Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker is absent from the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the San Diego Padres. The Astros have been extremely careful with Tucker since his return from a shin fracture. He has already been absent from the lineup a handful of times since returning a few weeks ago. The good news is that Tucker has moved back to the outfield after being limited to the designated hitter spot when he first returned. In his absence, Jason Heyward will cover right field and bat seventh versus right-hander Dylan Cease. Heyward is slashing .235/.278/.441 with six RBI since joining the Astros roster in late-August. He'll be an avoidable streaming option against a elite arm in Cease.

San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka is out of the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros. This appears to be a routine rest day for Higashioka who has played in each of the last four games. In his absence, Elias Diaz will do the catching and bat eighth versus left-hander Framber Valdez. Diaz is having a decent season with the bat, but has only one hit in 10 plate appearances with the Padres. He'll be an avoidable streaming option against a tough southpaw on Wednesday.

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Yennier Cano (forearm) battled right forearm tightness but was available to pitch last night. The 30-year-old has not pitched since September 11, and this minor injury could have been the primary reason. However, fantasy managers should expect the elite reliever to make his next appearance sometime this week. The right-hander has once again operated as the primary set-up man in Baltimore this summer and has held a strong 2.78 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. Under the hood, he boasts a 5.5% barrel rate and a 65.1% ground-ball rate, which are among the best marks in the sport. Fantasy managers in holds leagues should slot Cano back in their lineup down the stretch, as Cano should return to his eighth-inning role very soon.

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Jorge Lopez (groin) was activated from the injured list on Wednesday, according to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 31-year-old has been sidelined since the beginning of September and should return to a high-leverage role in the Cubs bullpen. Before the injury, Lopez carried a strong 2.42 ERA and 1.21 WHIP since the beginning of July and tallied two saves in August. However, while he was sidelined, Porter Hodge emerged as the ninth-inning option in the Northside and has tallied four saves since August 20. Fantasy managers looking to bolster their save count should look to add Lopez this weekend, as he could be in the mix for ninth-inning duties across the final week of the regular season.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder (wrist) was unavailable during the team's four-game series against the division-rival New York Yankees in the Bronx last weekend due to right-wrist soreness, and while the soreness isn't completely gone, he is available this week during the series in Tampa against the division-rival Rays. The Rays are starting three right-handers in the series, so the right-handed-hitting Refsnyder will most likely be used off the bench. The 33-year-old was scratched from the lineup last Thursday in the series opener against the Yanks and hasn't had an at-bat since Sept. 10 against the Orioles. Refsnyder is mostly valuable in deeper fantasy leagues for outfield depth and is a nice DFS sleeper target when the Red Sox face left-handers. He's hitting .284/.361/.472 on the year with an .833 OPS, 11 homers and 40 RBI in his 271 at-bats.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Bryan Mata (elbow, lat) injured his right hamstring in spring training and started the season on the injured list. He went on four separate rehab assignments, but each of them ended with a setback, most of them arm-related. "He came out of his last one a little bit sore so we're back to, not step one, but we're running out of time," manager Alex Cora. "Pretty unlikely [he will pitch for Boston this season]." The hope was that Mata, who was once the team's top pitching prospect, would at least make his major-league debut in 2024, as the 25-year-old is out of options. It's been a frustrating year for the Venezuelan hurler as he tries to make his way to the big leagues for the first time. Mata pitched at four different levels of the minors in 2024 but threw only 22 2/3 innings over 11 outings (seven starts), giving up 12 runs (11 earned) while walking nine and fanning 20 hitters.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced following Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field that right-hander Tanner Houck (shoulder) would start on Wednesday night. Houck, who hasn't pitched since Sept. 4 due to right-shoulder fatigue, was supposed to return last Friday to face the division-rival New York Yankees in the Bronx, but he was scratched less than an hour before first pitch. He has a career-low 21.1% strikeout rate in 2024 but also a career-best 6.6% walk rate. Despite the lack of strikeouts, the 28-year-old has been solid for the Red Sox and fantasy managers when healthy this year, going 8-10 with a 3.24 ERA (3.34 FIP), a 1.17 WHIP and a career-high 150 strikeouts in 28 starts (169 2/3 innings) as a first-time All-Star. He has been lights-out facing the Rays twice this year, giving up just three runs (one earned) while walking four and striking out 12 in 12 2/3 frames.

