TL;DRSkim
The five fastest-moving roster calls of the morning, in priority order:
- WATCH — Shohei Ohtani (100% owned) sat for the first time in over a month. Roberts called an IL stint "unlikely, but not impossible" and said Ohtani is "not close to optimal."
- HOLD — Adley Rutschman (71% owned) hit two home runs in his return to Baltimore, snapping a brutal stretch with Boston.
- HOLD — Tarik Skubal worked 5.2 innings on 102 pitches against St. Louis. A grind, not a decline — he owns a 3.00 ERA and 30.6% strikeout rate in five Dodgers starts.
- WATCH — Ceddanne Rafaela (76% owned) sat again with lingering quad tightness. Boston has a wild-card race to manage, so don't read this as coasting.
- ADD — Cal Quantrill (25% owned) is 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA across nearly 100 innings after not making Texas' Opening Day roster.
Rutschman Homers Twice in Camden Yards Return
HOLD · BOS · C
Adley Rutschman (71% owned) returned to Camden Yards for the first time since the Aug. 3 trade and homered in his first at-bat, driving a 1-1 curveball from Orioles starter Brandon Young over the right-field wall with two outs in the first to put Boston up 1-0. The crowd — and the Baltimore dugout — gave him a standing ovation before the pitch, and he got a video tribute between innings.
Then he did it again, going deep on the first pitch he saw in the sixth to cut Baltimore's lead to 3-2. It was his 10th and 11th homers of the season and his second and third since the trade. The first at-bat made him the 13th player in major league history to homer in his first plate appearance against the team that traded him in the same season.
The fantasy read is in what he entered the night carrying. Rutschman was hitting .170/.254/.245 in 15 games with Boston and had missed the previous three games with a lingering right elbow issue. This was a three-time All-Star rediscovering a swing that had gone missing, in the most conspicuous possible setting.
Action: HOLD — Start him. He's rostered in most leagues that matter, but if he's on your wire because of the Boston slump, this is the moment to claim him. Track the elbow, which cost him three games this week.
Ohtani Sits With Biceps, Neck and Knee Issues
WATCH · LAD · DH/SP
Shohei Ohtani (100% owned) was out of the lineup Thursday — his first day off in more than a month — after striking out four times in Wednesday's 8-6, 10-inning loss to St. Louis, the first time all season he'd gone down on strikes four consecutive times.
The visual triggered it. Ohtani shook out his right arm and winced repeatedly, and his lower-body mobility looked compromised on his swings. "I saw the shaking of the arm. I saw wincing," Roberts said. "Clearly the swings aren't who he is... He's not close to optimal." Roberts texted him after the game to tell him he'd be sitting; Ohtani replied with a salute emoji.
The injury picture now has three parts: the left knee that has kept him off the mound since July 3, the right biceps, and neck discomfort — a new issue that Roberts described as extending from the biceps into the right side of the neck. Symptoms have not improved in recent weeks.
On the IL question, be precise about who said what. Roberts called a stint "unlikely, but not impossible." GM Brandon Gomes said there's no reason to place him on the IL right now and that losing him for 10 days is something the club would prefer not to do and hasn't discussed. Neither disputed that he's hurt.
Alex Call took the DH spot batting eighth, with Tommy Edman moving into Ohtani's leadoff role. Ohtani's status for Friday's series opener against Washington was pending a Thursday check-in with trainers.
Action: WATCH — Do not drop or sell. But check the lineup card every day this week rather than assuming he's in, and have a bench bat ready. The Dodgers have made clear they're prioritizing October over any individual September game.
Skubal Grinds Through 5.2 Against St. Louis
HOLD · LAD · SP
Tarik Skubal allowed 10 hits and two earned runs over 5.2 innings with one walk and six strikeouts on 102 pitches against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, opposite rookie left-hander Quinn Mathews.
It was a grind, not a decline. Skubal is a two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner and 2024 Triple Crown winner, and in his first month with Los Angeles he's posted a 3.00 ERA across five starts and 30 innings with 37 strikeouts against seven walks — a 30.6% strikeout rate. Ten hits in a start is noise against that profile, not a signal that he's become a contact manager.
Action: HOLD — He is a top-three starter in fantasy and nothing about this outing changes that. Start him everywhere, every time.
Quantrill Delivering on a Nothing Investment
ADD · TEX · SP
Cal Quantrill (25% owned) didn't make Texas' Opening Day roster and has since compiled a 7-5 record with a 2.79 ERA across nearly 100 innings — one of the better value pickups of the season anywhere in baseball.
Action: ADD in 12-team and deeper leagues. At 25% ownership with a sub-3.00 ERA and a secure rotation spot on a team still in the wild-card race, the price hasn't caught up to the production.
Rafaela Sits Again With Quad Tightness
WATCH · BOS · CF
Ceddanne Rafaela (76% owned) was out of the lineup again, alongside Trevor Story, with the quad tightness that pulled him from Wednesday's game as a precaution. The issue remains day-to-day.
One correction on framing: Boston isn't coasting. The Red Sox are 75-65 with a 4.5-game cushion for the second wild card and 22 games left — a comfortable position, not a clinched one. The rest is about protecting a speed-dependent player, not about seeding being settled.
