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San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar smashed two homers, including a game-winner in the top of the ninth, during the Padres 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Both homers were two-run shots with the first being off Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez in the top of the sixth inning for his 17th HR of the season. The two-run game-winner came in the top of the ninth off Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel with two outs and was his 18th of 2024. Profar's turnaround in this season has been a major boost for the Padres. His .865 OPS is a career high and is helping to keep the Padres afloat as they fight to hold onto their Wild Card spot (one game lead over St. Louis) without superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. Profar will look to continue his dominating season on Saturday against Orioles scheduled starter Dean Kremer.

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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz had a strong outing on Friday night, notching seven strikeouts and giving up just two runs on two hits in the Rays 3-2 extra innings loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Baz's ERA now sits at 3.66 on the season after the no-decision. After two starts against the New York Yankees in which Baz failed to complete five innings, tonight's six inning performance was a great sign for the 25-year-old. Baz has had a lot of hype surround him in his career that was put majorly on hold over the last two seasons thanks to Tommy John surgery, but it appears he's on the right path to providing the Rays and fantasy managers alike a ton of value. His next scheduled start is set for next Friday when the Rays travel to Houston to face the Astros.

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Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez was strong on Friday night, going seven innings deep and striking out seven in the Twins 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Lopez picked up the win and improved his record to 9-7 while lowering his ERA to 4.73 on the season. After a spotty run in the middle of the season, the 28-year-old has now thrown three straight games of giving up two earned runs or less. While his strikeout numbers have not been as flashy as fantasy managers are used to lately, Lopez may be starting to turn a corner. With a 3.39 xERA to go along with his 4.73 ERA, the righty has positive regression coming his way. Fantasy managers with Lopez in their lineups should continue to trust him. His next scheduled start is set for Wednesday at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is out of the lineup on Friday night for Colorado's matchup against left-hander Kyle Harrison and the San Francisco Giants. This marks the second straight game that Blackmon will be on the Rockies bench. As of now there should be no concern in regards to the lefty's health, rather it'd appear he's getting a bit of rest while the Rockies trot out Kris Bryant in right field. The Rockies and Giants are also scheduled for a doubleheader on Saturday, so this may just be a way to keep the 38-year-old fresh for the twinbill. Blackmon has hit for an .869 OPS in July, his best month in 2024 and should be expected to be back in the lineup at some point this weekend. The next chance Blackmon will get will be either against Blake Snell in the first game of the doubleheader or against Hayden Birdsong in the second game.

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Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively struck out six and gave up just three hits in six innings during the Guardians 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Lively picked up the win and improved his record to 9-6 while his ERA dropped to 3.44 on the season. The 32-year-old has been having a very solid and under-the-radar season for the Guardians and has been a major boost for their rotation after Shane Bieber was forced to have Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the season. With a 1.17 WHIP, Lively should be on fantasy managers' radars as a sneaky pick-up that should provide consistent results. His next scheduled start is set for Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.

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New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga (calf) was able to walk off under his own power but suffered a left-calf strain in the top of the sixth inning in Friday night's game against the Atlanta Braves. Senga, in his season debut after recovering from a shoulder injury, was running off the mound to get out of the way during an infield pop-up and hit the ground after tweaking his calf. He was down on the field for about a minute before walking off under his own power. The right-hander had been dealing prior to the injury, striking out nine Braves in five innings and giving up just two runs prior to the injury. Any time missed would be unfortunate for the 31-year-old after missing over half the season. Given the nature of the injury, fantasy managers should brace for more missed time from Senga and look towards other options in the Mets rotation, such as left-handed starter David Peterson.

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Per Mike Puma of the New York Post, the New York Mets are open to adding a left-handed bat at the trade deadline and have had discussions with the San Francisco Giants about outfielder Michael Conforto. The lefty played with the Mets for seven season before joining the Giants in 2023. Only three Mets are hitting for a wRC+ above 100 from the left side of the plate (Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, DJ Stewart). Conforto's 103 wRC+ would help stabilize an already pretty solid Mets outfield if a deal was to be struck. The Giants have been rumored to have made Conforto "available" so a reunion could be considered very plausible. Fantasy managers should continue to start Conforto in their lineups regardless of where he ends up but his .833 career OPS at Citi Field should be appealing compared to his season long .713 OPS in 2024.

