Craig Hense's Features
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Jeimer Candelario is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Mariners.
The Reds have a bit of a log jam now that Matt McLain and Austin Hays are back, so some usual starters for the Reds are going to get days off. In this case it’s Candelario, with Gavin Lux at third and Christian Encarnacion-Strand handling first.
Jordan Westburgh is out of the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Guardians.
Westburg is going to get some rest days in the early portion of the season as he recovers from his upper body injury. The 26-year-old will take a seat with Ramon Urias handling third base and hitting ninth. Westburg should be back this weekend.
Clayton Kershaw threw (toe,knee) threw three scoreless innings in his rehab start Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Kershaw threw 30 pitches, and 22 of them went for strikes. The future Hall of Famer gave up two hits with no walks, and he struck out two. Obviously, Kershaw will need to make a few more rehab starts before he’s ready to go — and since he’s on the 60-day injured list he’s not eligible to return until the very end of May — but an encouraging first outing.
Connor Joe will hit seventh and play first base against the Cubs on Wednesday.
Joe has been a “lefty-killer” in his time in the majors, so he’ll get the start with Matthew Boyd on the bump for the Cubs on Wednesday. Joe should see playing time against southpaws, but that won’t translate into fantasy relevance in redraft formats.
Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters that Kris Bryant (back) expected to return after a minimum stint on the injured list.
That’s the good news, but Black also cautioned that this is something Bryant and the Rockies are going to have to manage and address going forward. The 33-year-old was diagnosed with a degenerative disc disease, and it’s likely this will be something that he’ll have to deal with for the rest of his career. Bryant can’t be recommended a fantasy hold, even with Coors Field at his disposal for home games.
Giants GM Joe Schoen said he “would not be afraid” to play Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter on offense and defense.
Schoen talked about the risks of playing Hunter both ways and noted how much of a mental workload it would place on the young dual-threat. Still, he ultimately came down on the side of letting Hunter do it all. The Browns currently hold the second overall pick and are favorites to land Hunter, but the Giants are one pick behind and nothing is set in stone. If Cleveland goes in a different direction, Hunter would be the logical choice for a Giants regime desperate for a big win. If Hunter succeeds on both sides of the ball, he could be the type of player who single-handedly turns things around for Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, both of whom enter 2025 on the hot seat.