The Boston Red Sox, who earlier today acquired veteran infielder Garrett Cooper from the Chicago Cubs, have moved slugging first baseman Triston Casas (ribs) to the 60-day IL. This was done to make room on the 40-man roster for Cooper. Casas was diagnosed with a painful cartilage tear in his left ribcage Friday. The designation to the 60-day IL means Casas will miss at least two months of the season. He reported that he was having difficulty breathing due to the injury. Casas had been off to a good start at the plate, hitting .244 with six home runs and 10 RBI. Cooper figures to take over as the everyday first baseman in Boston while relegating Bobby Dalbec to the bench.

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Evan Phillips earned his eighth save Saturday afternoon in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Phillips surrendered a hit and unearned run in the ninth inning to go along with two strikeouts. In 12 games this year, the veteran relief pitcher has eight saves, a .77 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 11 innings. He is striking out 29.5% of batters while limiting opponents to an 83.7 MPH average exit velocity, which is the 96th percentile in all of MLB. Phillips has surrendered only one earned run in nine April appearances. Continue to use him with confidence in all fantasy formats.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe (oblique) was expected to be activated this weekend, but reports surfaced on Saturday afternoon that he felt tightness in his right hamstring. Instead of joining the team in Chicago to play the White Sox, Lowe will fly back to Tampa instead and will undergo an MRI on Monday. Lowe has not played a game this season, as he has missed all of it while recovering from an oblique injury. Lowe was a pleasant surprise for the Rays last season, hitting .292 with 20 home runs, 83 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. More information should be available early next week after he has the MRI to determine the severity of the hamstring issue. Lowe stated he was afraid of further missed time if he tried to play through the situation.

Houston Astros starting pitching Ronel Blanco looks to continue his hot start to the season when he faces the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City on Saturday. Blanco has been one of the bigger surprises of the season so far, starting off with a bang by throwing a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in his season debut. He's been the Astros' best starter, posting up a 1.33 ERA with 22 K in 27 innings pitched. His xwOBA of .232 ranks in the top 6% of the league, pointing to the fact that what we're seeing may be real results and Blanco hasn't been lucky. He'll face a tough test in Mexico City. Maybe not necessarily because of his bleak opponent, but because of the altitude at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu which sits nearly 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field. If he can keep control of his pitch mix then Blanco should keep on rolling on Saturday in what would normally be a very favorable matchup.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the visiting Kansas City Royals. The young outfielder's tough season continued with an 0-for-2 effort in Friday's series opener, although he was robbed of a home run by the Royals' Adam Frazier at the right field wall. Meadows has been a major disappointment for fantasy managers who took a chance on the 24-year-old in drafts this spring as he's hitting just .079 (5-for-63) with two homers, three steals, and a .400 OPS across 72 plate appearances. He has posted a 12.5% BB% and has been bitten by a tiny .127 BABIP but he has also struck out in a whopping 40.3% of his plate appearances. His elite defense in center field has kept him in the big leagues but it wouldn't be surprising to see the club option him to the minors if his disastrous start at the plate continues.

Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia is not in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Hunter Greene. It appears it's simply a day off for the slugger after the two teams played a night game on Friday when Garcia went 0-for-3 as part of a 2-1 series-opening win. The 31-year-old is enjoying a massive start to the 2024 season, hitting .290 with seven home runs, four stolen bases, and a .906 OPS across 27 games and 110 trips to the plate. While he slugged a career-high 39 home runs last season, Garcia swiped just nine bags after a 25-steal 2022 season. Fantasy managers will certainly welcome back his speed to begin this season while he continues to offer big-time power as one of the top outfielders in fantasy baseball.

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (elbow) is slated to rejoin the Baltimore rotation, according to manager Brandon Hyde. The 27-year-old made three rehab appearances with Triple-A over the past two weeks and is officially on his way to the major leagues. Bradish looked great in his final rehab appearance on Friday, where he tossed five innings of one-run ball with ten punchouts. Last season, Bradish posted an overall 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP but was especially outstanding down the stretch, where he posted a 2.34 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in the second half. Bradish should be rostered in all formats. He should be given ample opportunities to win games behind an excellent lineup and provide strong ratios.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks (hand) underwent several screenings over the past week, and the final results came back clean on Friday, per manager Kevin Cash. Even though all of the tests do not show any severe or structural damage, it is still very uncertain when the 30-year-old will begin to throw again, but it does suggest that his injured-list stint may not be that lengthy. Fairbanks served as the primary closer in Tampa Bay last season and finished with 25 saves and was placed in that role in the early part of this season. Jason Adam should be expected to see the majority of save opportunities during his absence, especially since Colin Poche (back) landed on the IL on Friday. Adam is worth picking up in all formats, as he is riding a stellar 1.50 ERA and 0.50 WHIP through 12 innings.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (elbow) is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Saturday and will throw 50 pitches. As long as Pivetta doesn't suffer any setbacks with his elbow during the session, he should embark on a minor-league rehab assignment next week. It remains to be seen how many rehab starts the Red Sox want him to make, but he's clearly making progress and could be back in the team's starting rotation sooner than later. The 31-year-old has been sidelined since early April with a right-elbow flexor strain but was looking great before his injury. In his two starts for Boston in early April, Pivetta had a 0.82 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched while going 1-1. Fantasy managers that drafted him need to hang onto him with his return around the corner.

