With lefty Shane McClanahan (elbow) sidelined by his second Tommy John surgery and with righty Tyler Glasnow now pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, right-hander Zach Eflin is set to headline the Tampa Bay Rays' starting rotation in 2024. Eflin had a career year in 2023 in his first year in Tampa, producing a career-best 3.50 ERA with 186 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings over 31 starts, all career-high marks. The 29-year-old's passion for pitching, vast arsenal and pinpoint command make him an attractive low-end No. 2 starter for fantasy managers heading into his second year with the Rays as their staff ace. Eflin's success in 2023 came from using his cutter more while also adding a sweeper. It also helped that he stayed healthy. While Eflin probably isn't going to finish as a top-10 fantasy starter again in 2024, it's clear he's pretty valuable.

With Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) recovering from shoulder surgery and Corbin Burnes recently being traded to the Baltimore Orioles, right-hander Freddy Peralta was the logical choice to be the team's Opening Day starter in 2024 on the road against the New York Mets on March 28. General manager Matt Arnold confirmed this. "We are counting on him this year, and he is going to be our Opening Day starter," Arnold said. Peralta has a 3.83 ERA over 580 innings pitched in his six-year career with the Brewers. After an injury-plagued 2022, the 27-year-old stayed healthy last year and set career-highs in starts (30) and innings (165 2/3) while boasting an excellent 30.9% strikeout rate, which ranked fourth in the league. He was undone by the long ball, so if Peralta can keep the ball in the yard more in 2024, he could be even better this year as a high-end No. 2 fantasy starter.

Updating a previous report, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy (hand) was diagnosed with a left-hand contusion and is day-to-day, according to the team. Muncy was hit by a pitch on his left hand in his first at-bat of Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Texas Rangers and was removed early. X-rays on his left hand came back negative, which is great news for the Dodgers and Muncy with the start of the 2024 regular season less than a month away. LA could hold Muncy out of spring training games for a few days, but he should be ready for the two-game series in Korea against the division-rival San Diego Padres on March 20-21. Muncy gives fantasy managers plenty of power, RBI and on-base percentage, but he'll put a serious drain on your team's batting average and has been injury-prone in recent years.

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yu Chang (oblique) is dealing with a left-oblique injury in camp and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. The 28-year-old Taiwanese infielder suffered the injury during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game versus the Toronto Blue Jays and is now likely to open the 2024 regular season on the injured list. When he's healthy enough to return, Chang will now likely make his season debut in the minors with Triple-A Durham. He's expected to fill a reserve role for the Rays this year if he's in the big leagues. Chang went 17-for-105 (.162) with six home runs, 18 RBI and four stolen bases in 39 games for the Boston Red Sox in 2023 and has a weak .204/.265/.359 career slash line with 20 homers and 79 RBI in 235 games in his five major-league seasons.

The New York Mets have recently checked in on free-agent starting pitchers, including right-hander Michael Lorenzen, according to league sources. However, the communication likely reflects a desire to stay connected if they have another injury rather than imminent, serious interest. New York's top starter, Kodai Senga, has already been shut down for three weeks due to a strain in the back of his shoulder. FanGraphs projects the Mets to have the sixth-worst rotation in the majors, so adding more pitching depth would be a good idea. They are banking on a bounce-back from Luis Severino and steps forward from Sean Manaea and Tylor Megill. Other options to beef up the rotation besides Lorenzen include lefties Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery and righty Mike Clevinger.