

St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (back) is set to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday after pitching through a back issue on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. Matz went just 3 1/3 innings against Detroit on Tuesday and allowed seven hits (one home run) and four earned runs while walking two and striking out only one. The Cardinals will wait for the results of the MRI before deciding what to do next with the 32-year-old veteran southpaw. Fantasy managers that have Matz rostered in deeper leagues should prepare for the possibility that he will go on the injured list. After his poor start on Tuesday, he's now 1-2 on the year with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP while striking 17 in 27 2/3 frames over his first six starts in 2024.


Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Josh Lowe (hamstring, oblique), whose expected return last Saturday from an oblique strain was further delayed by right-hamstring tightness, will resume a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Thursday and then be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. It was a minor setback for the 26-year-old. As long as he doesn't suffer another setback, he could make his season debut with Tampa at some point this weekend or early next week. There's no reason that Lowe should be available on waiver wires after he slashed .292/.335/.500 with an .835 OPS, 20 home runs, 83 RB, 32 stolen bases and 71 runs scored in 501 plate appearances over 135 games for the Rays last year.


The Miami Marlins recalled rookie right-hander Roddery Munoz from Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, and he will make the start against the visiting Colorado Rockies with left-hander Jesus Luzardo (elbow) on the injured list. The Marlins optioned right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez to Jacksonville in a corresponding move. Munoz made his major-league debut on April 20 in a start against the Chicago Cubs and was handed a no-decision when he allowed two earned runs on two hits (two home runs) while walking one and striking out seven in five innings. He's been pretty bad in the minors, though, sporting an 8.62 ERA with 14 walks and nine strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings with Jacksonville. The matchup is about as good as it gets for Munoz in his second career start, but the 24-year-old is as risky as they come as a deep-league streamer.


Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud is getting the day off in the series finale on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. With d'Arnaud riding pine, Chadwick Tromp will catch left-hander Chris Sale and will bat ninth for the Braves against Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock. With Sean Murphy (oblique) on the injured list, d'Arnaud has become Atlanta's primary catcher and has thrived with the opportunity. The 35-year-old veteran is currently hitting .282 (20-for-71) with five home runs, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored in his first 25 games of the year. With a scheduled off day on Thursday before a showdown on the road in LA against the Dodgers, d'Arnaud should be back behind the dish on Friday. Tromp is one to avoid in DFS formats in the nine-hole.


The Baltimore Orioles activated left-hander John Means (forearm) from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday. We knew that the O's planned to activate Means at some point this week, but now it's official. The 31-year-old southpaw will take the rotation spot of the injured Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder) for now, but eventually one of Albert Suarez or Cole Irvin will get booted from the rotation when right-hander Kyle Bradish (elbow) returns this week. It's unclear yet when Means will make his season debut for the O's. If it doesn't come in the series finale on Thursday against the New York Yankees, it should come this weekend in a series against the Reds on the road in Cincinnati. He struck out eight hitters and threw 95 pitches in his final minor-league rehab start, so Means shouldn't be limited at all from a pitch-count perspective.
