Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (lat) threw his first bullpen session that consisted of around 20 pitches on Wednesday at Camden Yards, and he said he felt good while mixing in some offspeed pitches as well. "Arm's feeling good," Rodriguez said. "That's the most important thing." It's good news for the O's, but Rodriguez is still likely several weeks away from a return to the big-league starting rotation. The 24-year-old suffered a lat strain almost a month ago and will most likely need at least one minor-league rehab start before returning to the majors. It means that he might have a couple more starts to help fantasy managers down the stretch, if that. The former 11th overall pick in 2018 has improved in his second year in Baltimore, going 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and nice 26.5% strikeout rate over his 20 starts.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis is making his first career major-league start at second base and will bat in the two-hole in Wednesday's contest against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Cole Sulser at Tropicana Field. Jose Miranda will man the hot corner and hit cleanup for the Twins. Minnesota may want to transition Lewis to the keystone because of some throwing issues he's had on defense at third base recently. It remains to be seen if this is a permanent move going forward, but if it is, it will only make the 25-year-old former first overall pick that much more attractive in fantasy. Injuries have been Lewis' biggest obstacle early in his MLB career, but in just 59 games in 2024, he's already set a new career-high with 16 home runs to go along with 44 RBI in 235 plate appearances. Lewis is a must-start for his power alone in fantasy.

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (elbow) is back at third base and is hitting cleanup for the Astros on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Nick Martinez. Bregman will be back in action after missing the last four games due to renewed soreness in the back of his right elbow. It's an issue that already caused the 30-year-old veteran to miss five straight games in August, and he admitted it's something he's going to have to manage the rest of the season. Now that he's back, though, fantasy managers will want to reinsert him into their starting lineups in a good matchup. In 12 career at-bats against Martinez, Bregman has hit .333 with an RBI. Despite dealing with this elbow issue of late, Bregman hit .303 (27-for-89) with seven home runs, six doubles, 10 RBI and 14 runs scored in 21 games in the month of August.

Free-agent shortstop Elvis Andrus signed a contract with the Texas Rangers in order to retire with the organization later this week. Andrus never latched on with a team after he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, and now he'll make the decision to hang up his cleats after 15 years in the big leagues with the Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. The 36-year-old Venezuelan infielder broke into the big leagues in Texas back in 2009 and spent the first 12 years of his career with the Rangers, making the All-Star squads in 2010 and 2012. In 2,059 regular season games over his 15 seasons in the majors, Andrus slashed .269/.325/.370 with a .695 OPS, 102 home runs, 775 RBI, 347 stolen bases and 1,058 runs scored. He had one 20-homer season (2017) but was a regular speed threat early in his career while stealing a career-high 42 bags in 2013.

The Texas Rangers placed All-Star shortstop Corey Seager (hip) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with hip discomfort. Seager didn't play on Tuesday as a result of his hip injury and also missed three of the team's last seven games. The 30-year-old two-time World Series MVP will be able to come off the IL on Sept. 16, but with the Rangers well out of playoff contention in the final month of the season, it's quite possible we won't see Seager again until 2025. Josh Smith is starting at the 6 on Wednesday for Texas and is batting leadoff against New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman at Globe Life Field, and he should be the primary option in Seager's absence the rest of the way. If this is the end of Seager's 2024 campaign, he'll finish it with his third straight 30-homer season while also slashing .278/.353/.512 with an .864 OPS, 74 RBI and 68 runs scored in 123 games played.