San Diego Padres prospect Jackson Merrill has won the team's Opening Day center field job. As such, Merrill should be in the Padres' starting lineup for both of the games against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers to kick off the 2024 season in Korea on March 20-21. The 20-year-old projects to be the team's starting shortstop in the long term, but because of his athleticism and no other real options at center field, Merrill is going to open the season starting in center in San Diego. In addition to being athletic enough to play the outfield, Merrill hit .351/.400/.595 with two home runs and two steals in 13 Cactus League games this spring to win the job. Fantasy managers in deep-mixed and NL-only leagues may want to temper their expectations in Merrill's first season, but he's definitely a young player on the rise.

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham writes that right-hander Chris Martin (groin) may not be ready for Opening Day on March 28. Closer Kenley Jansen (back) was scratched from making his second Grapefruit League appearance on Monday, but the team still believes he has a shot to be ready by Opening Day. The 37-year-old Martin threw a live batting practice session in camp on Saturday, but he's running out of time to get ready for the start of the regular season. He's expected to need four spring training appearances in order to be ready for Opening Day. This is notable because Martin figures to be the BoSox's next man up for save chances if Jansen misses any time due to injury in 2024. Given Jansen's recent string of injuries and his age (36), it's likely he's going to miss time at some point. Josh Winckowski is another name that could see save chances early in the year if both Jansen and Martin aren't 100%.

Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen (back) has been scratched from the team's Grapefruit League game on Monday versus the Minnesota Twins due to lower-back tightness. However, he could pitch as soon as Tuesday, and the Red Sox still expect that he'll be ready for Opening Day on March 28. Jansen didn't make his spring training debut until last Friday due to lat soreness that he experienced after reporting to camp a month ago, so he hasn't been able to get much work in this spring. Boston is being extra cautious with the 36-year-old veteran reliever. Jansen is MLB's active leader in saves and will be Boston's primary ninth-inning man in 2024, but the injuries are beginning to pile up, and he should be considered a shaky No. 2 fantasy closer.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (back) was scratched from Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Boston Red Sox due to lower-back tightness on his right side, according to the team. It's unclear exactly how serious Buxton's back injury is, but given his lengthy injury history, we shouldn't be surprised if it ends up being something that causes him to start the 2024 season on the injured list. The oft-injured 30-year-old was unable to play a single game in the outfield for Minnesota last year due to a knee injury that required offseason surgery. Buxton played in only 85 games in 2023 and hit a weak .207 (63-for-304) but also hit 17 home runs and drove in 42. He has played in over 100 games just one in nine big-league seasons, so Buxton's inability to stay on the field now far outweighs his actual power/speed capabilities.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (abdomen, oblique) did not hit on the field at camp as scheduled on Monday. Judge did take part in outfield drills, though. Both the Yankees and Judge continue to downplay his injuries in spring training, but the longer he goes without returning to a Grapefruit League game, the more concerned fantasy managers should be that his injuries will affect his performance early in the 2024 season. The Yankees are being extremely cautious with Judge after he missed almost two months with a torn ligament in his big right toe last year. The 31-year-old former MVP also missed time due to a hip injury. Injuries aside, Judge is a top-10 overall fantasy asset, but his injuries this spring are going to make fantasy managers think twice before selecting him towards the end of the first round of drafts.