Washington Nationals outfielder Jesse Winker (back) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox. The veteran outfielder was forced to exit early during Sunday's game due to back spasms. Winker is reportedly feeling better on Monday but will sit out at least one more game. Winker holds a .143/.247/.247 slash line over his last 21 games so he hasn't been much of a help to fantasy managers anyway. Jared Young, Eddie Rosario, and Victor Robles will cover the outfield on Monday.

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Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (side) is undergoing an MRI exam on Monday and is not in the team's starting lineup for the series opener against the visiting Chicago Cubs. The Braves are still hopeful that Riley will avoid a stint on the injured list but they won't know more until they see the results, which will likely be known after Monday's game, according to manager Brian Snitker. With Riley out on Monday, Zack Short is starting at third base and is batting ninth against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. The 27-year-old Riley was pulled from Sunday's loss to the New York Mets with soreness in his left side. The Braves are optimistic now, but side injuries can be tricky to return quickly from, so fantasy managers may want to prepare for Riley landing on the IL just in case. If Riley does land on the IL, the Braves could call up utility infielder David Fletcher from the minors.

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The Miami Marlins placed shortstop Tim Anderson (back) on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 11) on Monday with lower-back tightness and reinstated left-hander A.J. Puk (shoulder) in a corresponding move. Anderson will head to the shelf after missing the last two games with back tightness, but if his injury isn't that serious, he could come off the 10-day IL in just over a week. The 30-year-old former 17th overall pick of the Chicago White So in 2013 has fallen on hard times the last two years after being an All-Star in both 2021 and 2022. He hit .245/.286/.296 with only one homer in 2023 and is currently batting .197 (24-for-122) with no homers, six RBI and three steals in 36 games for the Fish. Until Anderson is able to return from his back ailment, Vidal Brujan is fully expected to take over as the team's regular shortstop.

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Updating a previous report, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer (illness) and Kevin Kiermaier (illness) and designated hitter Justin Turner (illness) are both out sick on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles. Springer missed Friday and Saturday while being sick but was able to return on Sunday before going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. It appears he's still not feeling great and will sit out another game. Turner is sick and in a slump of late, so a day off second consecutive day off should do him well. Kiermaier will miss his fourth straight game. Cavan Biggio is in right field and batting eighth, Daniel Vogelbach is the DH and is hitting fifth, while Daulton Varsho is in center field and batting second against Orioles right-hander Corbin Burnes. Davis Schneider is in left field and is batting leadoff for Toronto. It's a tough matchup for all of Toronto's hitters in the series opener against Burnes.

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Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen (back) is experiencing back spasms, according to manager John Schneider. Jansen is getting treatment and the hope is that he can be available off the bench, if needed, on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles on the road. Alejandro Kirk will do the catching for Toronto on Monday and will hit sixth in the batting order against Orioles right-hander Corbin Burnes. Jansen will miss his second straight game after he was held out of Sunday's series finale against the Minnesota Twins. The 29-year-old should be considered day-to-day. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues will want to check back on Tuesday to see if Jansen is back in action. Jansen got a late start to the 2024 season due to a fractured wrist but has made up for lost time by going 17-for-54 (.315) with four home runs and seven RBI in his first 18 games.

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Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (knee) is out of the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Realmuto will be missing his second straight game after missing Sunday's contest with a sore right knee. With Realmuto still resting up, Garrett Stubbs will make a second straight start to catch left-hander Cristopher Sanchez while batting ninth against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea. Realmuto's knee injury isn't considered serious, so fantasy managers should treat him as day-to-day and check back on Tuesday to see if he's feeling good enough to play. When active, he's a must-start, top-tier fantasy catching option. Stubbs has never faced Manaea in his career and will be a low-upside DFS play. He's gone just 3-for-26 (.115) on the year with no home runs.

