Cincinnati Reds infielder Noelvi Marte will start on the bench for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Santiago Espinal will start at the hot corner and will bat eighth against Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon. In 13 career at-bats against Taillon, Espinal has hit .231 with a .462 OPS. Marte has been a regular for the Reds at either third base or designated hitter down the stretch and has hit .240 (12-for-50) with two doubles, four RBI, four walks, 18 strikeouts and three stolen bases in 15 games in the month of September. Overall, 2024 has been a disappointment for the 22-year-old Dominican after opening the year serving a suspension. He's managed to hit just .212/.251/.306 with four long balls, 18 RBI and nine stolen bases in 222 at-bats. Espinal will be a low-upside DFS sleeper at the bottom of Cincy's batting order.

The Minnesota Twins optioned right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul and recalled catcher Jair Camargo from St. Paul on Thursday. With Woods Richardson not set to pitch again during the regular season in 2024, the Twins elected to send him down to give them extra catching depth to close out the weekend series versus the Baltimore Orioles. The 24-year-old went out on a sour note in his first year in the big leagues by allowing three earned runs on six hits (one homer) while walking one and striking out two in just one inning in his final start on Wednesday against the Marlins. In his third year with the Twins in 2024, Woods Richardson ended up going 5-5 with a 4.17 ERA (4.12 FIP), a 1.29 WHIP and a 117:48 K:BB in 133 2/3 innings over 28 starts in his first full season in the big leagues. He came into 2024 with only 9 2/3 innings pitched in the big leagues.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will head to the bench on Friday in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium a day after the team clinched the American League West title with a decisive win over the division-rival Baltimore Orioles. In that contest, Judge hit a home run for the fifth straight game. Trent Grisham will start in center field on Friday and will bat seventh against Pirates rookie right-hander Jared Jones. Judge is having another fantastic season in 2024 and currently leads the AL in home runs (58), RBI (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.461), slugging percentage (.708), OPS (1.169), OPS+ (226) and total bases (392) in 157 games played. His .325 batting average (180-for-554) is third in the AL, so he still has a shot to win the AL Triple Crown with only three games remaining in the 2024 season.

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo and catcher Austin Wells will get the day off for Friday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium a day after the team clinched the American League East division title. Oswaldo Cabrera will start at first base and bat ninth, while Jose Trevino will do the catching and hit eighth against Pirates rookie right-hander Jared Jones. The Yankees are giving a lot of their regulars a day off after they celebrated their division title on Thursday evening with a win over the division-rival Baltimore Orioles. Since returning from a fractured forearm on Sept. 1, Rizzo has gone 17-for-71 (.239) with no home runs, five doubles, seven RBI, eight walks and 17 strikeouts in 21 games played. The Yankees will be hoping he can find some of his power stroke from the left side of the plate with the playoffs starting next week.

New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu (hip) is encouraged about how his hip is feeling and expects to start doing baseball activities over the next few days to try and put himself in a position to be ready for the American League Division Series. The Yankees won the American League East division on Thursday evening and will now have a bye for the wild-card round of the postseason, giving LeMahieu some extra time to heal. "I don't know if they'll use me or not, but I'm definitely gonna try to be available," LeMahieu said. The 36-year-old veteran infielder hasn't played since early September due to a right-hip impingement and could be left off the playoff roster even if he's ready to go by the start of the ALDS. LeMahieu has battled injuries during a frustrating 2024 season and has hit just .204 (41-for-201) with two homers and 26 RBI.