New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (hand) had the stitches removed from his surgically-repaired left hand on Monday, and he will begin working on strength and ramping up baseball activities, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. When Alvarez initially suffered his hand injury, he was given a timetable of six to eight weeks. It means that barring any setbacks once he begins swinging the bat full speed, the 23-year-old backstop has a chance to come off the injured list to make his 2025 debut before the end of April. Until that comes to pass, Luis Torrens will serve as the Mets' starting catcher, with Hayden Senger winning the backup job out of spring training. Alvarez's hand injury limited him to 100 regular-season games in 2024, but he deserves to be stashed in all fantasy leagues after he hit 25 home runs in his first full big-league season in 2023.

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (hamstring) is feeling good and will go through a full workout on Wednesday. The Royals will then re-evaluate him on Thursday morning to determine if he'll be in the starting lineup on Opening Day on Thursday versus the visiting Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Tanner Bibee. Pasquantino suffered a Grade 1-plus hamstring strain in spring training last weekend and is up in the air to be ready for Opening Day. In a worst-case scenario, the 27-year-old left-handed slugger will begin on the injured list and miss the first six games of the season. In that case, some combination of Salvador Perez, Mark Canha and Cavan Biggio would fill in at first base. If Pasquantino is in Thursday's lineup, he should be started in fantasy, as he's hit two homers off Bibee in just eight career at-bats.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted on Wednesday that third baseman Rafael Devers will open the 2025 regular season as the team's regular designated hitter. "Alex Bregman is going to play third, Raffy's going to DH. We all are in the winning business. He understands that," Cora said. Devers said earlier this spring that he had no plans to DH and wanted to remain at third base despite battling through injuries to both of his shoulders in 2024 that kept him from swinging a bat until the start of spring training. Everything changed when the BoSox signed Bregman in free agency. With Devers at DH full time, Bregman will play the hot corner, giving prospect Kristian Campbell the runway to impress at second base. The 28-year-old Devers will still have 3B eligibility in fantasy this year, but that might not be the case in 2026, which would drastically affect his fantasy value.

New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (knee) will start the 2025 season on the 15-day injured list with right-knee inflammation, according to New York Daily News' Abbey Mastracco. The Mets acquired Blackburn from the Athletics in a trade last year, but he made only five starts in New York before being shut down with a back injury that required surgery. The 31-year-old veteran's back is fine, but now he's dealing with a knee injury and isn't ready for Opening Day. The good news is that he's expected to be back before the end of April, but Blackburn will likely be relegated to a long-relief role out of the bullpen, leaving him virtually zero fantasy appeal. Blackburn also dealt with foot and hand injuries in 2024 and made just 14 starts combined, going 5-4 with a 4.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 59 strikeouts and 21 walks in 75 1/3 innings. He's off the fantasy radar in most leagues.

The New York Yankees announced on Wednesday that they placed infielder DJ LeMahieu (calf) on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to March 24) with a left-calf strain. LeMahieu's fantasy stock has fallen off a cliff the last few years. He was injured earlier this month and will not be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season. The good news is that the 36-year-old veteran has been eased into baseball activities, but he's without a timetable for a return. With LeMahieu on the shelf, Oswaldo Cabrera will open the year as the team's starting third baseman. Depending on how Cabrera is playing when LeMahieu is ready to return, it's possible that LeMahieu will be relegated to a bench role as a corner-infield option for the Yanks. The former three-time All-Star and two-time batting champion played in just 67 games in 2024 due to injuries and slashed a lowly .204/.269/.259 with a career-worst .527 OPS.