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Free-agent first baseman Jose Abreu will most likely not play for the remainder of the 2024 season, according to sources. It's believed that Abreu will take a break, and if conditions are right, he'll try to return in 2025 if he's given another opportunity with a big-league organization. The former American League MVP fell off a cliff this year and was released by the Houston Astros after hitting a miserable .124/.167/.195 with two home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored in 35 games played. The 37-year-old probably doesn't have much left, but he'll see if another team will give him an opportunity as a right-handed veteran bat next year. If this is the end for the Cuban slugger, he'll finish his MLB career with a .283/.345/.488 slash line with an .833 OPS, 263 home runs and 960 RBI in 1,446 games over 11 seasons in the league.

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After acquiring right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia from the Toronto Blue Jays earlier on Friday, the Seattle Mariners traded right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek to the New York Mets on Friday in exchange for minor-league outfielder Rhylan Thomas, according to a league source. Thomas was listed by MLB Pipeline as New York's No. 30 prospect. The 33-year-old Stanek heads to the Big Apple after struggling of late, and the veteran reliever now holds a 4.38 ERA (4.02 FIP), a 1.33 WHIP, a career-high seven saves and a 44:17 K:BB in 39 innings over 46 appearances out of Seattle's bullpen this year. Since June 30, Stanek has a 9.45 ERA, six walks, eight K's, three holds and two blown saves in 6 2/3 innings pitched. In New York, he'll work alongside Phil Maton as a late-inning setup man in front of closer Edwin Diaz.

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San Francisco Giants right-hander Alex Cobb (hip, shoulder) will throw five innings in a minor-league rehab start for Single-A San Jose on Friday night, and if all goes well, he will return to make his 2024 debut for the Giants on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics. Cobb will essentially be replacing right-hander Jordan Hicks, who will make his last start of the year on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies before moving to the bullpen to protect his workload. The 36-year-old Cobb started the year on the injured list after having offseason hip surgery and then suffered a setback with his right shoulder along the way, keeping him out for the entire first half. Cobb has limited fantasy upside with a 19.9% career strikeout rate but could be a worthwhile deep-league streaming option in the right matchups when he returns to San Fran's starting rotation.

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San Francisco Giants right-hander Keaton Winn (elbow) will have season-ending surgery on Monday and will have an ulnar-nerve transposition. Winn has been on the injured list since June with a nerve issue in his right elbow and he'll now be forced to miss the rest of the 2024 campaign. Because of the nature of his surgery, there's a good chance that the 26-year-old won't be ready for the start of spring training next year or the 2025 regular season. Before his right-elbow injury cropped up, Winn went 3-8 with a rough 7.16 ERA (4.82 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 48 strikeouts and 20 walks in 55 1/3 innings over 12 starts in his second year in the big leagues with the Gigantes. Anyone that was holding onto him in deep NL-only leagues can now let go.

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The Tampa Bay Rays continue to make moves and acquired right-hander Cole Sulser from the New York Mets on Friday in exchange for cash considerations. Sulser has been optioned to Triple-A Durham. The Rays got things started by dealing outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night and also sent right-hander Zach Eflin to the division-rival Baltimore Orioles on Friday. The move for the 34-year-old Sulser is the most insignificant of the trio of moves after the Mets designated him for assignment earlier this week. He allowed five earned runs in just 4 2/3 relief innings in New York in 2024 and has a 4.06 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and 15 career saves in his six years in the majors with five different teams. Sulser made his big-league debut with the Rays in 2019 after being drafted by Cleveland in the 25th round back in 2013 out of Dartmouth. He's not on the fantasy radar.

