
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (hip) was lifted from Thursday's series-finale win over the San Francisco Giants due to left hip-flexor tightness, according to the team. Castellanos was lifted in the seventh inning of the eventual 6-4 victory, with Max Kepler moving to right field and Edmundo Sosa entering the contest in left field. Before departing, the 33-year-old veteran 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a strikeout. The good news is that manager Rob Thomson said after the game that Castellanos should be good to play for Friday's series opener at Citizens Bank Park against the division-rival Miami Marlins. It's good news for the Phillies outfield with Brandon Marsh also dealing with a knee injury. Fantasy managers will want to check back to see if Castellanos is back in there on Friday. He's off to a hot start, as he entered Thursday's game hitting .303 with three homers and 11 RBI.

The Minnesota Twins are expected to call up consensus top-100 prospect Luke Keaschall from Triple-A St. Paul this weekend to provide lineup help with injuries mounting early in the season, a team source told The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman. Third baseman Royce Lewis (hamstring) began the year on the injured list after getting hurt in spring training, and the Twins just placed outfielder Matt Wallner (hamstring) on the IL earlier this week. In addition, shortstop Carlos Correa (wrist) and utility man Willi Castro (oblique) were injured this week, leaving Minnesota's roster thin. Jose Miranda (hand) and Austin Martin (hamstring) are on the IL at St. Paul. Keaschall, a second-rounder in 2023, is the team's reigning minor-league player of the year and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team's No. 3 prospect. He has only played second base in the minors this year, but he also has experience at first and center field. Keaschall has underrated power potential and above-average speed and could see regular playing time in the short term.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said after Thursday's 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants in the series finale that outfielder Brandon Marsh (knee) is day-to-day and is not considered a candidate to land on the injured list. Marsh was held out of the starting lineup on Thursday with a minor knee injury. The 27-year-old's knee is probably the least of his worries right now after a 4-for-42 start to the season with a home run, five RBI and 16 strikeouts in his first 17 games. He's currently hitless in his last 31 at-bats and probably could have used the day off, regardless of whether he was dealing with an injury. Marsh should eventually break out of his early-season funk, but if he continues to struggle, Johan Rojas will see more playing time in center field in Philly. Rojas came into Thursday's game hitting .278 (5-for-18) with no homers and a stolen base.

Free-agent right-handed reliever Hector Neris signed a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. Neris began the season in the Atlanta Braves' bullpen but allowed five earned runs on five hits (one homer) while walking one and striking out one in just an inning of work before he was designated for assignment. The 35-year-old veteran chose free agency after clearing waivers and has now latched on with the Halos. For the time being, he'll most likely report to Triple-A Salt Lake and serve as minor-league relief depth for the Angels. Neris saw a drop in his strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate last year with the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros despite winning 10 games and recording 18 total saves. He has 107 career saves over 12 big-league seasons, but his days as a high-leverage reliever are likely over.

Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney had a nice bounce-back outing on Thursday to help sweep the visiting Washington Nationals at PNC Park, tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings with five hits allowed, two walks and four strikeouts to win his first game of the season in a 1-0 ball game. It wasn't an eye-popping stat line when all was said and done, but Heaney induced a lot of weak contact and was efficient while throwing 95 pitches. The 33-year-old southpaw let up four earned runs in six innings in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds his last time out, but outside of that outing he's been strong in his first season in Pittsburgh. Heaney's strong effort on Thursday lowered his season ERA to 2.13 with 22 strikeouts and six walks in his first 25 1/3 innings pitched. While he shouldn't be counted on as a big strikeout guy, Heaney can continue to be a productive fantasy streamer in the right matchups.
