Miami Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session as he looks to build up after experiencing soreness early in camp. Garrett is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. The southpaw enjoyed a quality season in the 2023 campaign, working to a 3.66 ERA and an impressive 19.3% K-BB% on the back of a minuscule 4.4% BB%, the latter of which ranked fourth among pitchers who tossed at least 150 innings a season ago. The 26-year-old is certainly worth stashing in all fantasy formats as he sports a 3.86 ERA across 58 outings (56 starts) in his career, but also a 3.63 ERA alongside an 18.7% K-BB% over the last two seasons. A.J. Puk could crack the Marlins' rotation to begin the season in Braxton's absence.

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said he is more optimistic now about shortstop Corey Seager's (hernia) availability for Opening Day at the end of March. Seager had offseason hernia surgery but is coming along nicely this spring and should be ready to go for fantasy managers to kick off the 2024 regular season. The 29-year-old reigning World Series MVP has resumed swinging a bat and has also been taking ground balls and playing catch in camp. Despite missing some time last year due to hamstring and thumb injuries, he still finished with a .327/.390/.623 slash line, a 1.013 OPS, a career-high-tying 33 home runs, 96 RBI and 88 runs scored in 119 regular-season games to earn his fourth All-Star selection. Seager is ranked as the No. 33 overall fantasy player for the 2024 season.

The Houston Astros have remained engaged in the starting pitching market, according to multiple people with knowledge of the team's plans, and it stands to reason that free-agent left-hander Blake Snell may emerge as their top target. "As I've said multiple times, we always have our foot on the gas when it comes to winning and acquiring pitching," general manager Dana Brown said. "As long as Snell is on the market, we check in to ask what is the latest. Nothing new as of now." Adding another starting pitcher would help Houston's rotation, which won't have Justin Verlander (shoulder) for the start of the year. Snell made 32 starts for the San Diego Padres in 2023 and had a major-league-low 2.25 ERA to carry him to his second Cy Young award. However, he also issued a league-high 99 walks, which is part of the reason he remains unsigned.

New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga (shoulder) won't throw for another seven to 10 days, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns. After that, the Mets will get another round of imaging done on Senga to determine the next step. Senga's three-week shutdown has expired, but the team's "internal pacing" calls for a longer wait. The Mets just aren't going to take any chances with their 31-year-old ace to begin the season. He is recovering from a moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder and will open the 2024 campaign on the injured list. Senga is pretty certain to miss the first month of the season at this point, which is obviously a pretty big hit to his fantasy appeal as a back-end starter after his impressive first season in the big leagues in 2023.

Los Angeles Angels right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson (shoulder) is feeling shoulder "discomfort," according to manager Ron Washington. Stephenson had been feeling good about being ready for Opening Day on March 28, but Washington now concedes that Stephenson may run out of time. The skipper said the team did tests and is now just waiting for his discomfort to subside. Relievers require less time to build up than starters, but the 31-year-old veteran still appears to be more likely to open the year on the injured list. When healthy, Stephenson should be valuable to fantasy managers in holds leagues as the team's primary late-inning setup man to closer Carlos Estevez. With Stephenson likely set to miss some time to open the year, the Angels will ask Matt Moore and Jose Soriano to step up in setup roles.