Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers is not in the team's starting lineup in the Bronx on Thursday against the New York Yankees, according to MLB.com. Austin Wynns will do the catching for left-hander Jeffrey Springs and will bat seventh against Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers. Langeliers has been among the hottest hitters in baseball in the first couple of weeks of the season, as he enters play on Thursday with a .289/.333/.644 slash line, .978 OPS, five home runs, eight RBI, and seven runs scored in 45 at-bats. The 28-year-old backstop is tied for the major-league lead with his five home runs. Langeliers has had at least 22 home runs in each of the last three seasons, culminating in a career-high 31 long balls in 123 games in 2025. He has elite power at the weak catching position, making him a high-end starting fantasy backstop in a hitter-friendly home environment in Sacramento. Wynns has appeared in only three games this year and is 1-for-6 at the plate.

New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon (elbow) threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session on Wednesday, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. However, the next step has yet to be determined for Rodon as he completes his recovery from offseason surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow. The 33-year-old veteran southpaw also had a recent setback with his hamstring, but it wasn't a serious injury, and it hasn't really affected his elbow rehab too much. The next step for Rodon will be to go on a minor-league rehab assignment. It's unclear how many starts the Yankees want him to make on the farm before clearing him to rejoin the big-league starting rotation, but fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect him to debut in pinstripes until sometime in May. The three-time All-Star certainly has durability concerns, but he is coming off his best year with the Yanks in 2025, when he had a 3.09 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 203:73 K:BB in 195 1/3 innings over a career-high 33 starts. Rodon should not be available on the waiver wire in any fantasy leagues.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice is batting fifth for the team on Thursday against the visiting Athletics and left-hander Jeffrey Springs, according to MLB.com. The Yankees said that Rice is going to face lefties more in 2026 after he broke out at the plate last year. The 27-year-old former 12th-rounder in 2021 out of Dartmouth College slashed .255/.337/.499 with an .836 OPS, 26 home runs, 65 RBI, and 74 runs scored in 138 games in 2025 in his first full season in the big leagues. In his first 10 games in 2026, Rice has gone 11-for-33 (.333) with three home runs, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Rice currently leads the league in on-base percentage (.500), slugging (.727), and OPS (1.227) in 44 plate appearances. He hit .208 (22-for-106) with seven of his 26 home runs last year against lefties. Rice has never faced Springs in his career and should be faded in DFS against the southpaw.

New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (elbow) is scheduled to face hitters in Hudson Valley on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. Cole is going to start his minor-league rehab assignment this weekend after getting into a few spring training games last month and throwing live batting practice last Friday. The 35-year-old former Cy Young winner is recovering from Tommy John surgery that kept him out for all of last season. He threw 2 2/3 innings in Grapefruit League action and will be eased back into New York's starting rotation when he's activated from the injured list. Barring any setbacks, Cole probably won't make his 2026 season debut until mid- to late-May. Still, fantasy managers need to keep him stashed in an IL spot until then because of his ability to carry a rotation when healthy. Expectations should be tempered as he comes off TJ surgery, but Cole's upside is undeniable when he's in top form.