St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera (knee) is making good progress from a bone bruise in his left knee and is hoping to go on a minor-league rehab assignment next week. Depending on when Herrera actually begins his rehab assignment, he might need only a handful of games before he's activated from the injured list and rejoins the Cardinals as their primary catcher. The 24-year-old broke out of the gates strong in 2025 by going 8-for-21 in a small sample size, but with four home runs, 11 RBI and six runs scored. The native of Panama won't be able to sustain that kind of offensive production all year long, but he's going to play regularly and gives fantasy managers upside at a weak position. When Herrera is back with the big-league club, Pedro Pages will revert to a backup role. Pages is currently hitting .250 (15-for-60) with one homer and 10 RBI.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez will take a seat for the first time this season for Friday's series opener against the visiting Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. Freddy Fermin is doing the catching for right-hander Seth Lugo and will hit eighth against Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski. It makes sense for the Royals to rest Perez for the first time all year after he played in both games of a doubleheader on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. The 34-year-old veteran backstop did have a big day on Thursday, going 5-for-8 with four doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in the team's two victories, but overall he's gotten off to a slow start at the plate in 2025. Perez is currently slashing .220/.271/.360 with two homers and 14 RBI in 26 games. Hopefully his big day on Thursday will lead to more offensive production going forward.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer (thumb) threw 27 pitches off the mound on Friday in what manager John Schneider called a "step in the right direction." There's still no timetable for when Scherzer might be able to return to Toronto's starting rotation, but it's good news overall after he's had multiple setbacks with his right thumb. The 40-year-old three-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star made just one start before landing on the injured list with his thumb injury, and he required multiple injections in order to deal with the discomfort. Hopefully now he'll eventually be able to build up his arm and go on a minor-league rehab assignment in the near future. The future Hall of Famer can still be valuable in fantasy, but injuries have become a major problem in the last several seasons. In his lone start against the Orioles on March 29, he allowed two earned runs in just three innings of work.

Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena is getting his first game off of the season for Friday's series opener against the visiting Miami Marlins at T-Mobile Park. With Arozarena out, Miles Mastrobuoni will man left field in Seattle and bat seventh against Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill. In his first 25 games of his first season with the M's, Arozarena has gone 18-for-90 (.200) with four home runs, six doubles, 17 RBI, a league-leading eight stolen bases, 11 runs scored, 19 walks and 31 strikeouts. It's a good time for the 30-year-old to get his first breather of the year, as he's gone 4-for-24 (.167) with three walks and 12 K's in his last six games. Arozarena isn't going to provide fantasy managers with help in the average department, but his power/speed combination remains valuable in all formats. Mastrobuoni has never faced Quantrill and is hitting .258 (8-for-31) in the early going with no homers and no RBI.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz will get the day off on Friday for the series opener in Kansas City against the Royals. Victor Caratini will replace him behind the plate and catch right-hander Hayden Wesneski while batting seventh against Royals veteran right-hander Seth Lugo. Diaz will get a day off to start the series in KC after getting off to a sluggish start to the season with the bat. The 26-year-old Dominican backstop has gone 13-for-75 (.173) with just one home run, eight RBI, six runs scored, three walks and 16 strikeouts in his first 20 games. The good news, though, is that he went 4-for-12 with a double, triple and RBI in the team's recent three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, so fantasy managers will be hoping he can continue that this weekend. Caratini has hit .429 with an .858 OPS in seven career at-bats against Lugo, but he still represents a weak DFS play at the position.