Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports Your daily roundup of news and notes across Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves’ infield took a major hit last week after Ozzie Albies suffered a fractured toe. The second baseman was expected to return to the lineup two weeks following the injury, but luckily, it appears an early return is likely. #Braves’ Snitker sounded as if, after watching Ozzie Albies take full batting practice Monday without any residual effects from broken toe, he thinks the 2B will be ready to play when eligible to come off the IL on Friday.— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 23, 2024 Albies has taken batting practice for the last two days and is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Friday. While he may not play Friday, it is probable that he will return soon after. While Albies has certainly been missed in the lineup, there is no need to rush him back. Luis Guillorme and David Fletcher have each covered second base relatively well during Albies’ absence. More Braves News: The Braves recorded a 5-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, as Max Fried pitched the third Maddux of his career. Reliever A.J. Minter has made franchise history with 108 holds. He will enter free agency following the 2024 season, but hopefully will return to Atlanta to continue building his legacy. MLB News: Boston Red Sox first baseman Tristan Casas is expected to miss significant time with a rib fracture. The club has not yet announced a timetable for his return. The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Merrill Kelly on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. The club expects 35-year-old Kelly to miss more than a month. New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is expected to miss roughly eight weeks after undergoing left thumb surgery. He will likely return in July. Los Angeles Angels reliever Robert Stephenson is set to undergo Tommy John surgery next week. He will miss the remainder of 2024 and a portion of 2025. New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu was removed from his rehab start after experiencing foot soreness. He will return to New York today for further evaluation. The Chicago Cubs placed a couple of players on the 15-day injured list in Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly. Hendricks has an injured lower back, and a hip impingement was the diagnosis for Smyly. The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Barnes to take over for Robert Garcia, who landed on the injured list with influenza. Miami Marlins left-hander Josh Simpson will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair the ulnar nerve in his elbow. He is expected to miss three months.

Braves take on the Marlins | Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports The Braves look to take game two of the series against the Marlins Fresh off a win at home in game one of the series, the Atlanta Braves look to take game two with Max Fried on the mound. There is no sugar coating it, Fried has struggled to start the season with a 7.71 and a 1.959 WHIP. His underlying metrics show he has been unfortunate in some areas, but it still has not been pretty. However, his best start of the year was against the Marlins on April 12th, in which he went 6.1 strong innings with one ER, four singles, one walk, and four strikeouts. The Braves are 8-2 in their last ten games and have momentum on their side as they face the 6-18 Marlins who are 4-6 in their last ten games. Josh Bell has twenty at bats against Fried with a .350 average and .881 OPS and Jesús Sánchez has a .571 average and a 1.571 OPS against him in seven at bats. If Fried can get past these two hitters, he has been mostly successful against the rest of the lineup. Game Notes Preview Lineups

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images Take our survey, and talk it out with your fellow Falcoholics in the comments! Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Atlanta Falcons fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. It’s nearly here. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The 2024 NFL Draft. This week, it’s probably not surprising that we have a couple of draft-related questions for you. First, what position do you want the Falcons to target with the No. 8 pick on Thursday evening? And second, do you believe the Falcons will trade back and out of the No. 8 pick? As always, take the survey below and talk about it in the comments! Please take our survey

Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images The draft picks are safe. The Falcons got a rare piece of good news ahead of the draft. That news is the team should retain all of its draft picks for the 2024 NFL draft in light of the NFL’s investigation into tampering. The Falcons look likely to lose something in its pursuit of new quarterback Kirk Cousins after the passer mentioned an impermissible discussion with the team trainer and a PR rep during the legal tampering period. I’m not sure what the Falcons didn’t understand about the “legal tampering period,” as it is a pretty clear concept that some tampering is legal while other tampering is strictly prohibited. While that level of tampering seems small, there’s plenty of risk the NFL uncovers additional communications in its investigation. But those are concerns for 2025, it seems. The league’s review into tampering allegations against the Falcons and Eagles is ongoing and will not conclude this week, per the NFL.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2024 This is much better news than what was rumored from Antonio Brown’s CTESPN, which suggested the Falcons were facing substantial sanctions. Please note in the future that CTESPN may not be a reliable news source in the future. Terry Fontenot should be relieved he doesn’t need to change his draft strategy mere days away from the NFL Draft. It is tough to predict Atlanta’s possible punishment without knowing the extent of the alleged tampering.