with five round-trippers and 10 doubles through 32 outings (121 at-bats) as Boston's everyday third baseman this season, but he's not getting the job done for fantasy managers in the RBI department (15) after plating 100 for the BoSox a season ago. Each of Devers' five blasts have come against right-handed pitching in 2024, and he'll get righty Zack Littell in Thursday's series finale against Tampa with a chance to deliver more counting stats.

New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez smashed his second home run of the season in Wednesday's loss on the road to the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies, but it wasn't enough as his team fell in the blowout defeat. Martinez smacked his second homer of the year to make the score 10-3 in the eighth inning. Even though the 36-year-old veteran slugger isn't setting off fantasy fireworks to this point, he's slashing a serviceable .295/.338/.459 with two bombs, four doubles, and six RBI over 61 at-bats (18 games) in his first year with the Mets. He might have a decent chance to pop for a big day at the plate in Thursday's series finale against Philadelphia and right-hander Taijuan Walker, since Martinez is 7-for-14 with a homer, a double, and three RBI in 14 plate appearances against Walker in his career.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez dominated in Wednesday's victory over the division-rival Oakland Athletics, tossing seven two-hit innings of scoreless ball on two walks with eight punchouts. Staked to an early-two run lead, Valdez cruised past Oakland on Wednesday for his second straight quality start and third win of the campaign. The 30-year-old fantasy mainstay now sports a rock-solid 2.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP while fanning 31 and walking 11 over six starts (36 2/3 innings) for Houston this year. Valdez is slated to get the ball next during Monday's series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. In three appearances versus the Angels since 2023, Valdez is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA and a sublime 32:3 K:BB across 21 1/3 frames and will be locked-in fantasy starter.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman posted a scoreless outing in Wednesday's victory on the road over the Minnesota Twins, firing six inning of two-hit ball with three walks while fanning three. After surrendering four runs in 5 2/3 innings during his previous start against the Houston Astros, Stroman rebounded with his first scoreless showing since April 5. While the soft-throwing 33-year-old right-hander holds a respectable 3.33 ERA with 42 strikeouts through 48 2/3 frames this season, he's also walked 25 and recorded a troublesome 1.42 WHIP over nine starts. He'll get a pretty good matchup at home against the Seattle Mariners in his next scheduled appearance during Monday's series opener, when Stroman will be worth deploying in the majority of fantasy leagues on the heels of this strong performance.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez did his part to keep his team in the game during Wednesday's defeat to the visiting New York Yankees, registering a quality start with 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball on a season-high 10 hits and no walks while fanning a season-low three batters. Lopez only threw two clean innings on Wednesday, but he did a great job of limiting the damage for his third straight quality start to begin the month of May. The 28-year-old fantasy stalwart takes a solid 3.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 58:8 K:BB over 50 1/3 innings (nine starts) for the Twins into his next scheduled appearance during Monday's series opener against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Although it's a favorable matchup on paper, Lopez yielded five runs across four innings in one start against Washington a year ago.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge powered his team to victory on the road on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins, rapping a home run with three doubles and two RBI in the win. Judge first clobbered a 469-foot homer off Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez before doubling in each of his next three at-bats, with the third scoring Juan Soto in the seventh inning. The 32-year-old fantasy superstar appears to have put his early-season swoon to bed at this point, now batting an absurd .444 with five long balls, seven doubles, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored over his last 10 outings. He'll draw a tough matchup during Thursday's series finale against Minnesota with Joe Ryan taking the bump, as Judge is just 1-for-7 with one walk in his eight career plate appearances against Ryan.

San Francisco Giants designated hitter Jorge Soler (shoulder) began a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. Soler is slated to play in two games in the minors and will likely be back with the Giants on Friday for the series opener against the division-rival Colorado Rockies if everything goes well there. Before hitting the injured list with a strained right shoulder, the 32-year-old slugger slashed a disappointing .202/.294/.361 with five homers, four doubles, and eight RBI through 119 at-bats (34 games) as San Fran's everyday DH. Despite those shortcomings, Soler would have a great opportunity to jump-start his season while facing off with a Rockies team that entered Wednesday's action ranked last in team ERA (5.16) and WHIP (1.53) in 2024.

Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (oblique, hand) exited Wednesday's minor-league rehab game at Triple-A Tacoma after getting hit in the hand by a pitch. Making his first appearance on his rehab assignment on Wednesday, Crawford was hit in the right hand and immediately needed to come out of the contest in the fifth inning. The M's expected Crawford to be ready to rejoin the major-league roster by the time Friday's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles rolled around, but the 29-year-old's return from a strained right oblique may be delayed depending on the severity of this setback with his hand. Look for Seattle to provide for clarity on Crawford's status sometime following the game, and the infielder should be considered day-to-day until more is known.UPDATE: It sounds like the Mariners have a low concern with Crawford's injury, but it's unclear how it might affect his potential activation this weekend.