Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Monday that catcher Will Smith (ankle) could make his Cactus League debut by Thursday or Friday of this week. Smith is dealing with a minor ankle injury early in spring training, but it hasn't kept him from catching bullpens or taking batting practice. If the 29-year-old backstop can get through some running drills this week, he should be cleared to play in a game on Thursday or Friday. Although the Dodgers open the 2025 season in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18 against the Chicago Cubs, Smith should be ready in time, barring a setback when he starts playing in games. Smith's minor ankle injury in camp shouldn't be a reason for fantasy managers to fade him as a top-10 catcher in upcoming drafts. The former first-rounder has been an All-Star each of the last two years and hit 20 homers and drove in over 70 runs in 2024 for the third time in the last four seasons.

MLB.com's AJ Cassavell reports that San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (illness) is still dealing with an illness, and it's unclear when he'll make his Cactus League debut. "He's going to require a little bit more recovery," manager Mike Shildt said. It's still early in spring training, so fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned about the 26-year-old All-Star not being ready for Opening Day at the end of March. We probably should never expect Tatis to put up the numbers he did in 2022 before he was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, but his stolen base numbers could be on the rise again after he suffered a stress reaction in his right quadriceps last year that cost him two-plus months. When healthy, Tatis is still one of the best power/speed threats in all of baseball, making him worthy of a selection late in the first round or early in the second round of upcoming drafts.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Grapefruit League game on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies was rained out, but right-hander Paul Skenes still threw a 45-pitch live batting practice session at LECOM Park, according to the team. The 22-year-old will have to wait to make his spring training debut in a game, but it has nothing to do with any kind of injury. The former first overall pick out of LSU took the league by storm last year in his MLB debut, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA (2.44 FIP), 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts and 32 walks in 133 innings over 23 starts to become a first-time All-Star while also winning the National League Rookie of the Year honors. The sky is the limit for Skenes in 2025 in what will be his first full MLB campaign with the Bucs. RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 2 fantasy pitcher and the No. 11 overall player.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich (back) took batting practice on the field at camp on Monday morning, and manager Pat Murphy thinks Yelich will make his Cactus League debut once the calendar flips to March. The Brewers are understandably taking it slow with Yelich early in spring training after he had a microdiscectomy to fix a herniated disc in his lower back last August, but he's coming along nicely and should be ready for Opening Day in late March, barring a setback. The 33-year-old veteran left-handed hitter has had ongoing back issues in recent seasons, but hopefully his procedure last year will correct everything moving forward. There's obvious risk from a fantasy perspective from such a surgery, but it helps to know that the former MVP was hitting .315 with 11 homers, 42 RBI and 21 steals in 73 games before he was shut down last year. Yelich is RotoBaller's No. 27 outfielder in 2025.

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham reports that the Boston Red Sox don't see right-hander Kutter Crawford (knee) being ready for Opening Day in late March. The good news for the Red Sox is that they do believe right-handers Brayan Bello (shoulder) and Lucas Giolito (elbow) will be ready based on their schedules early in spring training. Crawford, 28, will now be much less attractive as pitching depth in deep-mixed leagues due to patellar-tendon soreness that he's been dealing with early in camp. If he cannot make significant progress soon, Crawford will likely open the 2025 regular season on the 15-day injured list. The former 16th-round pick in 2017 out of Florida Gulf Coast University admitted to being gassed down the stretch last year after making a league-high 33 starts and throwing a career-high 183 2/3 innings. Crawford finished with a 4.36 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 175 K's but also a league-high 34 homers allowed.