Scherzer was scheduled to start Wednesday’s contest against the Red Sox at Fenway Park after reaching the 3,500 strikeout milestone his last time out against the Phillies. It’s fair to wonder whether Toronto should continue committing a rotation spot to Scherzer since he’s posted a calamitous 10.23 ERA and 13/12 K/BB ratio across 22 innings this season. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer is likely to miss at least a couple weeks. It’ll be Chad Dallas coming up to take the ball for a bulk relief appearance against Boston in his place.

Stewart served as Cincinnati’s primary offensive catalyst in this one, socking a tone-setting three-run homer off Mets starter Kodai Senga in the opening frame. It was his 14th long ball of the season and second time leaving the yard in his last seven games. He also delivered a key insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Schwarber ripped a line-drive into the right-field seats off Marlins starter Tyler Phillips in the fourth inning while making his first appearance at the cold corner since October 20, 2021. Amazingly he didn’t have a single ball hit in his direction during the contest. The 33-year-old power-hitter has just three round-trippers since the calendar flipped to June, but he’s hitting over .300 during that 14-game span. That’ll do.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.

Ramírez underwent surgery to remove the hook of his fractured left hamate bone after suffering the injury on a swing during last Saturday’s game against the division-rival Tigers. The 33-year-old perennial fantasy force will be on the shelf until at least late July. He was hitting .239/.339/.418 with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 33 RBI and 24 stolen bases across 314 plate appearances in 72 games, delivering top-five overall fantasy value at the hot corner. It’ll be challenging for fantasy managers to replace Ramírez’s contributions, but at least he’ll make it back sometime after next month’s All-Star break.

Not good. Palencia will presumably undergo an MRI to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. There should be a clear return timetable at some point later this week. The hard-throwing 26-year-old stopper has converted all three of his save chances and holds a 2.70 ERA and 19/6 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings this season. He missed a couple weeks earlier this season with a lat strain. It’ll likely be some combination of Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton handling the closing duties in his absence. It’s probably a complete stay-away for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep formats.

Raleigh returns to Seattle’s lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles following a one-month absence recovering from a right oblique strain. The 29-year-old slugging backstop seemed to unlock something with his swing during his minor league rehab stint where he went 6-for-14 with five homers across four games at Triple-A Tacoma. He broke nearly every single-season offensive record for a catcher last year and could be in line for a monster second half if he’s rediscovered his previously elite form at the dish.

Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters that De La Cruz could potentially return to Cincinnati’s lineup for next Tuesday’s contest against the division-rival Brewers. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar has been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since late May. All signs point to him returning early next week after getting a couple rehab contests under his belt.

Brown returns to Houston’s rotation to face former teammate and current Tigers southpaw Framber Valdez on Tuesday night at Daikin Park. The 27-year-old fantasy ace wound up missing 10 weeks recovering from a shoulder strain that he suffered back in early April. It’s a strong home matchup right out of the gate, even if Detroit has been scoring plenty of runs recently. He shouldn’t have any restrictions from a workload standpoint after throwing 74 pitches during his final minor league rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land last week.

Guerrero Jr. missed Saturday and Sunday’s game while dealing with tightness in his back. The 27-year-old is good to go to begin the series against Boston, so Charles McAdoo retreats to the bench to make room for Vladdy Jr. in the lineup.