The Royals activated Pasquantino (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Pasquantino was supposed to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks when he required surgery to repair a fractured right thumb in early September, but he's beat that timetable by a wide margin and will be part of the Royals' wild-card series roster. The expectation is that Pasquantino will be used at designated hitter, at least initially, which would free up at-bats at first base for Yuli Gurriel and/or Salvador Perez.

Valdez will start Game 1 of the wild-card series versus the Tigers on Tuesday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

How the Astros ultimately set up their full postseason rotation will be interesting, but there wasn't much question as to whom would take the ball in Game 1. After an inconsistent first half, Valdez held a 1.96 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 87:23 K:BB over 78 frames in 12 second-half starts. He'll be opposed by Tarik Skubal.

Skubal will start Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Astros on Tuesday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Skubal will square off against fellow southpaw Framber Valdez. The left-hander is the likely American League Cy Young winner after going 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 228:35 K:BB across 192 frames.

Ragans will start Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Orioles on Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Ragans -- who will be opposed by Corbin Burnes -- earns the Royals' first playoff game start since 2015 after collecting a 3.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 223:67 K:BB over 186.1 innings covering 32 starts. The Royals will go with Seth Lugo in Game 2 and Michael Wacha in Game 3, if there is one.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Monday that McCormick (hand) should be "ready to go" for the wild-card series against the Tigers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCormick has been shelved since mid-September with a small fracture in his right hand, but he's been working out for the past week and it appears he will be part of the Astros' wild-card roster. The switch-hitting outfielder has put up just a .577 OPS over 267 plate appearances in 2024.

Alvarez (knee) will do some hitting and running Monday at Minute Maid Park to test out his potential availability for the wild-card series, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Astros manager Joe Espada had said Sunday that Alvarez was going to take batting practice Monday, and now he's revealed that the slugger will do some running, too. How he feels during and after the workout will determine whether Alvarez will be part of the team's roster for the first round of the postseason. Alvarez has missed a little over a week of action with a right knee sprain.

Santos, who was activated from the injured list last Monday, subsequently made two relief appearances during which he fired two scoreless innings while allowing one hit and recording one strikeout.

Santos got back on the bump at the major-league level for the first time since July 31 when he earned his second hold with a scoreless seventh inning in the series opener against the Athletics on Friday. He logged one more frame during Sunday's regular-season finale, getting through the eighth inning on just nine pitches. It was a modest but encouraging season-ending sample for Santos, who didn't make his 2024 debut until July due to a lat strain and then missed nearly two months with a biceps injury. The hard-throwing right-hander played on a one-year deal this season, and it remains to be seen if the Mariners will want to take another look considering Santos logged all of 7.1 innings across eight appearances due to the injuries.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that Pasquantino (thumb) will hit in the cage Monday and the team will see how he feels Tuesday before determining whether he'll be included on the wild-card roster, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Quatraro also noted that, if Pasquantino does make the roster, he would be used only as a designated hitter. Pasquantino has made a rapid recovery after having surgery in early September to repair a fractured right thumb. It seems as though he will play in the ALDS against the Orioles as long as he doesn't suffer a setback between now and when rosters are set.

Lee went 1-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base Sunday against the Tigers.

Lee has split time with Chuckie Robinson in September after struggling for the second half of the campaign. Since the All-Star break, he has maintained just a .242 wOBA and .558 OPS. Top prospect Edgar Quero could be ready to challenge Lee for playing time early next season.

Ramos went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Tigers.

Ramos started 14 games in September after being recalled Sept. 4. He showed some decent pop by collecting three homers and five total extra-base hits in 59 plate appearances. He hit just .208, but a 23.7 percent strikeout rate isn't all that concerning. Ramos should be in position to compete for the starting third base job in 2025.