Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (knee) left Friday night's game against the hosting Los Angeles Dodgers with discomfort in his right knee. Before the team removed him from the contest, Perez hammered a three-run home run to left field off Dodgers right-hander Gavin Stone to give the Royals a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning of Friday's loss. He'll be further evaluated ahead of Saturday's showdown in LA, and fantasy managers should deem the veteran slugging backstop day-to-day for now. The 34-year-old Perez has been as good as ever in 2024, slashing a robust .297/.375/.490 with 11 homers, 15 doubles, and 45 RBI covering 249 at-bats (66 games) as KC's everyday cleanup hitter. Freddy Fermin would be worth a look in two-catcher formats if Perez needs to miss more action, batting .294 (35-for-119) over 41 outings this season, and corner outfielder MJ Melendez could also see some work behind the plate in this case.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (concussion) was removed from Friday night's game against the hosting Colorado Rockies due to concussion-like symptoms. Davis is currently being examined by Pittsburgh's medical staff, and veteran Yasmani Grandal replaced him behind the plate after Davis went 0-for-2 on Friday. The 24-year-old former No. 1 overall just hasn't been able to put it together this season and is watching his stock swiftly decline, slashing a frigid .153/.267/.235 with one home run and five RBI through 102 plate appearances for the Pirates. Consider him day-to-day until more is known ahead of Saturday's clash with Colorado. Grandal would get all the action he could handle as the backstop for any time Davis needs to miss, but the switch-hitter has gone just 14-for-85 (.165) in 27 outings and wouldn't be a viable option in two-catcher leagues.

New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo had a nice homecoming in Boston on Friday night where the lefty went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, four RBI, and a run scored in an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Verdugo smacked a two-run home run in his first at-bat in his return to Fenway and followed that with an RBI double in the fifth inning and an RBI single in the ninth inning. Verdugo has been scorching-hot over the last week with four multi-hit games with a .355 batting average while driving in seven runs. Verdugo has been excellent hitting cleanup for the Yankees this season and will look to continue his hot June against the Red Sox the rest of this weekend with the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves heading to New York next week.

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (elbow) said his elbow was bothering him after the fifth inning of Friday's game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Manager Brandon Hyde said Baltimore will have Bradish undergo further tests to determine what the problem is. Considering Bradish missed the first month of the year with a UCL sprain during spring training, it's not exactly what the O's or fantasy managers want to be hearing. With five strong innings on Friday against the Phillies, the 27-year-old right-hander sports a 2.75 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 53 punchouts and 15 walks through 39 1/3 innings in 2024. Bradish is tentatively slated to start next Friday's matchup against the Houston Astros, though his test results would need to come back clean for that to happen.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (groin) threw 60 pitches in the bullpen on Friday afternoon ahead of the series opener against the hosting New York Mets, simulating three innings of work. Darvish said earlier in the afternoon that he felt the simulation would be a sufficient ramp-up for him to be ready to have his next step be starting a game, and that return from a strained left groin will likely come during the team's upcoming homestand that begins with Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He'll throw a regular between-starts bullpen session before then, and it sounds like Darvish may not need a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining San Diego's rotation perhaps as early as late next week. The 37-year-old five-time All-Star right-hander owns a solid 3.20 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 53:15 K:BB through 56 1/3 innings for the Padres this year, and he should be stashed in all fantasy leagues.