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It's just a short weekend vacation, how much could I possibly miss? 

I was out of town visiting family this weekend, and all hell broke loose across MLB in the two days that I missed. So, before we get to today's updates, here's a quick breakdown of the biggest news you need to know from around MLB over the past four days or so, starting, unfortunately, with some big news from Tuesday night: 

Ronald Acuña is going on the IL with an Achilles injury

Acuña admitted after Tuesday's game that he felt the injury after running the bases Monday but pushed to play through it because of how much time he has already missed this season. Sometimes, it's on the team to protect the players from themselves, and this feels like an obvious example of that. Hopefully, the injury isn't too serious, but according to one Braves beat writer, Acuña was near tears while explaining the injury. He's such a dynamic player when healthy, but Acuña's body just hasn't been cooperating lately. That's two of the top five players in Fantasy on the IL in the past week, and the Braves really don't have any good alternatives with Acuña out unless Marcell Ozuna wants to play the outfield for the first time since 2023 (which doesn't seem likely, given his own lingering hip issues). 

There's no replacing Acuna (or Aaron Judge, who we'll talk about more shortly), but you'll have to find some way. In shallow leagues, consider Jurickson Profar (76% rostered in CBS Fantasy leagues), Sal Frelick (75%), or Austin Hays (58%); in deeper leagues, look for Jordan Beck (47%), Tyler O'Neill (44%) or Tyler Freeman (36%), the latter especially if you need steals. And you won't be alone in fighting for those guys, because Acuna and Judge were joined on the IL Tuesday by Byron Buxton (ribcage), while Juan Soto (foot), Jackson Chourio (hamstring spasms), and Ian Happ (shin; likely to go on the IL) all left Tuesday's games with injuries. When it rains, it pours. 

Here's the rest of the big news from the past couple of days, with some thoughts on what it all means: 

  • Aaron Judge is on the IL with an elbow injury – The good news is that MRIs showed no UCL damage in Judge's right elbow, but he was still placed on the IL this weekend and will be limited to DH duties at least at first when he returns. It's an injury that will likely cost him a few weeks, and it doesn't seem to have opened up a path for Spencer Jones' promotion just yet. But if Judge is limited to DH for a while, the Yankees will either have an unmanageable roster crunch or will have to play Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield, something he hasn't done since 2023. The good news is, Judge will hit off a tee Wednesday and hopes to be back next Tuesday when first eligible, though he likely won't play the outfield for a few weeks beyond then. 
  • Emmanuel Clase was placed on leave as part of a sports betting investigation – And he's ineligible to return until Aug. 31. For those of you in points leagues, that might mean Clase is just outright droppable, and even in Roto leagues, he's a tough player to stash with no guarantee he'll be back in September (it's an easier call if you have an N/A spot to play with, but Clase won't be IL-eligible in most leagues. Cade Smith got the first save opportunity Monday, and while he struggled, he has also presumably earned more than just one chance before the Guardians look for other options. He's a must-roster reliever, and Hunter Gaddis is an interesting contingency plan in deeper leagues. 
  • Kris Bubic is out for the season with a strained rotator cuff – Well, I guess that's how they're going to limit his innings, huh? Bubic struggled through his worst start of the season Sunday and then revealed he has been pitching through shoulder soreness for much of the season despite throwing exactly 70 more innings in 2025 than he did in the majors in 2023 and 2024 combined. It was a breakout season, with Bubic posting a 2.55 ERA and 1.178 WHIP, but it's also yet another season Bubic can't get through without injury. He should be good to go for the start of next season and will probably be worth drafting in the 30-40 range at starting pitcher, but I'm not sure I'll be buying a mid-2.00s ERA at face value. 
  • Ryan McMahon was traded to the Yankees – Scott White covered this one in our Trade Deadline tracker, which we'll be updating with every move you need to know about between now and Thursday's 6 pm deadline, and I mostly agree with his take: It's hard to get too excited about McMahon leaving Coors Field. Batting average has long been the biggest weakness in his game, and while his power should play anywhere, Statcast data suggests Yankee Stadium actually isn't an ideal landing spot for this specific left-handed hitter. It's a great pickup for the Yankees, but I think it's pretty unlikely McMahon gets a Fantasy boost out of the deal. 
  • Reese Olson (shoulder) is out for the year – Early on, it looked like Olson might be living up to the breakout hopes, as he had a 2.96 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 48.2 innings of work in his first nine starts. But then he went on the IL with a finger injury that cost him nearly two months. He wasn't quite as good after coming back from that injury, and maybe now we know why. Olson still has those two exceptional secondaries in his changeup and slider, and the move to a more sinker-focused approach helped overcome some of the issues he had with his fastball last season, so I do like the growth we've seen from Olson. But he'll be just a late-rounder next season, especially since this is the second season in a row impacted by a shoulder injury. This does mean Troy Melton is likely to stick around, and he had a solid start Monday against the Diamondbacks, shutting them out over seven innings with five strikeouts. He's just a deep-league target, but certainly one to keep an eye on. 
  • Grant Holmes is probably done for the season – And Tommy John surgery is on the table. He was moved almost immediately to the 60-day IL after his injury, so now the only real question is whether he's going to be back in time for next season. If he has Tommy John surgery, it's very unlikely he'll make any kind of impact, which means we're probably talking about 2027 for Holmes – who will be 31 by Opening Day. That's rough. 
  • Seth Lugo is off the trade market – Lugo was one of the biggest names being discussed on the pitching side of the market, but he'll be staying put after signing a two-year extension with the Royals. He'll make $20 million in both 2026 and 2027, with either a vesting option or a $17 million club option for 2028. So, that's one big name who won't be moving – and that's probably a good thing for Lugo's value, because let's just keep him in the one place where we know his unorthodox approach works. He struggled a bit with his command Tuesday, but continues to mostly get the job done, despite an xERA more than 1.50 runs higher than his actual mark. 
  • Jacob Wilson was placed on the IL with a fractured left forearm – Wilson apparently suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch before the All-Star break, which might explain why he is just 4 for 38 over his past nine games. He's likely going to miss at least a few weeks, and potentially the majority of the remainder of the season, a tough break for one of the AL Rookie of the Year frontrunners. And this also raises some tough questions about how to approach Wilson for next season's drafts, because he certainly had stretches where he looked like an even-better Luis Arraez, but didn't show either power or speed consistently. He could be a Steven Kwan-level contributor across multiple categories, but Wilson might be more like a one-category guy like Arraez, and getting a bigger sample size in the second half would have been nice, so we could have a better sense of who he is at this point in his career. 

