The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Thursday that they placed right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (arm) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Sept. 7) with discomfort in his right arm and recalled right-hander Antwone Kelly from Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move. If Ashcraft returns after his 15 days are up on the IL, he will have just enough time to make one more start in 2026, but the Pirates surely will not be rushing him back. Most likely, we have seen Ashcraft make his last start of the season last Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, when he allowed three earned runs. The 26-year-old former second-rounder in 2018 was a first-time All-Star in 2025 in his second year in the big leagues, and he has gone 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA (3.50 FIP), 1.09 WHIP, and 173:35 K:BB in 165 1/3 innings pitched across 28 starts. It has been a nice breakout season for Ashcraft, but he is now unlikely to help anyone in the fantasy postseason.

New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette is the trickiest decision in the free-agent class in terms of deciding to opt out of the final two years of his deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The Mets owe Bichette $84 million over the next two years, but if Bichette opts out, he will receive a $5 million buyout and hit the free-agent market again as he heads into his age-29 season in 2027. Passan thinks that Bichette will ultimately opt out and hope that the mediocrity of the rest of the free-agent class will help him stand out, but "it's genuinely a coin flip." The 28-year-old former second-round pick in 2016 by the Toronto Blue Jays got off to an ice-cold start in Queens at the plate, but he has turned it around and is currently sporting a .265/.317/.399 slash line with a .716 OPS, 16 home runs, 73 RBI, 71 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 144 games across 622 plate appearances. Bichette has been much better since the All-Star break, hitting .286 (54-for-189) with a .794 OPS, and he also went 29-for-100 (.290) with four homers, seven doubles, a triple, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 26 games in August.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal, who will turn 30 years old in November, could get double the $245 million deal that former right-hander Stephen Strasburg received on a seven-year deal in free agency from the Washington Nationals if there is no salary cap after the 2026 season, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Skubal shook off an early-season elbow injury and has a 7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 2.93 ERA since returning. He has not missed a beat and has been elite, which means that some team will pay an exorbitant amount for potentially a 10-year contract to secure the services of Skubal. However, barely a handful of teams are interested in paying $50 million a year for 33 starts, so Skubal will continue to be at the heart of the salary-cap debate with a potential lockout coming in 2027. The two-time Cy Young winner has a high-90s fastball and pairs it with a changeup that is among the best pitches in the league. In seven starts since being acquired by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline in early August, Skubal has gone 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA (2.54 FIP) and 1.12 WHIP with 48 strikeouts and 10 walks in 43 innings.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (thumb), who was scratched from Wednesday's starting lineup with more soreness in his left thumb after returning from the injured list on Tuesday, expects to be back in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox at home, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fantasy managers should not be expecting much from the 24-year-old shortstop the rest of the way after he returned from a left-thumb fracture this week. The former second-rounder in 2020 has had a disappointing season overall on offense, slashing just .236/.312/.323 with a .635 OPS, only five home runs, 51 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and 49 runs scored across his 436 at-bats. Manager Oliver Marmol said that Winn's availability for the final few weeks of the regular season in 2026 will be a "daily basis" decision, so he might not even be playing regularly. Winn has been even worse in the second half, hitting .218 (26-for-119) with a homer, seven doubles, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored, three steals, 15 walks, and 35 strikeouts in 36 games played.