San Francisco Giants first baseman/designated hitter Wilmer Flores (hamstring) was pulled early from his team's 4-3 win over the New York Mets on Friday night and is dealing with hamstring tightness, according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Flores has not yet been placed on the injured list, so it's unclear whether this will be an extended absence for him or a more day-to-day injury. The 33-year-old is hitting .249/.318/.380 with 12 home runs, 59 RBI, and 36 runs scored in 380 plate appearances so far in 2025. He did most of his damage in the early part of the season, hitting 10 home runs before the end of May and just two since the calendar flipped to June. First baseman Dominic Smith could be in line for more playing time if Flores were to miss time.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Robert Gasser (elbow) is being built up as a starter as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hogg relays that Gasser could be moved to a relief role late in the season if a need opens up with the team. Gasser last pitched in the big leagues in June 2024. In his three rehab appearances so far, he's thrown four innings, allowing two earned runs and one walk while striking out four. The Brewers have excellent pitching depth between both their major league and Triple-A rosters. Even when Gasser is healthy, he could be behind current minor leaguers Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, and Tobias Meyers as candidates to join the big league rotation.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (ankle, ribs) threw 47 pitches in his first rehab outing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday. The veteran right-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three. Nola has not pitched in the big leagues since mid-May. He originally hit the injured list with an ankle sprain, and then suffered a stress fracture in his right rib while rehabbing. In 49 2/3 innings (nine starts) before injuring his ankle, Nola was having the worst season of his career. He recorded a 1-7 record with a 6.16 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts. Nola will need at least two more rehab outings before he returns to the mound for the Phillies. Philadelphia has one of the best rotations in MLB, headlined by Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and Jesus Luzardo. Nola could step in for Taijuan Walker as their fifth starter, but both veterans could also be unseated by top pitching prospect ... [More]

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras led a 25-hit barrage in a 16-9 defeat of the Washington Nationals on Friday. Contreras finished 5-for-7 with a homer, two RBI, and three runs scored in a game that saw eight Brewers collect multiple hits. Contreras, now with four straight multi-hit games, has gone a sizzling 12-for-19 with three homers, five RBI, and nine runs this week. It's an encouraging hot streak for Contreras, whose numbers have declined thanks to a finger injury that has hampered him all season. The two-time All-Star has gutted it out, though, and has hit a respectable .258/.353/.380 with nine HRs, 47 RBI, 59 runs, and five stolen bases in 450 trips to the plate.

Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran picked up a save in his debut with the club in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday. Duran, acquired from the Minnesota Twins before Thursday's trade deadline, recorded a 1-2-3 ninth inning on a mere four pitches for his 17th save in 19 tries this season. The 27-year-old lowered his ERA to 1.97 and has also notched a 1.16 WHIP with 53 strikeouts against 18 walks over 50 1/3 innings. Duran should see an increase in save opportunities now that he's pitching for a playoff-caliber team, which is welcome news for fantasy managers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-handed reliever Kirby Yates (back) on the 15-day injured list with lower back pain on Friday. The team added a pair of right-handers, Brock Stewart and Paul Gervase, as well as outfielder Alex Call to its roster in corresponding moves. This continues a brutal run of injuries for LA's bullpen, which is also without closer Tanner Scott (elbow), Michael Kopech (knee), Evan Phillips, and Brusdar Graterol (shoulder). Yates previously spent time on the IL with a hamstring strain and has endured a disappointing season overall after joining the Dodgers on a one-year, $13 million contract in free agency. The 38-year-old has posted a middling 4.31 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP with 44:12 K:BB, 13 holds, and three saves in 31 1/3 innings. With a handful of LA's high-leverage relievers down, ... [More]

San Francisco Giants closer Randy Rodriguez threw a scoreless 10th inning to collect his second save of the year in a 3-2 win over the New York Mets on Friday. It wasn't an easy outing for Rodriguez, who hit a batter and walked another, but he escaped a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout of Ronny Mauricio to end the game. It was Rodriguez's first appearance since the Giants named him their closer on Friday. He's taking over after the team traded Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees on Thursday. The hard-throwing Rodriguez has put together a brilliant season with a 1.17 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 63:10 K:BB across 46 innings.

