Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds will take the day off in Monday's series opener against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals and left-hander Matthew Liberatore at PNC Park. Reynolds has been serving as the team's designated hitter to open the season due to a minor right-triceps injury, which probably helps explain why he's hit .182 (8-for-44) with a homer, two doubles, five RBI, one steal, three walks and 15 strikeouts in his first 10 games of the season. The 30-year-old All-Star should be back in the DH spot for the Bucs on Tuesday. In the meantime, veteran Andrew McCutchen is the DH and will bat in the two-hole, while Alexander Canario is starting in right field and hitting sixth on Monday against Liberatore. Canario has never faced Liberatore, while McCutchen has an RBI but is hitless in just six career at-bats. McCutchen has swung it well early in the season, going 6-for-19 with a homer and two RBI.

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jared Triolo (undisclosed) was a late scratch on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the starting nine. Fantasy managers should monitor Triolo's status leading up to their next contest against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday evening. Triolo has had a slow start to the campaign, tallying just one hit over his first six contests. During this stretch, he has held a 1:5 BB:K and scored one run. Fantasy managers should continue to expect Isiah Kiner-Falefa to have a role in the starting nine while Triolo remains sidelined. Last season, Triolo posted a modest .216/.296/.315 slash line with nine home runs and eight stolen bases. When healthy, he should only be targeted in deeper formats given his low offensive upside.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed relief pitcher Colin Holderman (knee) on the 15-day injured list due to a right knee sprain. In a corresponding move, the Pirates promoted right-handed pitcher Chase Shugart from Triple-A. Holderman has logged four 2/3 innings through the early part of the campaign. However, he has not found much success, allowing five earned runs and holding a 4:6 BB:K. Even with David Bednar still in Triple-A, the Pirates opted not to bring Bednar back to the major leagues. As a result, fantasy managers should expect Dennis Santana to stand alone as the clear ninth-inning option in Pittsburgh. Santana has logged four 1/3 innings of work and tallied one save, one hold with a modest 3:3 BB:K. He should only be targeted in deeper 12+ team formats when looking for saves.

Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman picked up the save in Saturday's 13-9 win over the Cardinals. Cooper Criswell came on for the Sox in the ninth with a 13-6 lead, but allowed three hits and three runs to score before exiting the game with two runners on. Chapman walked the first batter to load the bases, but coaxed a game-ending double play from Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera to secure the win and record the save. It was the lefty's second save of the season, now with no runs allowed in three appearances to go along with a 2:2 BB:K. The veteran racked up 14 saves last season for the Pirates, and as Boston's primary closer, he should surpass that total with ease so long as he keeps performingwell.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and a steal in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Cruz launched a solo shot off Tampa starter Ryan Pepiot in the fifth inning, giving him his second homer of the season. He later came back and added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Cruz is now hitting .261 with two homers, four runs, four RBI, and six steals across 23 at-bats in the early going as he looks to build on his first 20/20 season in 2024.