The Texas Rangers have placed catcher Kyle Higashioka (ribs) on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a mild left-intercostal strain. Higashioka was held out of action on Wednesday due to a reported hamstring injury, but it appears the backstop also has an upper-body injury as well. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his status while he remains sidelined. Before his injury, Higashioka was splitting catching duties with Jonah Heim. Across 17 games this season, Higashioka posted a .254/.279/.390 slash line with five doubles and one home run. Under the hood, he generated a modest .310 xwOBA but only struck out at a 16.4 percent rate. While he remains sidelined, fantasy managers should expect Heim to see the vast majority of opportunities behind the dish.

The New York Yankees transferred outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Thursday to make room for outfielder Bryan De La Cruz on the 40-man roster after he was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. It's merely a procedural move and won't really change Stanton's timetable to make his 2025 debut. The 35-year-old veteran power hitter is dealing with tennis elbow in both of his arms and still doesn't have a specific timeline for his potential return to the big-league roster. The good news is that he recently started taking batting practice, but Stanton has yet to be cleared for a minor-league rehab assignment, meaning we probably won't see him until at least June. In the meantime, the left-handed-hitting Ben Rice will continue to benefit as the Yankees' primary DH.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto will start Thursday's contest against the division-rival Washington Nationals on the bench. Rafael Marchan will do the catching for right-hander Taijuan Walker and will hit ninth against Nationals right-hander Brad Lord. Realmuto will get a day to rest after going 6-for-20 with a homer, double and RBI in 21 plate appearances over the last week in five games. Although the three-time All-Star catcher does have four stolen bases already, he's been a bit of a disappointment for fantasy managers otherwise, slashing .237/.308/.361 with a .669 OPS, only two home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored in the first month of the 2025 season. Marchan will be a DFS sleeper to avoid at the catching position in the nine hole against a pitcher he's never faced. He has two hits in his 16 at-bats as the backup catcher.

The New York Yankees claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To make room for De La Cruz on the 40-man roster, the Yankees moved outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) to the 60-day injured list. De La Cruz began the 2025 season with Atlanta and went 9-for-47 (.191) with a double, one stolen base, one run, three walks and 18 strikeouts in 16 games for the Braves. The 28-year-old Dominican will now head to the American League East and will serve as minor-league outfield depth for the Yankees to start. If De La Cruz makes it back to the big leagues in the Bronx, he'll most likely be operating in a reserve outfield role off the bench.

The New York Mets transferred right-hander Frankie Montas (lat) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Thursday, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. It's merely a procedural move and won't affect Montas' timetable for return. He is not eligible to come off the IL until June. The 32-year-old veteran has been out all season to this point after suffering a high-grade right-lat strain early in spring training. When Montas is eventually ready after embarking on a lengthy minor-league rehab assignment, he should have a starting-rotation spot waiting for him in New York after signing a two-year, $34 million deal last December. The Dominican hurler only threw 1 1/3 innings in 2023 due to injury and was very mediocre with a 4.84 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in his 30 starts with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers last year, so fantasy managers may want to temper expectations when he returns.