After slumping to open the 2025 regular season, Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas worked with hitting coach Pete Fatse this week to move the positioning of his hands further away from his body. The early results have been encouraging after Casas hit a three-run home run for the second straight day in Wednesday's loss to the Seattle Mariners. In his first 23 games, the 25-year-old left-handed slugger had a 39 wRC+ while batting .171 with a .570 OPS, which was the worst month of his career. As a result, manager Alex Cora recently moved him down from his customary fourth spot in the batting order. Both of his homers the last two days were just over 105 mph off the bat, and fantasy managers will be hoping Casas' adjustment with his stance will continue to mean more production after a slow start. Now he just needs to be moved back up the batting order.

The Washington Nationals announced on Thursday that they reinstated shortstop CJ Abrams (hip) from the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. Fantasy managers will want to check back a bit later to see if Abrams is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's contest against the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. The 24-year-old will be rejoining the big-league roster since landing on the IL back on April 12 due to a right hip-flexor strain. In two minor-league rehab games with Triple-A Rochester, Abrams went hitless in four at bats with two walks. Before tweaking his hip stealing a base, Abrams was hitting .244 (10-for-41) in the early going in 2025 with four home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and four stolen bases in 11 games. Get Abrams back into all starting fantasy lineups if he's active on Thursday, which he should be.UPDATE: Abrams is at shortstop and batting leadoff on Thursday against Orioles left-hander Cade Povich.

The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie outfielder Jake Mangum (groin) on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a left-groin strain and recalled infielder Coco Montes from Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move, according to Bally Sports Florida's Ryan Bass. Mangum strained his groin in Wednesday's win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and will now have to miss at least the next 10 days. It's a tough break for the 29-year-old, who has taken advantage of his opportunities early in his rookie year, going 23-for-68 (.338) with four doubles, seven RBI, a league-leading eight stolen bases and seven runs scored in his first 21 contests. Fantasy managers that scooped him up off waivers can only hope he's able to pick up where he left off when he returns from the IL. Jonny De Luca, Josh Lowe and Richie Palacios are also on the IL, so Kameron Misner should play every day for Tampa with Mangum now sidelined.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young and third baseman Jose Tena will start on the bench for Thursday's contest against the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. Dylan Crews is starting in center field and will bat eighth, Alex Call is in right field and in the two-hole, and Amed Rosario is starting at third base and batting sixth versus Orioles left-hander Cade Povich. Young went 0-for-3 on Wednesday to snap a three-game hitting streak and is hitting just .220 (11-for-50) with no homers, one RBI, two steals and six runs scored as a platoon outfielder in D.C. Tena has hits in both of his at-bats against lefties this year with two RBI, but the left-handed hitter will take a seat in favor of Rosario. Although Call has yet to clear the fences in 42 at-bats in 2025, he'll be the better DFS sleeper play in the second spot. The 30-year-old is hitting .310 (13-for-42) with eight RBI and seven runs scored.

The Kansas City Royals announced that left-hander Cole Ragans (groin) was pulled from his outing in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Thursday due to groin tightness. Ragans only made it three innings in the eventual 7-4 win, giving up four earned runs on three hits (two homers allowed) while walking two and striking out four for a no-decision. The 27-year-old southpaw will most likely go for additional testing, and fantasy managers should probably prepare for the worst, which would mean Ragans landing on the 15-day injured list. If his groin injury is minor, Ragans is lined up to make his next start next week against the Tampa Bay Rays. The former first-rounder came into Thursday's outing with a 3.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 42:7 K:BB in 27 2/3 innings over his five starts. Check back on Friday morning for an update on the severity of his groin injury.