The Boston Red Sox's medical staff is still gathering information on outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida's (hand) injury, and surgery isn't being ruled out. Yoshida jammed his left thumb in Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs and landed on the injured list on Wednesday with a left-thumb sprain. If surgery is needed, he'll obviously need to miss extended time, but a specific timetable probably won't be known until after he goes under the knife. Until Yoshida is able to return, the newly acquired Garrett Cooper figures to serve as Boston's primary designated hitter. The 30-year-old Tanaka continues to make plenty of contact and is currently hitting .275 (22-for-80) with a nice .348 on-base percentage, but he only has two home runs and has driven in 11.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes, the top prospect in baseball, will make another start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday. Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, has been knocking on the door for his first big-league promotion for a while, but the Pirates have patiently held off. The 21-year-old made it through six innings (75 pitches) in his sixth start for Indianapolis on Tuesday and didn't allow a run while allowing four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. At this point, he doesn't have much left to prove in the minors, but the Pirates don't want to rush him to the big leagues before he's sufficiently built up. In his six starts for Indy, Skenes has been downright dominant with a 0.39 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP with six walks and 41 K's in 23 innings. His MLB promotion is coming soon, so he needs to be rostered in all fantasy formats.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (hamstring) is penciled in to make his next start on Tuesday in Cincinnati against the Reds. Gallen left his last start last Friday with a minor hamstring injury. He was set to make his return on normal rest this Wednesday to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, but a long delay before Tuesday night's game caused lefty Jordan Montgomery to be pushed back to Wednesday. It allowed the D-backs to give the 28-year-old a little more rest before his next start. It's a bummer for fantasy managers that Gallen isn't starting at all this week, but he'll also get a much better matchup in the Reds than the Dodgers. He shouldn't have any issues with his hammy and should be returned to starting lineups in all fantasy formats next Tuesday.

New York Mets pitching prospect Christian Scott will be promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make his major-league debut on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays on the road, according to a source. Scott was ranked as the 99th prospect on ESPN's Kiley McDaniels' top-100 prospect list entering the spring and has dealt at Triple-A with 36 strikeouts, six walks and only 12 hits allowed in 25 1/3 innings pitched. Scott, the team's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, also had a strong 2.57 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 107 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 87 2/3 innings in three minor-league stops in 2023. The 24-year-old will likely be given a chance to stick in New York's rotation moving forward, which makes him worth a gamble in all fantasy formats. The Mets drafted Scott in the fifth round in 2021 out of Florida.

Boston Red Sox infielder Enmanuel Valdez has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester with Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) likely to make his Red Sox debut on Friday against the Minnesota Twins. The 25-year-old struggled mightily at the plate to begin the season, hitting just .156 with two homers and just a 4.1% walk rate against a bloated 30.6% strikeout rate across 98 trips to the plate. His 18 wRC+ suggests his offensive production was a whopping 82% below the league average. Valdez was much better in his big-league debut last season, when he hit .266 with six homers, five stolen bases, and a 102 wRC+ across 49 games and 149 trips to the plate.