Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is getting the day off for Friday's series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park. Mauricio Dubon will take over at the hot corner and will bat ninth for the Astros against Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. Bregman missed five games in August and another four games recently due to renewed soreness in the back of his right elbow, but his absence on Friday appears to just be maintenance related. The 30-year-old is going to be managing his elbow injury the rest of the way in 2024, so it's something to watch, but Bregman remains a must-start in fantasy when he's on the diamond. Since the start of August, Bregman has looked great despite is elbow issue, going 28-for-95 (.295) with seven homers, seven doubles and 10 RBI in 23 games played.

The Arizona Diamondbacks activated All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte (ankle) from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Jorge Barrosa to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move. The Diamondbacks haven't posted their starting lineup yet for Friday's series opener at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros, but Marte should be back at either second base or as the designated hitter against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez. The 30-year-old has been sidelined since mid-August after aggravating a low-grade ankle sprain. The matchup on Friday makes Marte a fade in DFS in his first game back, but fantasy managers in redraft leagues need to get him back into their lineups immediately. The Dominican infielder is in the midst of a career year in 2024 and will return to a .298/.370/.560 slash line with a .930 OPS, 30 homers, 81 RBI and six stolen bases.

Miami Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez (back) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup for the Fish on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies and right-hander Zack Wheeler at LoanDepot Park for the second game of the series against the division rivals. Sanchez returns to the lineup after missing the last two ball games with mild back spasms. The matchup isn't the greatest for Sanchez in his return, but he is batting .400 with a .905 OPS and two RBI in 15 career at-bats against Wheeler. In addition to his strong numbers against Wheeler, the 26-year-old Dominican outfielder enters Friday's contest riding a modest five-game hitting streak in which he's gone 6-for-11 with two RBI, two stolen bases and a run scored. Sanchez has offered a modest power/speed combination for fantasy managers in 2024 and has provided 17 long balls and 12 stolen bases in 414 total at-bats.

Despite suffering a minor setback in his rehab that prevented him from making back-to-back appearances this week, Boston Red Sox veteran right-handed reliever Liam Hendriks (elbow) said he remains convinced he will return in 2024. Hendriks thinks he can be effective to close out the year and expects his stuff to bounce back to pre-Tommy John surgery levels in 2025. The 35-year-old Aussie is under contract with Boston next year as well and should be expected to be a key piece as a late-inning setup man. However, it remains to be seen if he'll even pitch in the big leagues down the stretch this year with the Red Sox fighting for the final spot in the American League wild-card race. The three-time All-Star has 116 career saves in his 13 years in the big leagues, but he has appeared in just five games in the last two years.

The Boston Red Sox are expected to activate shortstop Trevor Story (shoulder) from the 60-day injured on Saturday and put him into the lineup immediately at shortstop at Fenway Park against the Chicago White Sox and left-hander Garrett Crochet. When Story went down early in the year with a serious shoulder injury while diving for a ball at shortstop, it was considered more of a long shot that he'd return in 2024, but here we are. The 31-year-old veteran will return as Boston's starting shortstop for the stretch run as the BoSox fight for the final wild-card spot in the American League. With Story set to return this weekend, the Red Sox will move Ceddanne Rafaela to second base. Fantasy managers shouldn't be expecting the oft-injured Story to be a difference-maker at the plate in the fantasy postseason after such a long layoff.