Detroit Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney will start Friday's game on the bench against the visiting Chicago Cubs at Comerica Park. Javier Baez will make the start at shortstop for this one and will bat in the nine-hole against Cubs right-hander Ben Brown. Sweeney hasn't done much at the plate so far in 2025 with a .222/.279/.312 slash line, four home runs, 23 RBI, 25 runs scored and two stolen bases in his 189 at-bats. As a result, he's lost playing time of late and finds himself on the bench on Friday for the fourth time in the last six games. The former first-rounder has lost playing time with the Tigers getting healthier, and Detroit has gone with Baez and Zach McKinstry at the 6 in recent days. Baez has been bouncing between shortstop and the outfield this year and has actually looked much better at the plate, hitting .275 (50-for-182) with six homers. There's still power there, but he's a low-upside DFS play in the nine-hole.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch will sit out of Friday's lineup against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park with tough left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound. Veteran Justin Turner will make the start at first base and will hit eighth in the batting order. Busch is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak in which he's gone 10-for-23 with two home runs, so he'll be hoping to continue that streak when he returns to action on Saturday. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter is a big reason why the Cubs have had one of the best offenses in baseball this year, slashing .275/.374/.508 with an .882 OPS, nine home runs, 36 RBI, 27 runs scored and three steals in 189 at-bats. Turner has slowed near the end of his career and is no longer an everyday bat, making him one to avoid near the bottom of the lineup against one of the best pitchers in MLB.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, according to manager Torey Lovullo. We knew things didn't look good when Burnes went for a second opinion on his injured right elbow after he landed on the injured list earlier this week with inflammation in his arm. The 30-year-old veteran will now miss the rest of the 2025 season and most likely at least half of 2026 as well. It's a big blow for fantasy managers and the D-backs, as he was serving as the club's ace and will finish his first year in the desert with a 3-2 record, 2.66 ERA (3.89 FIP) and 1.17 WHIP with 63 strikeouts and 26 walks in 64 1/3 innings pitched over 11 starts. Fantasy managers can now safely drop the four-time All-Star and former Cy Young in redraft leagues. Right-hander Ryne Nelson has entered the rotation and could stick around for the foreseeable future.

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll will take a seat on the bench in Friday's series opener against the hosting Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark with a left-hander on the mound. With Carroll resting, veteran Randal Grichuk will start in right field and bat fifth against Reds southpaw Nick Lodolo. Grichuk has typically been a lefty killer in his career, but he's hit .224 (15-for-67) with two of his three home runs against them this year and he's also gone hitless in three career at-bats against Lodolo. Carroll is one of the best all-around players in the game and rarely takes a day off, so we should see him back in there for Game 2 of the series in Cincy on Saturday. The 24-year-old former first-rounder is hitting .259 but with an xBA of .275, and he's already clubbed 18 long balls, driven in 39, scored 49 runs and stolen 10 bags.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (groin) is returning to the starting lineup for Friday's contest against the hosting Pittsburgh Pirates and left-hander Bailey Falter, doing the catching for right-hander Joe Ross and hitting fifth. Realmuto took a foul ball off his groin late in Wednesday's game and was held out of Thursday's game as a result. Now that the 34-year-old veteran backstop is back in the lineup, he'll try to break out of a current slump that has seen him record only four hits in his last eight games played. Realmuto's .254 expected batting average point to some positive regression coming for the three-time All-Star, but so far in 2025, he's been a disappointment for his fantasy managers. He enters Friday's game slashing .226/.297/.358 with five home runs, 22 RBI, 18 runs and four stolen bases. Realmuto is hitless in two career at-bats against Falter.