The Athletic's Matt Kawahara reports that Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown does not think pitchers Forrest Whitley (knee) and Kaleb Ort (oblique) will be ready to go for the start of the season. However, Brown did note that both relievers could return "inside the month of April." The oft-injured Whitley sustained a bruised knee during his last spring training appearance, and although it appears minor, he's still working through it. While his major-league experience is capped at three innings, the 27-year-old was excellent to close out the 2024 season for Triple-A Sugar Land. On the other hand, Ort picked up an oblique injury early in camp and is behind in his build-up. The 33-year-old was superb for the Stros a season ago with a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings, though he compiled a 6.26 ERA or higher over the prior two seasons. They'll boost Houston's bullpen when both are healthy, and it appears their stays on the IL won't be for long.

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said that second baseman Thairo Estrada (wrist) will miss four to eight weeks with a broken right wrist that he suffered when he was hit by Texas Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker in Cactus League action on Thursday night. Estrada will get another X-ray in around four weeks. With the 29-year-old now out for the foreseeable future, the Rockies plan to use Kyle Farmer at the keystone to open the season. This is obviously a big blow for Estrada's fantasy value in NL-only leagues to begin the 2025 campaign. Farmer, 34, will see a notable boost in deep-mixed and NL-only formats with additional playing time, but don't expect a ton. He's a .250/.310/.391 career hitter in eight MLB seasons and batted just .214 (46-for-215) with five homers, 25 RBI and 49 strikeouts in 242 plate appearances with the Twins in 2024.

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (forearm) is starting at second base and is batting second in the team's Cactus League game on Friday against the San Diego Padres. Hoerner continues to recover from flexor-tendon surgery last October, which kept him from appearing in the season-opening, two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hoerner will be in the lineup on Friday, but it remains to be seen if he'll be ready for the U.S. opener next Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. When fully healthy, the 27-year-old will resume duties as the team's regular second baseman in 2025 after the former first-rounder hit .273/.335/.373 with seven home runs, 48 RBI and 31 steals in 151 games in 2024 in his sixth big-league season. He's not flashy by any means and doesn't have much power, but he's consistent, puts the ball in play and has averaged 31 steals the last three years.

The Atlanta Braves move to use right-handed pitching prospect AJ Smith-Shawver on Friday in the Grapefruit League against the Tampa Bay Rays suggests that the team could be lining him up to make his first start of the 2025 season on Monday, March 31, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Justin Toscano suggests. The 22-year-old could be in the lead for the No. 5 rotation spot as he competes with Ian Anderson, but the Braves may prefer to open the year with a six-man rotation given the fact that they open the year with seven straight games before their first off day. The former seventh-rounder has fanned 18 with just three walks in 12 spring innings over his four starts after he made only one start in the regular season in the majors in 2024. A matchup against L.A. early on wouldn't be ideal, and Smith-Shawver may just be holding a rotation spot in April until Spencer Strider (elbow) is ready to return.

Atlanta Braves catching prospect Drake Baldwin has officially made the team's Opening Day roster, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Justin Toscano. This was the full expectation once it was announced that primary backstop Sean Murphy (rib) was expected to miss at least the first couple weeks of the regular season due to injury. The 23-year-old Baldwin has the tools to be a starting fantasy catcher and he could end up sticking around at the major-league level all year, even when Murphy is ready to make his 2025 debut. He has held his own in spring training as well, hitting .303 (10-for-33) with two doubles, three RBI and four runs scored in 15 Grapefruit League games. The Braves' top prospect, per MLB Pipeline, also hit 18 homers in the minors in 2024. In two-catcher leagues, take a chance on Baldwin.