Kansas City Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel (back) had to leave Friday's game early in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers with lower-back tightness. The good news is that before leaving the contest in Texas, Isbel hit his fifth home run of the year, a solo shot in the third inning of starter Nathan Eovaldi. He was replaced in center field by Garrett Hampson. The former third-round pick in 2018 out of UNLV came into Friday's contest hitting a weak .225 (42-for-187) with a .270 on-base percentage and .618 OPS with four home runs, 19 RBI, four stolen bases and 25 runs scored in 62 games in his fourth year with the Royals. Until we know about the severity of his injury, consider him day-to-day. Hampson could get more looks in KC's outfield if Isbel's injury lands him on the injured list.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu (ankle) was back with the team on Friday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds and is likely to be activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday. Abreu had been seeing notable playing time before his ankle injury and was hitting .272/.344/.485 with an .829 OPS, six home runs, 22 RBI, seven stolen bases and 26 runs scored in 169 at-bats in 53 games in just his second year in the big leagues. His impending return could be bad news for Masataka Yoshida, who also hits left-handed. While Abreu has been a nice surprise off the waiver wire for fantasy managers in deeper leagues, keep in mind that his underlying numbers point to serious regression the rest of the way with an expected batting average of just .230.

Detroit Tigers right-hander Alex Faedo (hip) is scheduled to make his second minor-league rehab appearance on Saturday for Triple-A Toledo. In his first rehab outing on Wednesday, Faedo was able to throw a scoreless inning. If the 28-year-old doesn't encounter any setbacks on Saturday, he could come off the injured list after that and rejoin Detroit's bullpen. Faedo was originally the 18th overall pick in 2017 out of Florida and came up threw the team's minor-league system as a starter before being moved to a full-time relief role this year. In 21 appearances out of the bullpen for the Tigers before his injury, Faedo had gone 3-1 with six holds, a 3.38 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB in 34 2/3 innings. At best, Faedo is an option in the deepest of holds leagues when he's healthy.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (back) said he hopes to begin baseball activities on Monday and it seems like his recovery is still on a positive track. Carpenter is dealing with a pretty serious injury and has been shut down from all baseball activities since late May with a lumbar spine stress fracture in his back. The 26-year-old most certainly will not be back with the Tigers before the mid-July All-Star break but appears to be headed in the right direction with his rehab. The former 19th-round pick in 2019 has a bright future in Detroit and had been starting regularly against right-handed pitching before his injury, hitting an impressive .283 (41-for-145) with a .342 on-base percentage, .914 OPS, eight homers and 29 RBI. Until he's able to return, outfielders Matt Vierling and Wenceel Perez will be ticketed with more playing time in the outfield.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Kendall Graveman (shoulder) is in the middle of a throwing program with a remote chance that he could make it back in September. Graveman said his Jan. 10 surgery was to fix a torn labrum and clean up his rotator cuff. It was initially believed that the 33-year-old right-handed reliever would miss all of the 2024 season, but he's apparently made good progress and could make it back for the stretch run. Still, fantasy managers in deeper leagues probably don't have the room to stash a holds guy like Graveman. Plus, if he does return late in the year, the Astros probably won't have him pitching in high-leverage situations. He has 24 saves in nine big-league seasons and posted a 3.12 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, eight saves, 66 K's and 36 walks in 66 1/3 relief innings in 2023 with the Astros and Chicago White Sox.