Los Angeles Angels second baseman Luis Rengifo (hamstring) will serve as the designated hitter in the team's Cactus League game on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics. Meanwhile, first baseman Nolan Schanuel (back) could also return to the lineup. Rengifo will return to spring action after leaving Tuesday's contest with a left-hamstring injury. Schanuel was scratched from Monday's Cactus League game due to back tightness. Both Rengifo and Schanuel should be ready for Opening Day next Thursday. Rengifo is expected to be the team's regular season baseman, while the 22-year-old Schanuel is projected to be the Angels' primary first baseman after impressing in his first MLB call-up after being taken 12th overall in last year's draft. Rengifo and Schanuel don't have a ton of fantasy upside in mixed leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers optioned left-hander Aaron Ashby and outfielder Joey Wiemer to Triple-A Nashville on Friday and also reassigned infielder Christian Arroyo to minor-league camp. Although he's healthy after recovering from shoulder surgery, Ashby was considered a long shot to crack the team's Opening Day rotation, especially since he struggled to recover his pre-surgery velocity in spring training. The 25-year-old southpaw allowed four runs (three earned) while walking four and striking out three in three Cactus League innings and will open the year on the farm to try and get his velocity back up before helping the Brewers in the big leagues at some point in 2024. You can avoid Ashby for now in standard 12-team fantasy leagues, but he's worth stashing in NL-only leagues for his strikeout upside.

San Francisco Giants infielder Wilmer Flores (knee) returned to Cactus League action on Friday against the Chicago Cubs, starting at first base and batting third in the lineup. Flores returned to the field on Friday after he was scratched from Wednesday's Cactus League lineup due to minor knee soreness. The fact that the 32-year-old is already back on the field heading into the weekend suggests he won't open the 2024 regular season on the injured list next week. The Venezuelan veteran hit an impressive .284/.355/.509 with an .863 OPS, a career-high 23 home runs and 60 RBI in 126 games in 2023 in his third year in the Bay Area. At the very least, Flores should be a lineup regular for the Gigantes this year against left-handed pitching at either first base or designated hitter.

The Cleveland Guardians placed outfielder Myles Straw on waivers on Friday. Straw is fully expected to clear waivers and still has minor-league options remaining, so he's likely to open the 2024 season at Triple-A Columbus. It doesn't mean that we won't see the 29-year-old with the Guardians at some point this year, but he's obviously off the fantasy radar for now after hitting .238/.301/.297 with a home runs, 29 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 52 runs scored in 147 games in his second full season with the Guardians in 2023. With Straw out of the picture on the major-league roster to begin the year, Cleveland could mix and match in center field among names like Ramon Laureano, Esteven Florial and Tyler Freeman. Florial is the most intriguing player in AL-only setups.

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said that infielder Brayan Rocchio will handle the "bulk" of the playing time at shortstop this year. Rocchio is the club's No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and has won the starting shortstop job after going 20-for-81 (.247) with no home runs and eight RBI in his first 23 major-league games in 2023. The 23-year-old won the job by hitting .270/.308/.459 in 13 Cactus League games this spring. Power isn't really his thing, as he hit only seven home runs in 116 contests with Triple-A Columbus in 2023 before getting called up to Cleveland, but he steal 25 bases. The switch-hitting shortstop doesn't have a ton of fantasy upside at the 6 because of his lack of over-the-fence pop, but winning the starting shortstop gig will at least make him an AL-only asset because of his speed.