Here's what else you need to know about from Tuesday's action around MLB: 

Wednesday's top waiver-wire targets

Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Brewers (21%) – If you're looking for a reason for your team to trade for Luis Robert, maybe look at what Vaughn has done since leaving the White Sox. The one-time top prospect went 3 for 4 with a homer and six RBI Tuesday and is hitting .375/.439/.771 since joining the Brewers. It's a very small sample size, but Vaughn has a .456 xwOBA since joining the Brewers, and that includes just a 12.3% strikeout rate. It's probably just a hot-hand play, but the Brewers might have unlocked something here. 

Tyler O'Neill, OF, Orioles (44%) – O'Neill has always been streaky, and you can't let players be defined by their best or worst stretches. O'Neill has been largely useless for Fantasy when he's been healthy enough to play this season, but we also know he's more than capable of getting extremely hot at a moment's notice and carrying your team. And he's in one of those stretches right now, homering in four straight before the second half of Tuesday's double-header, with four multi-hit games in his past six tries. All of a sudden, he's hitting .264/.333/.604 since coming off the IL and should be rostered in most leagues – even if we know he isn't quite this good either, obviously. 

Alex Freeland, SS, Dodgers (10%) – So, here's the problem with the Dodgers: They've got a stacked major-league team, sure, but they've also still got one of the best farm systems in baseball. Which makes it hard for the talented young guys in their minor-league system to find playing time when they get called up. Dalton Rushing has struggled with that, and I worry the same could happen to Freeland, who was promoted to the majors Tuesday. He wasn't in the lineup against a lefty, and I'm not sure he's going to be an everyday player even with all of the team's injuries. So he's more of a speculative add in deeper leagues after hitting 17 homers and stealing 19 bases in 133 games at Triple-A over the past couple of seasons. Freeland has some multi-category appeal – maybe not so much in batting average, where he has never been above .260 in a full minor-league season – but the playing time concerns make it tough to slap the "must-add" label on him for now.