News
Gary Payton II (shoulder) is available for Game 3 on Saturday against the Rockets.
Payton is available after being listed as questionable on the initial injury report. He’ll be more valuable to the Warriors as a defender than as a scorer, whether Jimmy Butler (glute) plays or not.
Saints signed QB Hunter Dekkers.
Dekkers spent three seasons with the Cyclones of Iowa State before stepping away from football following an indictment surrounding charges related to sports gambling. He then played his final collegiate season at Iowa Western before being invited to Saints camp. Dekkers spent his redshirt season backing up Brock Purdy at Iowa State.
Sam Hauser (ankle) is out for Game 4 against the Knicks on Monday.
While Hauser was listed as questionable for Game 4 with an ankle injury, he hasn’t seen any game action since leaving early in Game 1 of the series. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla turned to Payton Pritchard for a series-high 35 minutes off the bench in Game 3 as the Celtics got back in the series with a 22-point victory. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see that recipe for success replicated in Game 4.
George Kirby (shoulder) is expected to make another minor league rehab start.
Kirby looked sharp on Saturday in his second rehab outing for Triple-A Tacoma, striking out five batters and throwing 54 pitches (36 strikes) over three innings. The 27-year-old fantasy ace is expected to need one final tune-up before rejoining Seattle’s rotation for his season debut in late May.
Kumar Rocker (shoulder) threw a 26-pitch bullpen session on Monday.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Rocker felt good during the session and could progress to facing hitters in a live batting practice session in the coming days. The 25-year-old righty hit the injured list back in late April with a shoulder impingement and isn’t expected back until sometime in June.
Diamondbacks released RHP Brandon Bielak.
Bielake underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month and is expected to be ready for next year’s spring training, according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The 29-year-old righty, who has made 76 appearances (21 starts) in the majors between the Astros and Athletics since 2020, signed a minor league contract with Arizona back in late February.
Willy Adames has been moved down to the sixth spot in the lineup for Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
Giants manager Bob Melvin has finally decided to shake things up with Adames hitting just .217/.297/.335 with four homers, 19 RBI and two steals through 41 games in his San Francisco debut. It’ll be Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos hitting second and third, respectively, with Jung Hoo Lee in the cleanup spot. The hope for fantasy managers is that the move will reduce some of the pressure on Adames and help get him going at the dish. He’s too talented to continue flailing, especially since his plate skills and underlying batted ball metrics remain mostly in line with previous seasons.