Arizona Diamondbacks veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk (lower body) is back in the starting lineup as the designated hitter and is batting third for Wednesday's series finale against the division-rival Colorado Rockies and left-hander Austin Gomber at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Grichuk will return to the lineup after he was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to lower-body tightness, and he sat out each of the last two games of the series against his old team before returning on Wednesday. The 33-year-old has been a platoon player for the Snakes in 2024 and has hit an impressive .288/.344/.508 with an .852 OPS, 10 home runs and 41 RBI in his 97 games played. He's been a lefty killer as well, hitting .305 (47-for-154) with half of his 10 homers against southpaws, making him an attractive DFS play on Wednesday at Coors Field.

Oakland Athletics outfielders JJ Bleday and Seth Brown and infielder Max Schuemann are all out of the starting lineup in Wednesday's series finale against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field with a left-hander on the mound. As a result, Daz Cameron will start in center field and bat cleanup, Tyler Nevin will man left field and hit eighth, and Nick Allen will start at the hot corner and hit ninth against Cubs left-hander Justin Steele, who is making his first start off the injured list. Bleday has hit a pedestrian .246 (133-for-540) in his third year in the big leagues in 2024, but he has quietly hit the 20-homer mark and driven in 56 runs in 149 games for a bad A's team. He's hit .229 (25-for-109) with six of his 20 long balls on the year against southpaws. Cameron has the most DFS upside in the four-hole, but he's hit just .201 with five homers and five steals in 159 at-bats.

Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers continued to flex his muscles in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Cubs. Langeliers went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a two-run HR. The 26-year-old drilled a first-inning Jordan Wicks fastball into the left-center seats to plate two and got Wicks again deep to left field in the fifth inning. Langeliers has provided expected fantasy value this season, slashing .220/.280/.448 with 28 HR, 54 runs scored, 74 RBI, and four stolen bases in 500 plate appearances. He won't help fantasy managers in batting average, but catcher is such a weak position that Langeliers' power contributions make up for it.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had a historic evening in Tuesday's 3-1 extra-inning loss to the Tigers. Witt Jr. went 0-for-2 with three walks, a strikeout, and his 30th stolen base of the season. The 24-year-old now has 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases this season, his second consecutive season with at least 30 HR and 30 stolen bases. Only six shortstops in MLB history have ever recorded a 30-30 season and Witt Jr. is now the only shortstop to record multiple 30-30 seasons. He has provided everything for fantasy managers this season, slashing .331/.386/.598 with 123 runs scored and 108 RBI in 671 plate appearances. Witt Jr. has cemented himself as a top fantasy pick for the foreseeable future.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler's (hip, knee) knee is doing better, but he experienced soreness in his hip area that led to him getting a cortisone injection on Monday, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. The hope is that Kepler can get into minor-league rehab games with Triple-A St. Paul and possibly return to the Twins for their final homestand against the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles that runs from Tuesday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 29. The Twins are trying to ramp the 31-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder for a possible postseason run in October. He has been dealing with tendinitis in his knee since early September, although his hip injury is now the bigger concern. Kepler is having a down year with only eight homers and a .682 OPS in 105 games, but the Twins are still hoping he can be an option for them against right-handed pitchers to close out the year.

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias said that infielder Jordan Westburg (hand) took batting practice on the field on Tuesday and is "getting really close to returning by the end of the regular season." Infielder Ramon Urias (ankle) is on a similar timeline. Westburg is recovering from a fractured right hand, but the team isn't ruling him out to play in a minor-league rehab game before Triple-A Norfolk's season ends on Sunday. Barring a setback, the 25-year-old should be back with the O's for the final week of the regular season and for the start of the playoffs in October. It's great news for a Baltimore club that has been going with a combination of struggling rookie Coby Mayo and Emmanuel Rivera at the hot corner of late with both Westburg and Urias sidelined. Westburg had 18 homers in 101 games before his injury and should be the club's primary third baseman once he's activated.

