Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (elbow) did not pitch at all for the Twins in 2026 after having Tommy John surgery in February, but the veteran hurler is two months into a three-month buildup to return to the mound and is scheduled to throw off a mound in the third week of November, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Lopez and the Twins think he will be ready for the start of the 2027 season, barring a setback. "We'll have a sense of exactly where he's at come spring training, but (we're) expecting him to be a full go for the season," general manager Jeremy Zoll said in late September. It is the second time in his career that Lopez has had Tommy John surgery, and he said the first experience better prepared him mentally for his current program. Not only will the 30-year-old Venezuelan be returning from right-elbow surgery in 2027, but it will be the final year of his four-year, $73.5 million deal. In 14 starts in 2025 in his third year in Minnesota, Lopez was lights-out, going 5-4 with a career-best 2.74 ERA (3.19 FIP) and 1.11 WHIP with 73 strikeouts and 20 walks in 75 2/3 innings pitched. Lopez was a first-time All-Star in 2023 in his first year with the Twins, when he had a career-high 234 punchouts.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that third baseman Junior Caminero (foot) was fine despite limping off the field in the bottom of the 12th inning in the 4-3 extra-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night due to a right-foot injury, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It sounds like Caminero will be good to go to start in Game 5 of the Fall Classic in Tampa on Wednesday night as the Rays try to win two straight to send the series back to Milwaukee. Before leaving the game in extra innings, Caminero went 1-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and a strikeout. Caminero has broken out for the Rays in each of the last two seasons, and he hit .276/.360/.524 with a career-best .885 OPS, 42 home runs, 101 RBI, 100 runs scored, and three steals in 162 games played during the regular season after clubbing 45 dingers and driving in 110 in 2025. He has not been quite as good in 13 games this postseason, though, hitting .250 (12-for-48) with a homer, four doubles, five RBI, seven runs scored, five walks, and 15 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances. Caminero's lone homer in the playoffs this October came in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Boston Red Sox "checked in" on Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto and Washington Nationals shortstop/second baseman CJ Abrams during the 2026 season, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. McCaffrey writes that the Red Sox ultimately determined that the asking prices for both players, which included top Boston shortstop prospect Franklin Arias and more, were too high. Still, it's noteworthy that the Red Sox could potentially be in the market for veteran infield help this winter. Boston got highly underwhelming production at shortstop in 2026 from Trevor Story, who has one year and $25 million remaining on his current contract. If the Red Sox feel that Arias is not ready to take over in 2027, they could look to make a move for a more established option. Both Neto and Abrams would likely see their fantasy value improved by a trade to Boston.

Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas (wrist) could be a candidate to start the 2027 season in Triple-A, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Casas did not play at all in 2026 due to wrist, knee, and intercostal injuries. It's been a while since the 26-year-old was able to string together an extended stretch of health, as injuries limited him to just 112 plate appearances in 2025 and 243 plate appearances in 2024. However, Casas was productive in his lone healthy big league season, hitting .263 with 24 home runs across 502 plate appearances in 2023. If he can get back to full health, Casas could be a useful power bat for Boston. Still, the Red Sox currently have a logjam at first base/designated hitter between Willson Contreras, Roman Anthony, Masataka Yoshida, and Curtis Mead. Casas is a name for deeper-league fantasy managers to monitor, but he could be forced to prove he can still be productive at the lower levels before he gets another shot in the big leagues.