St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Giovanny Gallegos (shoulder) will start a minor-league rehab assignment on Friday with Triple-A Memphis. Gallegos is nearing a return to St. Louis' big-league bullpen after being put on the injured list in early May due to a right-shoulder impingement. If the 32-year-old Mexican reliever can avoid any setbacks on his rehab assignment this weekend, he could return to the Cardinals' bullpen early next week. Gallegos will be hoping to be more effective as a late-inning setup man in front of closer Ryan Helsley when he returns, as he had surrendered 12 earned runs on 14 hits (five home runs) while walking seven and striking out 13 in just nine relief innings for the Red Birds before landing on the shelf. The Cardinals aren't going to rush him back until he's ready.

New York Yankees right-hander Cody Poteet (finger) will make the start on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants after the Yankees placed right-hander Clarke Schmidt (lat) on the 15-day injured list on Thursday. Poteet had been dealing with a blister on his finger at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but manager Aaron Boone said he's good to go for this weekend. The 29-year-old had a quality start and a win in his lone start in the big leagues for the Yankees this year, allowing one earned run while walking none and striking out four in six innings against the Cleveland Guardians on April 13. At Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he's gone 3-0 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 38:11 K:BB in 33 1/3 innings over seven starts. Poteet should be sufficiently stretched out and will only be worth a look as a fantasy streamer in much deeper leagues.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan (hamstring) appears to be on the verge of being reinstated from the 10-day injured list. The 26-year-old outfielder went 1-for-2 with an RBI, three runs scored, a stolen base and two walks in a minor-league rehab game with Triple-A Columbus on Thursday. Kwan played in two games for High-A Lake County before moving his rehab assignment to Columbus. If the Guardians have seen enough from Kwan in the minors, they could certainly activate him from the injured list in time to return to the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Washington Nationals. Once he's back, Kwan will be a must-start in all fantasy formats. The former fifth-rounder in 2018 out of Oregon State uses a contact-based approach at the plate and is currently slashing an exceptional .353/.407/.496 with a .903 OPS in 133 at-bats in 2024.

Oakland Athletics right-hander Joe Boyle (back) allowed four runs on four hits while walking four and striking out three in 2 1/3 innings in his second minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday. He threw 25 of his 43 pitches for strikes and averaged 100.1 mph with his four-seam fastball, which he threw 28 times. Manager Mark Kotsay said that Boyle feels like he has "turned a corner" with his back injury, which put him on the 15-day injured list on May 6. The 24-year-old didn't even record an out in his first rehab start last week, so Wednesday's outing was definitely an improvement. The A's are probably going to have Boyle make another rehab start or two, but the hard-throwing right-hander is nearing a return. Boyle had struggled in seven starts before his back injury cropped up, posting a 7.16 ERA and 1.73 WHIP with 29 K's and 23 walks in 27 2/3 innings for the A's.

Oakland Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn (foot) was still in a walking boot as of Tuesday. Manager Mark Kotsay said that Blackburn will probably be re-evaluated when the team returns to Oakland to open its next homestand on June 4 against the division-rival Seattle Mariners. Blackburn was placed on the injured list with a right-foot stress reaction and doesn't appear to be very close to a return. The 30-year-old's IL stint is retroactive to May 11, but as of right now, it looks like he won't return to the A's until the middle of June. At best, Blackburn will be deep-league streaming option when the matchups are right when he's healthy. Before injuring his foot, he went 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA (4.16 FIP) and 1.15 WHIP with 36 strikeouts and 13 walks in 46 innings over his eight starts.