Action: WATCH — Don't start him until he's in a lineup. Quad issues on a player whose value runs through his legs tend to cost stolen bases well past the return date.
Brandon Young Wears Rutschman's Homecoming
WATCH · BAL · SP
Brandon Young (18% owned) went 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and three earned runs — two of them on the Rutschman homers that framed the night. The strikeout total is the encouraging part; serving up the two most-watched swings of the evening is the part that will follow him in the highlights.
Action: WATCH in 14-team-plus leagues. He's a starter with a real strikeout rate on a fading team, so this is a strikeouts-and-matchups play rather than a ratios one.
Jake Bennett Strikes Out Seven Over Six
ADD · BOS · SP
Jake Bennett (36% owned) threw six innings with seven strikeouts and three earned runs, gaining 8.6 points on the add tracker — the largest single-day move on the board.
Bennett is a rotation piece, not a swingman. He held the Yankees to three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in the doubleheader opener last Saturday, and he's now put together consecutive strong outings for a club fighting for a wild card.
Action: ADD in 12-team and deeper leagues. Two good starts in a row at 36% ownership on a contender is worth a claim ahead of the ownership curve.
Marlins DFA Jiménez, Recall De Los Santos
DROP · MIA · 3B
Leo Jiménez (0% owned) was designated for assignment after hitting .199/.306/.259 with two homers and 14 RBI in 66 games. Deyvison De Los Santos (0% owned) was recalled and is expected to hold a regular lineup spot the rest of the way.
Action: DROP Jiménez everywhere. De Los Santos is an NL-only and deep-league flier — the playing time is real, the track record isn't yet.
Dobbins Out 12 Months After Second Elbow Surgery
WATCH · BOS · SP
Hunter Dobbins underwent reconstructive surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and faces a 12-month recovery — the second operation on that arm.
Action: DROP in all redraft formats. In dynasty, a second reconstruction on the same elbow is a significant hit to his long-term value.
Webb Day-to-Day After Line Drive
WATCH · CHC · RP
Jacob Webb was struck by a 102.5 mph line drive on Sept. 2. X-rays were negative but he has lingering pain and bruising, leaving him day-to-day.
Action: WATCH — Holds-league relevance only. Wait for a clean bill before rostering.
McClanahan Asked to Go Deep After Bullpen Drain
STREAM · TB · SP
Kevin Cash said he wants Shane McClanahan to pitch efficiently and work beyond his usual five-to-six-inning range, with Tampa Bay's bullpen taxed from the previous night. It's a workload directive, not an injury note.
Action: STREAM in favorable matchups. A manager publicly asking for length is a mild positive for win and strikeout volume.
Jung Progresses to Sprint Work
WATCH · TEX · 3B
Josh Jung has moved from jogging to sprinting in his rehab, with the Rangers cautiously optimistic. No timetable has been set.
Action: WATCH — No timetable means no roster spot in redraft. Revisit when a rehab assignment is announced.
Eovaldi Throws 25-Pitch Bullpen
WATCH · TEX · SP
Nathan Eovaldi threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session without restriction. Friday's report determines whether he progresses to another bullpen or live batting practice.
Action: WATCH — Dynasty and deep-league IL stashes only. Wait for a minor-league rehab start before committing an active spot.
Blue Jays Win Five of Six, Stay in the Hunt
HOLD · TOR · TEAM
Toronto won in Cleveland and has taken five of its last six. The Jays sit 1.5 games behind Cleveland for the final AL wild card, tied with Baltimore and Texas, heading into a series against Kansas City.
Action: HOLD — No roster action. The three-way tie means Toronto's regulars are playing meaningful games all month, which supports counting stats across the roster.
Crow-Armstrong Finally Solves Milwaukee
HOLD · CHC · OF
Pete Crow-Armstrong was 3-for-34 with 17 strikeouts and no extra-base hits against Milwaukee pitching this season before taking Logan Henderson deep for a two-run homer.
Action: HOLD — One swing against a season-long nemesis is a nice story, not a trend. No change to his rest-of-season outlook.
Teel Nearing a Rehab Assignment
STASH · CWS · C
Kyle Teel is "closer than this morning" to returning, per Will Venable, with a possible Friday assignment to Triple-A Charlotte. That's a rehab start, not a major-league activation.
Action: STASH in dynasty and two-catcher leagues. Redraft managers can wait until he's actually on the White Sox roster.
Gasper Gaining Traction in Boston
WATCH · BOS · 1B/DH
Mickey Gasper (11% owned) gained 2.9 points on the add tracker and started at first base against Baltimore.
Action: WATCH — Deep-league and AL-only only. The at-bats are real but the role isn't locked.
Anderson Trending Up in Seattle
WATCH · SEA · P
Kade Anderson (30% owned) gained 4.0 points on the add tracker.
Action: WATCH — Confirm his role before claiming. Ownership movement without a defined job isn't an add signal.
Duran Ticking Up on the Add Board
HOLD · TEX · SS
Ezequiel Duran (48% owned) gained 2.4 points on the add tracker.
Action: HOLD — Depth asset at his current ownership. No buy signal.