MLB.com's Taylor McGregor reports that X-rays on Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly's hand came back negative. The 30-year-old took a 93 mph Tyler Glasnow sinker to his left hand in the bottom of the fifth inning on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, forcing him from the contest. Fortunately, he was able to stay in the game another inning before teammate Miguel Amaya replaced him, and his imaging was without concern. Kelly has been fantastic to start the season, batting a blistering .416 with an absurd 1.637 OPS over 24-at-bats. Six of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases, and he's walking a ludicrous 29.1% of the time while holding a stellar 8.1% strikeout rate. There doesn't appear to be too much concern over his hand, so consider him day-to-day for now. Still, fantasy managers will want to monitor his status.

According to Charles Goldsmith of Cincinnati Magazine, manager Terry Francona said Reds corner infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand (back/hamstring) might get a few days off in a row. He said, "CES is banged up (back/hamstring, which he dealt with in 2023), but he should be available off the bench, and it will be good to get him a few stacked days off." The injuries seem minor, considering he is not being placed on the injured list immediately. Encarnacion-Strand has gotten off to a sluggish start to his 2025 campaign, slashing .163/.192/.306 with only two home runs. In his absence, expect Noelvi Marte to occupy third base and continue to see more at-bats while Encarnacion-Strand sits for the next few days.

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Alexis Diaz (hamstring) is nearing a return, as he threw 18 pitches on Sunday in Triple-A Louisville. Still, manager Terry Francona said there's no decision on when Diaz will be activated. Francona said, "it was an encouraging sign to see him throw 14 of 18 strikes yesterday, but we've got some things to figure out". Last season, Diaz struggled at times as he had a walk rate of 12.8 percent, a career low 8.79 K/9, and only a 32.7 percent ground ball rate to go along with his 3.99 ERA and 4.57 FIP. Fantasy managers should expect him to take over closer responsibilities when he does return but may want to limit expectations, as Emilio Pagan has logged four saves and has a 1.23 ERA to start the 2025 season.

According to Charles Goldsmith of Cincinnati Magazine, manager Terry Francona hopes Reds outfielder Austin Hays (calf) will be back on Tuesday and that they'll evaluate him after he plays on Monday. Hays has played three games in Triple-A Louisville thus far after tweaking his calf in spring training. In those three games, he's had 10 plate appearances and has gone 2-for-9 with one home run and two RBI. Last year, Hays spent time with the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies and slashed .255/.303/.396 with five home runs. It will be interesting to see where he fits into the Reds lineup because when he was healthy in 2022 and 2023, Hays hit 32 home runs in those two seasons combined. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues should consider taking a flyer on him to see how it plays out.

New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger will retreat to the bench for Monday's series opener against the visiting Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Trent Grisham is starting in center field and will bat eighth against Royals right-hander Seth Lugo. Bellinger missed some time with food poisoning early last week, but he started the last four games for the Yankees after recovering. However, the Yankees are giving the 29-year-old left-handed slugger a day off after his slow start to the 2025 season. In his first 12 games in the Bronx, he has gone 9-for-46 (.196) with a home run, a triple, eight RBI, two steals, nine runs scored, four walks and 15 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances. Grisham has outperformed Bellinger so far with a .344 average, three homers and nine RBI in 32 at-bats, but he's down at the bottom of the batting order and is hitless in just three career at-bats against Lugo.