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Randy Rodriguez has been named the closer going forward. The Giants were in need of another late inning option with Camilo Doval being traded to the New York Yankees on Thursday. Rodriguez makes the most sense for the closer role given how well he has pitched this season. He holds a 1.20 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and a 62/9 K/BB ratio in 44 games so far. The 25-year-old only has one save under his belt across his two big league seasons. Fantasy managers in need of a closer or bullpen help should scoop up Rodriguez before it's too late.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Anthony DeSclafani is starting the series opener on Friday on the road in Sacramento against the Athletics following Thursday's trade deadline. Right-hander Zac Gallen will take the mound on Saturday, and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start the series finale on Sunday. This will only be DeSclafani's second start of the year, and first since July 6. The 35-year-old veteran has thrown at least three innings in each of his four appearances and has pitched to a 3.86 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while striking out 24 and walking six in 23 1/3 innings since joining Arizona in mid-June. DeSclafani won't be a very promising fantasy streamer against the A's on Friday, but if he looks good, he could stick around in the D-backs' starting rotation after the club traded away right-hander Merrill Kelly on Thursday.

The St. Louis Cardinals are promoting right-handed pitching prospect Andre Granillo to the major leagues before their contest on Friday evening against the San Diego Padres. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut earlier this season. During his first taste in the big leagues, the right-hander tossed 11 1/3 innings to the tune of a 2.38 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. During this stint, he struck out seven hitters and held a stellar 4.3% walk rate. The University of California - Riverside product has presented the majority of the campaign at Triple-A. With Memphis, Granillo has been one of the most reliable relievers on the team as he has held a 1.50 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP across 36 innings. With Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton being traded, Granillo could have a path to eventually earning a high-leverage role in the St. Louis bullpen.

Arizona Diamondbacks first base prospect Tyler Locklear is in the starting lineup and covering first base when they begin a series on Friday evening against the Athletics. Locklear is slated to bat in the six-hole. The Mariners sent Locklear to the desert as the headliner piece in a deal that brought third baseman Eugenio Suarez back to Seattle. Locklear was ranked as the No. 10-best prospect in the Seattle system before the trade. The VCU product made his MLB debut during the 2024 campaign but was only given a short look as he held a .525 OPS across 49 PAs. However, at Triple-A this season, Locklear has been quite productive, posting a strong .316/.401/.542 line with a .943 OPS. Given his everyday role in Arizona going forward, he is worth adding in all deeper 12+ team formats.

San Diego Padres right-hander Michael King (shoulder) will make a minor-league rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A El Paso against Triple-A Round Rock, according to Annie Heilbrunn. King has been cleared to begin his rehab assignment after a successful 40-pitch simulated game on Tuesday. The 30-year-old will most likely require multiple rehab outings because of the fact that he hasn't pitched in a game since May 18. Barring a setback on his rehab assignment, King could rejoin the Friars' starting rotation by the middle of August. King has been the Padres' best pitcher since last year, so getting him back healthy will be essential if they want to make a deep run in October. When he returns in August, he'll push either Randy Vazquez or the newly-acquired JP Sears out of the rotation. King shouldn't be floating around on any waiver wires out there.

