The Seattle Mariners reinstated infielder Jorge Polanco from the paternity list on Thursday and also optioned infielder Leo Rivas and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to Triple-A Tacoma. Polanco will return to the team after missing the last few games and should be back in the starting lineup at second base for Friday's series opener versus the San Francisco Giants and veteran right-hander Justin Verlander. After an injury-plagued 2024 campaign for the veteran 31-year-old, it's been nice to see Polanco get going early in 2025 with six hits in his first 15 at-bats. He's cleared the fences one time and driven in four in 16 plate appearances. Polanco doesn't have great history in his career against Verlander -- he's hit .133 with a .649 OPS in 15 at-bats -- but he does have a solo home run against him.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak reports that pitching prospect Carlos Rodriguez is in the team's clubhouse on Thursday before their game against the visiting division-rival Cincinnati Reds. It sounds as though he's being called up from Triple-A Nashville, and the 23-year-old will be a candidate to start just his third game in the big leagues on Friday. In his first start of the year for Nashville, the team's No. 23 prospect per MLB Pipeline, gave up an unearned run while walking one and fanning seven in five innings of work. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound hurler allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on 19 hits (three homers) while walking three and striking out nine in 12 1/3 innings in his first three MLB starts in 2024. Rodriguez attacks hitters with six different pitches but doesn't really have an elite pitch and should probably be avoided in fantasy if he makes a spot start on Friday.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Thursday that infielder DJ LeMahieu (calf) is "about a week away" from taking live at-bats as he recovers from a left-calf strain that he suffered in spring training. "It would be a pretty big build-up, I'd want him to have a spring training," Boone said when asked about a timeline for LeMahieu's return. It sounds as though the Yankees don't expect the 36-year-old veteran to be back with the big-league squad during the month of April, which is good news for Oswaldo Cabrera, who has been serving as the Yankees' primary third baseman to begin the year. LeMahieu, a three-time All-Star and two-time MLB batting champion, played in only 67 games in 2024 due to injuries and has fallen off a cliff offensively in recent years. He hit just .204/.269/.259 with two homers when on the field last year and won't be guaranteed consistent playing time when he returns to the Bronx.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that closer Devin Williams will come off the paternity list on Friday for the team's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Williams will miss his third and final game in the series finale in the Bronx on Thursday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, but he'll be available if a save situation arises on Friday. Right-hander Luke Weaver is the next man up for save situations for the Yankees with Williams away from the team temporarily, but he hasn't been used at all since Williams left the team. The 30-year-old Williams picked up a save in his first appearance with the Yankees last week against his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, but he did give up an earned run on two hits while striking out two. If he stays healthy, Williams could be one of the most productive closers in the league for fantasy managers.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Gavin Lux and outfielder Jake Fraley are both sitting out on Thursday in Milwaukee against the division-rival Brewers with a left-hander on the mound. Matt McLain is starting at second base and batting second, and Blake Dunn gets the start in right field and is hitting sixth versus Brewers lefty Nestor Cortes. Santiago Espinal is starting in left field and is batting eighth. Lux, who has hit righties much better in his career, is off to a slow start in his first year in Cincy by going 4-for-19 with a double, RBI, two walks and four strikeouts in his first six games. Fraley has been even worse, going 2-for-18 with an RBI, no walks and three strikeouts in five games played in the early going. Espinal is the only one who has faced Cortes in his career and is hitless in just five at-bats.