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias said that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is expected to go out on a minor-league rehab assignment this week, and the team is hoping he will return before the end of the regular season at the end of the month. The Orioles would love to be able to get Mountcastle some at-bats at the end of the regular season before they begin the playoffs in October. The 27-year-old first baseman has been out since Aug. 22 due to a left-wrist sprain. The 27-year-old right-handed hitter hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2021, but his power has been on the decline ever since, and he's hit only 13 round-trippers in 118 games in 2024. Mountcastle's wrist injury isn't going to help his power game to finish out the year and in the playoffs. When healthy, Mountcastle has been Baltimore's primary first baseman in 2024.

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias said that right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (lat) is "moving in the right direction" but "time is not our friend." Elias left open the possibility of Rodriguez temporarily pitching out of the bullpen when he returns. Rodriguez is recovering from a strained right lat and has been throwing off a mound, but he's running out of time to get stretched out as a starting pitcher with the end of the 2024 regular season quickly approaching. When the 24-year-old is activated from the injured list, he could build his arm back up by coming on in relief out of the bullpen at the end of September. From there, it would be the team's call as to whether they trust him enough in a starting role in the playoffs. He has been out since late August but was a solid rotation piece for the O's and fantasy managers before his injury, going 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA and 130 strikeouts in his 20 starts.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that left-hander Jeffrey Springs (elbow) is doing better, but he will not pitch again in 2024. The Rays placed Springs on the 15-day injured list with left-elbow fatigue earlier this month. It just doesn't make any sense to push him back with the Rays out of playoff contention and based on the fact that the 31-year-old southpaw came back from Tommy John surgery this year. The Rays will shut him down now and have him focus on getting his left elbow completely healthy for spring training next year and the start of the 2025 campaign. Springs ended up making only seven starts this year, but he looked good in his 33 innings pitched, posting a 3.27 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 37 strikeouts and 11 walks. As long as Springs looks healthy next spring, he'll be on the fantasy radar in all formats after posting a 2.46 ERA with 144 K's in 135 1/3 innings in 2022.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that right-hander Tanner Houck (shoulder) should be ready to start on Wednesday against the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park. "There's a big chance he's going to start," Cora said. The Red Sox said that Houck had been scratched from his start last Friday against the New York Yankees due to a dead arm, but they further clarified he's been dealing with a shoulder injury. In any case, it wasn't serious enough to send him to the injured list, and they are hoping a little extra rest will do him well. It's a much better matchup for the 28-year-old right-hander, although the risk is inherent for a pitcher coming off any kind of injury. Houck has been solid for fantasy managers this year with a 3.24 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 28 starts, but he hasn't pitched since Sept. 5 and could be on an innings count in his return to the rotation.

The Kansas City Royals placed right-handed reliever James McArthur (elbow) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a right-elbow sprain and recalled right-hander Steven Cruz from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. According to MLB's Anne Rogers, McArthur has a Grade 1 UCL sprain and will be shut down for the next five to seven days, but manager Matt Quatraro said the team is hopeful it's "not a season-ending injury." Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (hamstring) and left-hander William Smith (back) are both scheduled for live batting practice sessions on Saturday, provided they face no setbacks the next few days. The 27-year-old McArthur opened the year as the team's closer but was eventually demoted and had been working in middle relief. McArthur will miss the rest of the regular season, but the Royals hope he can return to help their bullpen if they make the postseason.

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks (lat) won't take the mound again this season, according to manager Kevin Cash. The right-hander has been sidelined since mid-August due to a lat strain. The Rays have been going with closer-by-committee while Fairbanks has been sidelined. Edwin Uceta appears to be the favorite for the final frame. He is putting together a breakout campaign with a 1.42 ERA and 53 strikeouts across 26 appearances this season. However, Uceta only has three saves to his name this season, so he's not a great fantasy asset in that aspect.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman is headed to the paternity list on Tuesday, and the Giants will recall infielder Casey Schmitt from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move to join the team in Baltimore for their series against the Orioles. There was hope that Chapman's child might come next week when the Giants are in Arizona, where Chapman lives. With Gold Glove third baseman now out for probably the next three days, Brett Wisely will shift to the hot corner on Tuesday and bat ninth against Orioles right-hander Albert Suarez. Fantasy managers should expect the 31-year-old Chapman to be back for the series opener on Friday in Kansas City against the Royals. Wisely, who is hitting just .229/.271/.333 with three homers in 231 at-bats this year, is a weak DFD sleeper option at the bottom of San Fran's batting order on Tuesday.