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Philadelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (back) remains out of the starting lineup on Monday against the New York Mets for the series opener in what will be his third straight missed game. The 31-year-old All-Star slugger was pulled from Friday's game early with lower-back soreness and remains out for the Phils to kick off the new week. The good news is his injury isn't considered very serious, and he's hoping to return to action on Tuesday for the second game of the series at Citi Field. Nick Castellanos is at DH on Monday and is hitting cleanup, while Whit Merrifield is in left field and batting leadoff against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea. Merrifield has four hits in eight career at-bats against Manaea and plays as a low-cost DFD sleeper on Monday against a lefty.

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Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Rhett Lowder made his first start for Double-A Chattanooga on Saturday against the Tennessee Smokies. The 22-year-old right-hander struck out five batters over five innings, allowing six hits, three runs, and a walk along the way. Despite having thrown more than 80 pitches in only one of his six starts this season, he finished with 76 pitches (50 strikes). The Reds' decision to promote Lowder after just five professional appearances shows how confident they are in his abilities. According to MLB.com, Lowder is expected to make his major league debut later this year.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer and designated hitter Justin Turner are both sitting out on Monday for the series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore. With both veterans resting, Cavan Biggio is in right field and is hitting eighth, while Daniel Vogelbach is the DH and is batting fifth against Orioles right-hander Corbin Burnes. Davis Schneider is in left field and is hitting leadoff for the Blue Jays. Springer missed Friday and Saturday against the Minnesota Twins but returned on Sunday to go 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The 34-year-old has struggled so far in 2024 with a .200 average (29-for-145), three homers and six stolen bases. Turner has one hit in his last 22 at-bats in his last five starts, so he'll be on the bench for the second straight game. None of Toronto's replacements on Monday will be particularly attractive in DFS against Burnes.

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Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes will retreat to the bench on Monday for the series opener at Fenway Park against the division-rival Boston Red Sox. With Paredes riding pine, Amed Rosario will take over at the hot corner for Tampa and hit fifth in the batting order against Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford. There's a chance Paredes is being checked for a concussion after getting hit in the helmet by a pitch on Sunday against the New York Yankees, even though the 25-year-old stayed in for the rest of the game on Mother's Day. Unless we hear otherwise, it's just a planned day of rest. Paredes is hitting an even .300 (42-for-140) this year with eight homers and 22 RBI. Rosario is hitting .375 in eight career at-bats against Crawford, who has pitched extremely well so far in 2024.

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Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect Orelvis Martinez was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and a walk on Sunday against the Worcester Red Sox. Over the previous five games, he had managed only one hit and three walks in 17 plate appearances. Despite a cold spell, Martinez has been excellent in Triple-A. Through 36 games with the Buffalo Bisons, he's hitting .277/.362/.569 with 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and 31 runs scored. Positionally, he spent his first 22 starts at second base. However, two of his last six starts have seen him at third. It may be that Martinez is taking reps at the hot corner in preparation for his major league debut. According to MLB.com, that debut should come sometime this year.

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Pittsburgh Pirates second base prospect Termarr Johnson continues to face early-season struggles in High-A. He's 3-for-29 in May, good for a .103 batting average. Despite the low average, Johnson has still shown tremendous plate discipline. He's drawn 12 walks, resulting in a .395 on-base percentage in May. In addition, he's only struck out six times. A significant contributor to his low batting average is his .130 BABIP. Although Johnson hasn't been making solid contact, he's suffered from exceptionally bad luck so far. At just 19 years old, he has ample time to develop, with his MLB debut not expected until 2025.

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New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo (intercostal) will return to the lineup on Monday and hit leadoff against the Philadelphia Phillies and left-hander Cristopher Sanchez. Nimmo left Saturday's game early with right-intercostal irritation, and that injury also prevented him from starting on Sunday. However, the outfielder was feeling good enough to come off the bench and hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. He appears to be healthy heading into the Mets' four-game set against the Phillies and will slide right back into the top spot in the batting order for New York. He is hitting .234 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 38 games this season.

