Cincinnati Reds outfielder Austin Hays (calf) was placed on the 10-day injured list with a calf injury. Hays was held out of the starting lineup on Tuesday due to this injury and will now miss the start of the regular season. Hays signed a one-year contract with the Reds during the offseason. Last summer, the 29-year-old posted a .255/.303/.396 slash line split between time with the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies. He generated a modest .234 xBA with a low 3.5 percent walk rate. When healthy, Hays was expected to be the primary left fielder and was even projected to bat in the cleanup spot. However, while sidelined fantasy managers should expect Blake Dunn or Gavin Lux to have an increased role in left field.

Washington Nationals right-handed pitching prospect Brad Lord has made the Opening Day roster and will be deployed out of the bullpen. Lord was competing for a spot during spring training and was able to make the final cut. During camp, Lord posted a 6.08 ERA with a 1.43 WHIP across 13 1/3 innings. He tallied eight punchouts and allowed just three walks. He has yet to appear in an MLB contest and could make his debut on Opening Day if called on. Last season, the South Florida product spent time with High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. He spent most of his time at Double-A, where he posted a strong 1.40 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP. Across these 70 2/3 innings, Lord tallied 75 punchouts and served up 23 free passes. Fantasy managers should expect him to begin the season in a low-leverage role but could eventually grow into a high-leverage position.

Cincinnati Reds outfielders Blake Dunn and Jacob Hurtubise have both made the team's Opening Day roster, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith. Austin Hays (calf) will begin the year on the injured list, while the club also designated Stuart Fairchild for assignment. Dunn, 26, was excellent this spring with a .340/.404/.574 slash line, two homers, three doubles, a triple, eight RBI and a steal in 24 Cactus League games. The right-handed hitter could see some run early in the year with Spencer Steer (shoulder) limited to DH duties and Hays on the shelf. Hurtubise, 27, who bats left-handed, also earned a roster spot with a strong spring, going 11-for-38 (.289) with three doubles, two triples, three RBI and five steals in 23 spring training contests. He could be in play for the short side of a platoon in left with Dunn to begin the 2025 season.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said on Wednesday that he honestly doesn't know who the closer will be for Opening Day on Thursday against the visiting San Francisco Giants with Alexis Diaz (hamstring) on the injured list. "It depends on how we get there," Francona said. However, the skipper also said that "Tony Santillan is an easy choice, but he might be too valuable getting to the ninth." The Cincinnati Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith notes that Francona has pretty much always had a set closer on his roster, but it's truly up in the air in 2025 with no real clear-cut answer to the ninth inning. Other than Santillan, Emilio Pagan, Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow and Graham Ashcraft could all receive consideration for save chances in the early going, and it might be anyone's best guess as to who comes out leading the group by the end of the year.

The Detroit Tigers optioned outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy and left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press' Evan Petzold. Even with both Parker Meadows (arm) and Wenceel Perez (back) starting on the injured list, Malloy didn't survive final cuts out of camp despite hitting .314/.397/.373 with three doubles, six RBI and a stolen base in 21 Grapefruit League games this spring. Although the 25-year-old still has some power potential, he'll begin in the minors in 2025 and will merely be a bench bat for the Tigers whenever he returns to the majors. Chafin, 34, surprisingly won't open in Detroit's bullpen, even after Jason Foley was optioned to the minors. The veteran southpaw has 11 years of big-league experience, but he allowed eight earned runs while walking six and fanning nine in his six Grapefruit League innings in spring training.