Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider (hamstring) has been activated from the injured list and is tentatively slated to start on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. Strider spent the 2024-2025 off-season recovering from his elbow injury and, after returning on April 16, strained his right hamstring while playing catch in preparation for his scheduled start against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 21. During his outing against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 16, he went five innings, allowed two earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts in a no-decision against the Toronto Blue Jays. Strider may be on a pitch count on Tuesday, but fantasy managers who have been stashing him on the IL for most of the season should be ecstatic to plug him back into their lineups.

Washington Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker (knee) has been cleared to make his next start on Tuesday against the division-rival Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. Parker was forced to leave his last start early against the Braves last Wednesday after he was hit by a comebacker in his left knee in the fifth inning. However, the 25-year-old southpaw threw his normal between-starts bullpen session on Friday and has been cleared to make his next start this week. Before he left last Wednesday's contest, Parker had allowed four earned runs on four hits while walking two and striking out a season-high-tying six batters in 4 2/3 innings. He shouldn't have any restrictions in his rematch against the Braves on Tuesday, but he'll be a shaky fantasy streamer after having allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last four outings, dating back to April 27.

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander was limited by "something physically" in Sunday's 3-2 win against the Athletics. The veteran hurler could only get through four innings in the victory, yielding three hits and two earned runs, while striking out one and walking five. Verlander noted that he was dealing with a physical issue that the team was aware of before the outing. "I was able to work through and didn't feel like I was going to put myself at risk for injury, but clearly it was affecting my velocity and mechanics." Encouragingly, he also stated that he's "pretty optimistic" about being able to make his next start this weekend. Still, his velocity was down a few ticks, and he declined to further elaborate on the affected body part. It's something to monitor, as shoulder and neck issues hindered him in 2024.

PGH Baseball Now's John Perrotto reports that Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones (elbow) is likely to need Tommy John surgery, which means he won't pitch at all this season, according to two baseball sources. Doctors told Jones that he will need the procedure and "it's all but a done deal," according to the sources. The 23-year-old will miss the rest of the year and likely all of next year as well if he has the surgery. He's currently scheduled to meet with orthopedist Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Jones pitched 12 innings in four Grapefruit League games in spring training before being shut down with a UCL strain in his right elbow. He started playing catch in late April in hopes of returning around mid-July, but he recently suffered a setback and is now likely to have TJ surgery. Fantasy managers in single-year formats should start looking for replacements.

Braves Today's Lindsay Crosby speculates that the new best-case scenario for Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) is to play nine innings in the outfield on his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday and Wednesday and then let doctors check him out on Thursday before the team activates him for Friday's series opener against the San Diego Padres at home. Per a source, Acuna is expected to continue his rehab assignment on Tuesday and will not be activated for the series opener against the division-rival Washington Nationals on Tuesday. Another option is to have him spend a week playing every day between designated hitter and the outfield and then take him to Philadelphia for the start of a series against the rival Phillies next Tuesday, May 27. Either way, the 27-year-old former MVP is getting close to his 2025 MLB debut.