The Colorado Rockies are promoting left-handed pitching prospect Carson Palmquist to the major leagues before their contest on Friday evening against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The No. 7-ranked prospect in the Colorado system on MLB.com made his MLB debut earlier this season and logged 30 2/3 innings to the tune of a 7.36 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. During this stint, the southpaw struck out just 22 hitters and had weak command of his pitches as he posted a hefty 12.2% walk rate. He also placed in the first percentile in xERA, seventh percentile in hard-hit rate, and first percentile in barrel rate. Given his minimal strikeout upside and the significant amount of loud contact he allows, fantasy managers should not consider targeting him on the waiver wire.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington from Triple-A Indianapolis before their contest on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. Harrington made his MLB debut earlier this season and appeared in just two games. Through eight innings of work, Harrington allowed nine runs with eleven hits. The No. 4-ranked prospect in the system struck out seven hitters and allowed five walks. He has spent most of the campaign with Triple-A Indianapolis and has struggled to find success there as well, posting a 5.48 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP across 90 1/3 innings of work. During this stint, Harrington has tallied just 84 strikeouts. Fantasy managers should expect him to have a role as a long reliever, which will give him minimal fantasy upside.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio's hamstring injury is "a little more severe" than initially though, according to manager Pat Murphy. The Brewers aren't quite sure of the extent of Chourio's hamstring injury, but he received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be out for more than the 10-day minimum. When asked if Chourio could be out a month, Murphy said, "could be." This is pretty depressing for fantasy managers after reports kept coming out that the 21-year-old's injury wasn't that serious and that he could be in for a short stay on the IL. Now, we're looking at him potentially missing all of August due to a right-hamstring strain he suffered on Tuesday. The young power/speed threat should be stashed in an IL spot in all leagues regardless of how long he's out. In the meantime, Blake Perkins is a waiver-wire pickup in deep-mixed leagues.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas is the odd man out on the big-league roster after the Phillies added outfielder Harrison Bader and reliever Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline this week, as he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday. The move shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone after the team acquired Bader from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. The 24-year-old Rojas has been solid with the glove in center field since debuting in the big leagues in 2023, but he's lacked any upside offensively. In 71 games this year, Rojas was hitting just .224 (34-for-152) with a homer, 18 RBI, 23 runs and 12 stolen bases in 172 plate appearances. In Rojas' 250 games at the big-league level, he's slashing a mediocre .252/.294/.340 with only six home runs, 73 RBI and 51 steals.

New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (foot) is back in right field and will bat third in the lineup against the visiting San Francisco Giants and left-hander Robbie Ray at Citi Field. Soto was pulled from the game on Tuesday in San Diego against the Padres after fouling a ball off his foot, and he was also held out of the series finale on Wednesday as a precaution. After a scheduled day off on Thursday, the 26-year-old All-Star is back in action for the weekend. Fantasy managers will want to get him back into starting lineups everywhere despite the lefty-lefty matchup. In 22 career at-bats against Ray, Soto is hitting .273 with a home run and two RBI. The Dominican superstar is hitting under .250 on the year and struggled to a .210 average in July, but he remains a must-start in fantasy when active and has provided 25 homers, 62 RBI, 75 runs and 15 steals.

Washington Nationals outfield prospect Robert Hassell III is being promoted to the major leagues. Hassell made his MLB debut earlier this season but struggled during his first stint. Through 21 games in D.C., Hassell posted a .218/.228/.269 slash line with one double, one home run, and one stolen base. However, since returning to the top level of the minor leagues, Hassell has been one of the most dominant hitters at Triple-A. Through 33 games, Hassell has held a stellar .336/.435/.519 slash line with six doubles, six home runs, and seven stolen bases. With the Nationals out of the playoff picture, they could opt to give Hassell nearly every day at bats as he looks to take the next step in his development. For now, he is worth a look in deeper five-outfielder formats given ability to hit for power and steal bases.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Max Kepler (triceps) is back in left field and will hit seventh for Friday's series opener against the visiting Detroit Tigers and right-hander Jack Flaherty at Citizens Bank Park. Kepler was scratched from the lineup on Wednesday with triceps soreness but is feeling good enough to return after Thursday's scheduled off day. The 32-year-old veteran outfielder is hitless in just two career at-bats against Flaherty and won't have a ton of DFS sleeper appeal in his return. Kepler is barely hitting over .200 on the season over 305 at-bats and has added 11 home runs, 33 RBI and 40 runs. The German native was not good in July, going 11-for-56 (.196) with two homers and five RBI in 18 games. If he doesn't pick it up soon, Kepler could be in danger of losing at-bats against right-handed pitchers to the newly-acquired Harrison Bader.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced on Friday that they placed outfielder Jackson Chourio (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 30) with a right-hamstring strain and added outfielder Brandon Lockridge to the active roster in a corresponding move. Chourio was forced from Tuesday's game early against the Chicago Cubs and didn't play in Wednesday's series finale. The 21-year-old star outfielder will miss at least the next 10 days, but the good news is it's not considered a serious hamstring strain, so there's a chance he'll be back from the IL when he's eligible to return on Aug. 9. The Brewers acquired Lockridge from the San Diego Padres on Thursday in exchange for injured lefty Nestor Cortes, but Blake Perkins should be the beneficiary of regular playing time in Milwaukee's outfield with Chourio out. Chourio is an absolute must-stash in all fantasy leagues.