The Kansas City Royals placed left-handed reliever William Smith (back) on the 15-day injured list on Monday with lower-back spasms and recalled right-hander Carlos Hernandez from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. The 35-year-old veteran southpaw had been terrible of late, and this explains why. In his last five appearances out of the bullpen since Aug. 9, he surrendered 14 earned runs on 12 hits (three home runs) while walking two and striking out five over just 4 2/3 innings pitched. The brutal stretch raised his season ERA to 6.53 and his WHIP to 1.45. Smith has gone 0-4 this year for the Royals and has only picked up one save while striking out only 29 and walking 15 hitters in 41 1/3 total innings for work. He brings plenty of experience to KC's bullpen (114 career saves), but he can remain on the waiver wire in all fantasy leagues.

The Boston Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Brad Keller from Triple-A Worcester on Monday and designated pitcher Joely Rodriguez for assignment in a corresponding move. The Red Sox recently re-signed Keller to a minor-league deal after he previously rejected an assignment to Triple-A. The 29-year-old now finds himself back in the big leagues late in the 2024 season, where he'll likely serve in a low-leverage bullpen role for the BoSox. Keller began the year pitching for the Chicago White Sox before joining Boston. In his 10 relief appearances (20 2/3 innings) for the Red Sox in 2024, he hasn't been very good, allowing 13 earned runs on 24 hits (three home runs) while striking out 17 and walking seven. Fantasy managers in all formats can continue to avoid him.

The Houston Astros pulled relief pitcher Penn Murfee (elbow) off his minor-league rehab assignment late last week. Murfee had Tommy John surgery last July, and while the Astros were hopeful he could contribute to its bullpen depth this season, there were no concrete expectations. He experienced what the team described as "a reoccurrence of right-elbow discomfort" after one outing for Single-A Fayetteville. Murfee is now the fifth Astros pitcher this year to suffer a setback while rehabbing from an arm injury, joining Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy. The 30-year-old Murfee has been rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery all year and is now unlikely to pitch at all in 2024, even if the Astros make a deep postseason run.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said on Sunday that "there is nothing new to report" about outfielder Kyle Tucker's (shin) progress back in Houston after he didn't accompany the team on their two-city, seven-game road trip. General manager Dana Brown remains bullish that Tucker could return in the first week of September, but September starts in six days, and Espada confirmed that Tucker is still not sprinting at full speed, nor has he tested himself running the bases. Until he does, a minor-league rehab assignment won't be realistic. Brown has already said Tucker will have to manage some amount of pain upon his return, so fantasy managers that have been waiting all this time for Tucker's return shouldn't just expect him to return to his All-Star self. That Tucker continues to take batting practice and throw without issues is encouraging, though.

Houston Astros outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (neck) was out of the starting lineup for the third straight game on Sunday, but there's a strong chance he'll play in Monday's series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, according to manager Joe Espada. Alvarez is hitting .306 with 25 home runs and 67 RBI this year and is riding an 18-game on-base streak, during which he's batting .364 with five home runs. He's also hitting .352 with 17 home runs and a 1.123 OPS on the road this season. Fantasy managers will want to check to see if the 27-year-old is back in Monday's lineup. If he is, even in a tough matchup against right-hander Zack Wheeler, Alvarez needs to be returned to all starting fantasy lineups. Alvarez has two hits in two career at-bats against Wheeler.