

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales (ankle) is going on the 10-day injured list on Friday after suffering a non-displaced left-ankle fracture in the Opening Day loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday, according to manager Derek Shelton. In a corresponding move, the team is recalling infielder Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis. The 25-year-old Gonzales hit a two-run home run on Opening Day but was hobbling pretty badly while trotting around the bases and was immediately removed from the game. Pittsburgh's starting lineup for Friday's contest in Miami has yet to be announced, but veteran Adam Frazier, who replaced Gonzales at the keystone on Thursday, will likely make the start at second base against right-hander Connor Gillispie. There's no timetable for Gonzales, but fantasy managers should expect him to miss at least a month of action, if not more.


New York Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor is making a second straight start in center field and is batting seventh on Friday against Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown at Daikin Park in Houston. In the early going, manager Carlos Mendoza has favored Taylor in center over Jose Siri. In the Opening Day loss to the Astros on Thursday, Taylor went 1-for-4 with a single. While the 31-year-old veteran has the advantage over Siri so far in the early going, both he and Siri are expected to split reps pretty evenly in center field over the course of the season. In his first year in the Big Apple last year, Taylor slashed .248/.299/.401 with a career-low .701 OPS, seven home runs, 35 RBI, 11 runs scored and 47 runs scored in a career-high 130 games played. He can offer modest speed and power numbers in a part-time role for those in NL-only formats. Taylor has never faced Brown in his MLB career.


New York Mets infielder Brett Baty is starting at second base and batting eighth on Friday against the Houston Astros and right-hander Hunter Brown at Daikin Park. In the Opening Day loss to the Astros, Luisangel Acuna made the start at the keystone against left-hander Framber Valdez. With Jeff McNeil (oblique) on the injured list to begin the year, Baty and Acuna are expected to be in a platoon at second, with Baty facing righties and Acuna facing lefties. Especially after slashing .353/.441/.745 with four home runs in 20 Grapefruit League games during spring training, Baty is an interesting post-hype prospect for the Mets in the strong side of a platoon at second. However, hitting out of the eight-hole isn't great for his DFS upside. Baty comes into this one with one hit in three career at-bats against Brown.



Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim will make his first start of the year on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Tanner Houck at Globe Life Field. Kyle Higashioka will take a seat on the bench for the second game of the season. Heim is doing the catching for right-hander Jack Leiter and is hitting eighth in the batting order. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitting Heim has lost a lot of fantasy appeal now that he's essentially in a timeshare with Higashioka after posting a disappointing .603 OPS in 2024. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year with the San Diego Padres last year, posting a .739 OPS with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played. Higashioka went 1-for-4 with an RBI double on Opening Day in the loss to the Red Sox. Heim has gone deep once with three RBI in just five career at-bats versus Houck.


Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Michael Fulmer will open the season in the Worcester Red Sox starting rotation at the Triple-A level. Fulmer signed a two-year minor league contract with Boston earlier in the winter. During camp, the Red Sox began to increase his workload to attempt to transition him to a starter. However, the team slowly increased his workload as he missed the entire 2024 campaign after undergoing UCL revision surgery. He performed very well during spring training as he held an impressive 0.79 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP across 11 1/3 innings of work. He posted a 3:12 BB:K. He last appeared in the major leagues during the 2023 season when he held a 4.42 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP across 57 innings of work. If Fulmer were to succeed as a starter at Triple-A, he could eventually compete for a role in the big league rotation.