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (elbow) looked much better in his latest rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, allowed an earned run on five hits while walking one and striking out six in five innings to pick up a win. He threw 77 total pitches in the outing, 49 of which were strikes. Although his fastball velocity isn't quite where it needs to be, this was an encouraging outing for the 27-year-old after he allowed four earned runs while walking three in 3 1/3 innings in his last rehab start. It remains to be seen if the O's want him to make another rehab start as he recovers from an offseason UCL sprain, but after his breakout in 2023, fantasy managers in mixed leagues should scoop him up if he's still on the waiver wire. Bradish is getting close to returning to Baltimore.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley (illness) was available to come off the bench on Friday night against the Texas Rangers, according to manager David Bell. Fraley has been sidelined with an illness since Sunday. "He's back," Bell said. "I wanted him to go through a full day of work today and not start him. But, he's available off the bench, available to start tomorrow." The 28-year-old left-handed hitter should be back in the starting lineup on Saturday when the team faces Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen, but fantasy managers will want to check back for Cincy's lineup. The former second-rounder of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 out of LSU typically starts against righties for the Reds and was hitting a strong .362 (17-for-47) with a homer, four RBI and five steals before his illness.

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz hit his first career home run in Friday's 7-6 victory over the Yankees, and also drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the 11th inning. It was all part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate that included a sacrifice fly and four runs batted in. The 25-year-old is now batting .264 on the year with a double, a triple, a HR, seven RBI, and a solid .355 OBP thanks to his eight walks (ten strikeouts). Still, he's probably best left to the waiver wire but can be an interesting value play in DFS depending on the matchup.

Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) will make his next appearance on his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, with his outing pushed back a day due to rain on Friday. It's a small hitch in the road for Duran on his way back from a strained right oblique, as he still figures to have a chance re-enter Minnesota's bullpen and be activated from the injured list as early as Monday's series opener on the road against the division-rival Chicago White Sox. Right-hander Griffin Jax's run as manager Rocco Baldelli's preferred ninth-inning man appears to be nearing a close, but he's submitted a strong 2.53 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 15:3 K:BB in 10 2/3 innings while converting four of his five save chances for the Twins in Duran's stead. Fantasy managers should look to sell high on Jax while his value is still heightened.

Miami Marlins third baseman Jake Burger (oblique) completed a full on-field workout ahead of Friday's game versus the division-rival Washington Nationals, throwing across the diamond for the first time since suffering a strained left oblique. Burger still has to progress to batting practice on the machine, but it's encouraging to see he's improving in his recovery. The 28-year-old infielder was slashing .228/.281/.421 with three home runs, two doubles, 15 RBI, and eight runs scored over 64 plate appearances (16 games) before heading to the injured list, and he's tracking toward a minor-league rehab assignment in early May and a return to the Marlins sometime in the middle of May. In Burger's stead, Emmanuel Rivera has served as Miami's primary third baseman but isn't producing enough to warrant consideration for a roster spot in the vast majority of fantasy leagues.

San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada (hamstring) is not in the Giants' lineup for their Friday night tilt against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Estrada was removed from Wednesday's game against the Mets after dealing with hamstring tightness. As of now, Estrada is considered day-to-day. The 28-year-old is slashing .232/.253/.400 on the year so his impact to the Giants and fantasy managers' lineups may be fairly negligible. Tyler Fitzgerald is getting the start in his place and will bat eighth. Should Estrada return this weekend he would see Martin Perez on Saturday and Pirates rookie Jared Jones on Sunday.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. notched three RBI in the Royals 8-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday afternoon. Witt Jr. went 1-4 with a two RBI triple and an RBI sacrifice fly. He also scored a run in the Royals' seven-run ninth. The 23-year-old now has 14 RBI on the season with a .915 OPS and leads the league in triples with four. As a top option in fantasy baseball, Witt Jr. is delivering for fantasy managers who took him in the first round. Witt Jr. faces Casey Mize on Saturday and will have a tough matchup against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on Sunday.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah (shoulder) will make another minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo next Tuesday. Not only is Manoah rehabbing from a right-shoulder injury, but he hasn't been good in three of his four rehab starts to this point. In his last outing with Buffalo on Wednesday, the 26-year-old allowed six runs on seven hits while walking four in just three innings of work. Even if Manoah is getting healthier, his performances don't exactly endorse him for a big-league call-up to enter Toronto's starting rotation. Hi rehab assignment will be up on May 6, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him activated from the injured list and optioned back to Buffalo. Manoah's 2023 nightmare season has so far carried over to 2024.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe (oblique) reportedly is feeling great during his minor-league rehab assignment. The 26-year-old says he's ready to return whenever the teams feels like bringing him back. In six games, Lowe is slashing .227/.346/.364 with a homer, and five RBI during his rehab stint. It sounds like Lowe is ready to return and could be activated off the injured list any day now.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Colin Poche (back) has been placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday. The move is retroactive to April 24th with Poche dealing with back tightness. The organization has not given a timetable for how long Poche will be sidelined. This is a hit to the Rays bullpen with Pete Fairbanks already sidelined as well. The loss of these two pitchers should mean increased save chances for Jason Adam and Garrett Cleavinger.