The Boston Red Sox placed catcher Connor Wong on the paternity list on Monday and recalled catcher Tyler Heineman from Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Wong will now miss up to the next three days while tending to a personal matter. Reese McGuire will handle the catching duties for Boston on Monday and will bat eighth against Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt. Heineman will back up McGuire while Wong is away from the club this week. Fantasy managers should expect the 28-year-old Wong to next suit up on Friday against the San Diego Padres. While he's certainly due regression in the second half of the year, Wong is as hot as can be right now and currently is riding a 13-game hitting streak that has seen him go 17-for-48 (.354) with two homers and 10 RBI since June 6. He's hitting .330/.390/.480 with an .870 OPS, seven homers and 29 RBI in a breakout season.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho (back) remains out of the team's starting lineup on Monday against the division-rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Varsho injured his back in Saturday's loss to the Cleveland Guardians and will now miss his second straight game. For now, fantasy managers need to keep him on their benches and consider him day-to-day. Veteran Kevin Kiermaier is starting in center field in Monday's series opener and will bat ninth against Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck. Varsho is barely hitting over .200 on the year but offers a modest mix of power and speed with 11 homers and eight stolen bases in 242 at-bats this year. Kiermaier has three hits in six career at-bats versus Houck but is also hitting just .184 (25-for-136) on the year and has minimal DFS upside in the nine-hole in Toronto's batting order.

The Cincinnati Reds placed outfielder TJ Friedl (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a right-hamstring strain and selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Levi Jordan from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move. Friedl injured his right hamstring a week ago and missed two games before returning to the Reds' lineup over the weekend. However, the 28-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder aggravated the injury on Sunday and will now head to the injured list for the third time in 2024. When healthy, Friedl can be a weapon for the Reds and fantasy managers against right-handed pitching, but he just hasn't been able to stay healthy this year. Hopefully, he'll have a minimum stay on the IL. In the meantime, Stuart Fairchild will probably benefit the most from more playing time in center field.UPDATE: Manager David Bell said Friedl was playing at about 80-85 percent and is hoping he will be back in two to three weeks.

The St. Louis Cardinals officially activated catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) from the 10-day injured list on Monday and optioned catcher Nick Raposo to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. The team also activated right-hander Nick Robertson (elbow) from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Memphis. Contreras will draw right back into the starting lineup at catcher and will bat third on Monday against the visiting Atlanta Braves and rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach. The 32-year-old has made it back well before his projected timetable after fracturing his left forearm in early May, which has to make the Cardinals and fantasy managers ecstatic. Contreras will return to starting catching duties in St. Louis, but he may be eased back in with rookie Pedro Pages serving as his backup since Ivan Herrera (back) is on the IL.

Seattle Mariners outfield prospect Lazaro Montes is having a great season with Single-A Modesto. Through 65 games, he's slashing .309/.411/.527 with 13 doubles, 13 home runs, and a 43:59 BB/SO ratio. At just 19 years old, he's shown outstanding offensive prowess. After posting a 1.049 OPS in an otherworldly May, he's followed up with an impressive June. So far, he's slashing .254/.386/.493 with three doubles, four homers, and a 13:20 BB/SO this month. Seattle's No. 4 prospect (per MLB.com), Montes is expected to make his MLB debut in 1986.