Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider (elbow) is looking to throw 45-50 pitches in his second Grapefruit League start on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Because Strider was able to get up three times in his spring debut on Monday, he could pitch into the fourth inning this weekend. The 26-year-old could leave spring training needing only two to three more tune-up outings before making his 2025 debut. Atlanta will be very cautious with their ace, but Strider's progress so far in camp has been a best-case scenario. Barring a setback as he continues to ramp up after having an internal-brace procedure in mid-April of 2024, Strider should be back no later than late-April. Because of his great progress this spring, Strider's ADP continues to rise, and he's now ranked as the No. 15 fantasy starting pitcher at RotoBaller.

San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) will not be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season due to right-elbow inflammation, manager Mike Shildt confirmed on Friday. There is no timetable for Darvish's return. "We feel pretty comfortable that some rest and getting ramped back up will be the answer," Shildt said. Without a clear timeline for a potential return, we wouldn't blame fantasy managers for avoiding the 38-year-old Japanese veteran in upcoming drafts. He was also limited to only 16 starts in 2024 due to an elbow injury and a personal matter, so surgery on his elbow shouldn't be ruled out at this point. Darvish looked great down the stretch when he returned late last year, though, including two postseason appearances. Now that Darvish will officially open the year on the injured list, lefty Kyle Hart and right-hander Stephen Kolek are competing for the No. 5 rotation spot in SD.

Free-agent left-hander Julio Urias has been suspended until after the All-Star break for his second violation of the league's domestic-violence policy, MLB announced on Friday. Urias was suspended for 20 games in August of 2019 for his first domestic-violence violation, and now the 28-year-old southpaw will be forced to miss the whole first half of the 2025 season for an incident back in September of 2023. He can sign with a team after he serves his suspension, but that's probably unlikely to happen at this point. The Mexican hurler won a league-high 20 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 and had ERAs under 3.00 in both 2021 and 2022 before posting a 4.60 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 117 strikeouts and 24 walks in 117 1/3 innings over 21 starts in 2023. Urias did not pitch at all in 2024 and is obviously off the fantasy radar in 2025.

New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger will bat behind Aaron Judge and be the team's primary No. 3 hitter in 2025, sources tell the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Bellinger has been swinging a hot bat in Grapefruit League play, going 17-for-36 (.472) with two home runs, five doubles, five RBI and 11 runs scored in 14 games played. In his first year in the Bronx, the 29-year-old left-handed slugger will take over starting duties in center field for the Bombers, which allows the Yanks to move MVP Aaron Judge back to right field. The two-time All-Star and former National League MVP has been able to stay afloat for fantasy managers despite his low rate of quality contact, thanks mostly to him being able to limit the strikeouts. Belly had 47 homers in 2019 and then tanked (injuries didn't help). He's had just one 20-homer season since then. While he's RotoBaller's No. 25 outfielder in a strong lineup, there's still plenty of volatility with Bellinger.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (back) is beginning baseball activities in camp on Friday and is hoping to play in an exhibition game at Sacramento against the Athletics on Sunday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea. Lee said it's realistic that he could be on the team's Opening Day roster for the season opener next Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, but he also isn't trying to rush just to be available for the start of the season. White the 26-year-old's injury didn't end up being serious, he still hasn't played in any game action in over a week, which makes it unlikely that he'll be in the starting lineup on Opening Day on March 27. If he opens on the injured list, expect Luis Matos and Grant McCray to split playing time in center field. Lee is hoping to bounce back in 2025 after he played in just 37 games last year before needing season-ending shoulder injury. He's not off to a great start.