



Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz and outfielder Jacob Young are both resting on Saturday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Riley Adams will do the catching for left-hander Mitchell Parker and will bat ninth, while Alex Call will start in right field and bat sixth against D-backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. Dylan Crews is sliding from right field to center. Ruiz entered Friday's lost to Arizona riding a six-game hitting streak to begin the year but had it snapped when he went 0-for-4 . The 26-year-old Venezuelan has gone 8-for-25 in the early going with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored. Young, meanwhile, has struggled with just one hit in 15 at-bats in his first six games of the year. Adams is hitless in just one career at-bat against E-Rod, while Call has never faced him in his career.


St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera is retreating to the bench for Saturday's game at Fenway Park against the hosting Boston Red Sox. Pedro Pages will be behind the plate to catch right-hander Andre Pallante and will hit seventh against Red Sox right-hander Richard Fitts. Herrera has already proven that he's the team's primary backstop this week -- Willson Contreras has moved to first base -- by hitting four home runs and driving in nine runs in the last two games. The 24-year-old backstop put on an offensive display in Wednesday's 12-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels by clubbing three home runs. He'll get a little breather on Saturday after opening the 2025 campaign on fire with eight hits in 20 at-bats, including two doubles and a league-high 11 RBI in six games. Pages has swung the bat well, too, going 4-for-10 with a homer, a double and three RBI in his first 10 plate appearances.


After the Los Angeles Dodgers lost their first game of the season on Friday night, catcher Will Smith will get the day off on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. Austin Barnes will do the catching for rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki and will hit ninth versus Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola. Smith, one of the best hitting catchers in the best lineup in baseball, has gotten off to a great start at the plate in 2025, going 9-for-22 with a home run, a double, five RBI, five runs scored, nine walks and seven strikeouts in his first nine games. When active, the two-time All-Star backstop should be in all starting fantasy lineups. Barnes is a light-hitting backstop that should be avoided for DFS purposes, especially against Nola, who he is hitless against in just two career at-bats.


Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres (oblique) took swings off a tee in the batting cage on Saturday morning and said he felt great, according to MLive's Evan Woodbery. There's no timeline for Torres to return from the injured list, but he said, "I'm getting close. I really feel way better." When he initially injured his oblique, Torres was hoping to avoid an IL stint. Although the 28-year-old is eligible to come off the IL on Tuesday, it's unlikely that will happen. Still, it's good news that he's feeling better, which means he could return to Detroit's starting lineup sooner than later. In his first two games with the Tigers before getting hurt, he went 3-for-7 with a solo homer, two runs scored, and a walk. Until Torres is able to return, Detroit figures to continue using Colt Keith at the keystone, opening up regular playing time for Spencer Torkelson at first base.


New York Yankees right-hander Clark Schmidt (shoulder) is making his first minor-league rehab start on Saturday for Double-A Somerset, according to the team. Schmidt dealt with a minor right-shoulder injury near the end of spring training, and rather than having him push through it to start the year in the rotation, the Yankees played it safe and had him start the year on the injured list. The 29-year-old has gotten up to 46 pitches during simulated games to this point, but now he'll stretch himself out even further as he returns to game action on the farm. Fantasy managers stashing Schmidt in deeper leagues should expect him to make at least a couple of rehab starts before he rejoins New York's starting rotation. Despite missing three months with a lat strain in 2024, Schmidt had a strong year and posted a career-best 2.85 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 93 K's and 30 walks in 16 starts.
