Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker has been red-hot at the plate in May. Rooker is coming off winning the American League Player of the Week award and crushed a two-run home run on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners at an exit velocity of 113.4 mph, marking the hardest-hit ball of his career. He now has 10 home runs on the season after a two-hit day. In 10 games so far in May, Rooker has gone 17-for-38 (.447) with five home runs. He leads the majors with 14 RBI. "This is the maturation of Brent," manager Mark Kotsay said. "It's a follow-up of last year and the success he had. The at-bats he had off Castillo were great. He's seeing the ball really well and taking a great swing." Fantasy managers would be foolish to remove a hitter this hot from their starting lineups.

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay revealed after Sunday's loss to the Seattle Mariners that left-hander Alex Wood (shoulder) has been dealing with a shoulder issue for some time now, which appeared to worsen on Sunday. Wood's sinker averaged 88.6 mph, over two mph slower than his season average. He was pulled after just two innings in which the Mariners scored five runs and generated a ton of hard contact. Six of Seattle's 10 balls put in play against Wood registered an exit velocity of 100.2 mph or higher. Kotsay said the team will send Wood for further evaluations, and Wood is unsure if he will make his next scheduled start this weekend against the Kansas City Royals. If Wood were to miss time, the A's would likely turn to an in-house option with either Kyle Muller or Mitch Spence, both of whom are currently long relievers out of the bullpen.

Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof (oblique) has joined the A's for their series in Houston against the Astros this week and could be activated for the series in Houston. Gelof could be activated from the 10-day injured list and return to the starting lineup for Tuesday's game, so fantasy managers should be ready to get Gelof back into their lineups in deeper leagues. The 24-year-old played in back-to-back minor-league rehab games for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday and apparently got the green light to return to the big leagues. When he's back, he should return to starting duties at the keystone for Oakland. A strained left oblique is what sent Gelof to the injured list. Fantasy managers that have Gelof rostered in deeper leagues will be hoping he can improve on his current .196/.260/.337 slash line through his first 92 at-bats in 2024.

The Oakland Athletics placed right-hander Paul Blackburn on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 11) on Monday with a stress reaction of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot and recalled left-hander Easton Lucas from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. Blackburn will be in a walking boot for at least two weeks, so he's not going to be ready to return to the A's when he's eligible. Before injuring his foot, the 30-year-old Blackburn went 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA (4.18 FIP) and 1.15 WHIP with 13 walks and 36 strikeouts in 46 innings over his eight starts. With a career 6.9 K/9 in 399 big-league innings, Blackburn has a low fantasy ceiling when he's healthy, especially while pitching for the A's. His turn in the rotation, which comes up next on Thursday against the Houston Astros, could be taken by Joey Estes.

It's "possible" that Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (elbow) returns from the injured list this weekend, according to manager Brandon Hyde. Pitcher Cole Irvin is already scheduled to start on Wednesday, the first day that Rodriguez is eligible to return from the injured list, but the team's rotation after their scheduled off day on Thursday has yet to be announced. If the 24-year-old Rodriguez does return this weekend, his first start off the injured list would be a solid matchup against the Seattle Mariners. Rodriguez threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Sunday and didn't suffer any setbacks. He's been out since the start of May with right-shoulder inflammation, and it appears that the Orioles aren't going to send him on a minor-league rehab assignment before he returns. Rodriguez went 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.41 WHIP with 37 K's in 34 innings over his first six starts of the year.