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Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu sat out the team's 3-2 win against the Washington Nationals on Sunday with a left-handed pitcher on the mound. But Abreu will return to the lineup and bat second in Monday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. The 24-year-old hasn't seen many opportunities in the two-hole for Boston this season, only hitting there twice over the past 18 games. However, this is now his second consecutive start batting in that spot. That should lead to more run-scoring chances, considering both Tyler O'Neill and Rafael Devers are batting behind him. The young outfielder could also start all four games in this series with the Rays throwing out all right-handed pitchers. He is hitting .282 with three home runs, nine doubles, and 14 RBI in 34 games this season.

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The Baltimore Orioles optioned outfielder Heston Kjerstad to Triple-A ahead of their three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. Kjerstad was one of the hottest hitters at Triple-A this season, batting an absurd .349 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI in 21 games. As a result, the Orioles decided to call him up in late April. However, the left-handed slugger didn't see the playing time he deserved upon his promotion and only started four games for Baltimore over the past three weeks. He had just two hits across 17 plate appearances in 2024. The move to send down MLB Pipeline's No. 23 prospect has likely something to do with the team wanting the young outfielder to get more consistent at-bats at the plate. In a corresponding move, the Orioles called up Kyle Stowers from Triple-A Norfolk.

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Texas Rangers rookie pitcher Jack Leiter is scheduled to start at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. Despite struggling in his first two major league starts, it appears the Rangers will give Leiter another chance to prove himself on the mound. The right-hander gave up seven earned runs on eight hits in his first start against the Detroit Tigers on April 18 and then allowed four earned runs (six runs) across four innings against the Oakland A's on May 8. It's been sort of a rough go for the Rangers' No. 6 prospect to begin his MLB career, so he should only be started in extremely deep formats on Tuesday.

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The Baltimore Orioles plan to call up outfielder Kyle Stowers from Triple-A Norfolk, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. This will be Stowers's third time up in the majors with the first two coming in 2022 and 2023. Both times, though, the outfielder struggled mightily at the plate. He is hitting just .207 with three home runs, four doubles, and 11 RBI over 48 major league games in his career so far. As a result, he isn't an add in most formats. However, keep an eye on his playing time over the next few games because he showed some power potential in 36 Triple-A games this season, hitting 11 HRs with 11 doubles and 32 RBI.

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San Francisco Giants left-hander Blake Snell (groin) expects to make another minor-league rehab start before being reinstated from the injured list to rejoin the Giants' starting rotation. Snell was dominant in his first rehab outing with Single-A San Jose on Sunday, tossing four shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He threw only 46 pitches in the contest but touched 97 mph on the radar gun and tossed an addition 15 pitches in the bullpen after being removed from the contest. It makes sense for San Francisco to give Snell another start in the minors after he got off to a late start in 2024 because of the timing of his signing. The 31-year-old reigning National League Cy Young winner also got off to a rough start in his first three games before landing on the injured list, going 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA and 1.97 WHIP with 12 K's in 11 2/3 innings.

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Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (forearm) is listed as the team's probable starter for this Wednesday's game against the visiting Kansas City Royals. Woo was removed from the injured list last week in order to make his season debut on Friday in a strong matchup against the visiting Oakland Athletics. The 24-year-old looked good, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless inning before being removed with right-forearm tightness. It was concerning since Woo missed the first six weeks of the regular season with right-elbow inflammation, but it turns out his latest injury isn't serious enough to keep him from making his second start of 2024. Woo looked good on Friday but did only throw 62 pitches in the outing, so fantasy managers looking for streamers should consider him pretty risky on Wednesday in a shy-away matchup against KC.

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Minnesota Twins catcher/designated hitter Ryan Jeffers is tied for ninth in the American League with nine home runs. He has served in the DH role for the Twins more than anyone else, but despite that, he has yet to hit a home run as the DH. Eight of Jeffers' home runs have come on days when he's the starting catcher, and the other homer came when he was used as a pinch-hitter. It's something to watch, but Jeffers is hitting .275 as the DH with a .772 OPS and six doubles. "If it was a problem, it would be on our radar. But he's had good at-bats as the DH. He's comfortable as the DH," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "If the definition of hitting for power is hitting home runs, then no. But he's hitting the ball hard as hell all over the park, even as the DH."

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