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Seattle Mariners right-handed reliever Gregory Santos (knee) underwent an MRI exam that "came back OK," according to manager Scott Servais. It sounds like Santos will avoid a trip to the injured list and could potentially be available out of the bullpen as soon as Saturday on the road in Chicago against the White Sox. Santos will go through pre-game exercises on Friday to test his right knee after he hurt it in the eighth inning of Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Angels. The 24-year-old Dominican began the year on the IL in his first year in Seattle and has pitched just four innings in 2024, allowing three earned runs on four hits. It's been a disappointing year in Seattle so far, which is partly why the M's went out and acquired reliever Yimi Garcia on Friday from the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize (hamstring) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday as he continues to rehab from a left-hamstring strain that he suffered in late June. Saturday's session will be Mize's first time throwing off a mound since he hurt his hammy, and he'll likely need another bullpen before being cleared to face live hitters again. The 27-year-old former first overall pick in 2018 out of Auburn will also probably need a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining Detroit's starting rotation, so he's likely at least several weeks away from returning. In his first time in the majors since 2022, Mize has gone 2-6 this year with a 4.23 ERA (3.67 FIP) and 1.45 WHIP with a 58:21 K:BB in 16 starts (78 2/3 frames). His 16.8% strikeout rate has left a lot to be desire in fantasy circles in his first year back from injury.

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Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II (hamstring) feels confident that he can return by Aug. 14, when he's eligible to come off the 60-day injured list. Harris is making slow progress from a left-hamstring strain that put him on the 15-day injured list on June 15. The Braves moved him to the 60-day IL on Wednesday because of his slow recovery. In addition to missing extended time in 2024, the 23-year-old has been a disappointment offensively for the Braves, slashing .250/.295/.358 with a career-low .653 OPS, only five home runs, 20 RBI and eight stolen bases in 67 games played. With Harris injured and Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) out for the season, Atlanta has been hurting for outfield production. Harris deserves to be stashed in an IL spot in all fantasy leagues until he can return in mid-August. Until that happens, Jarred Kelenic will continue to start in center field regularly.

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Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows (hamstring) is scheduled to complete another baserunning session on Saturday and expects to begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon. Meadows continues to complete baseball activities daily as he recovers from a right-hamstring strain that he suffered in early July. The 24-year-old had his first baserunning session on Wednesday and should be cleared to begin a rehab assignment early next week if he avoids a setback with his hamstring on Saturday. The former second-round pick in 2018 has hit just .191/.298/.335 with six homers, 18 RBI and 12 steals in 72 big-league games since making his MLB debut in 2023, but his power/speed combination from the left side will make him attractive in at least deep-mixed leagues when he returns if he's playing regularly for Detroit.

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The San Francisco Giants placed infielder Thairo Estrada (wrist) on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a left-wrist sprain and recalled infielder Casey Schmitt from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. With Estrada on the shelf, Schmitt will start at the keystone and bat eighth on Friday against the visiting Colorado Rockies and left-hander Kyle Freeland. This will be the second time this year that Estrada has landed on the IL with a left-wrist sprain. The 28-year-old infielder has really only been valuable for middle-infield depth in deep-mixed leagues, at best, in 2024. Estrada is currently hitting just .216/.249/.353 with a weak .601 OPS, nine homers and 43 RBI in 87 games played in his fourth year in San Fran. Expect Schmitt to split time at second with Brett Wisely with Estrada on the shelf.

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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (personal) has been scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Houston Astros. The veteran slugger has reportedly left the team to deal with a family issue. It's unclear how long Freeman is going to be gone while dealing with this problem. Cavan Biggio will take over at first base and bat seventh versus lefty Framber Valdez on Friday. Fantasy managers should get Freeman out of their lineups ahead of first pitch.

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Chicago Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Kansas City Royals. The young slugger needs to clear his head after going hitless with four strikeouts during his previous series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Morel has plenty of potential with the bat, but he hasn't put it all together yet. In his absence, Miles Mastrobuoni will play third base and bat seventh versus right-hander Brady Singer. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.

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Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The lefty slugger has started in 10 straight games with only five hits during that time. That being said, Naylor could use a day off to rest and recover before getting back in the lineup. In the meantime, Jhonkensy Noel will start at first base and bat fifth versus left-hander Christopher Sanchez. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups with Naylor sitting out prior to first pitch.

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