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It’s been a busy first week keeping up with everything for our fantasy baseball injury report!

From obliques to hamstrings to knees players have been falling onto our list at an astonishing pace now that real games have started.

It seems like managers are taking lessons from Bill Belichick over on the football side this season. We’ve heard “Player X is fine, just a little rib issue. He’ll be back in a day or two.” a couple times now. Then, a day later that player shows up on the DL with an oblique strain. We’ll try to tease out the meaning of some of the Belichickian speak below.

Beyond the confusing rhetoric we’ve got some very real injuries impacting fantasy teams already.

Let’s take a look at the latest on this week’s fantasy baseball injury report!

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report, April 12

Fantasy Baseball Injuries
Player
Position
Team
Notes
Evan Gattis  DH Houston Astros February hernia surgery; Began rehab assignment April 7, return to MLB any day
Yasmani Grandal C Los Angeles Dodgers Forearm strain; Began rehab assignment April 7, return this week
Kyle Schwarber C/OF Chicago Cubs Torn ACL and LCL; out for 2016 season
Robinson Chirinos C Texas Rangers Broken forearm; Placed on 60-day DL, expected to miss 8-12 weeks
Devon Travis  2B Toronto Blue Jays November shoulder surgery; Expected to return in May/June
Howie Kendrick  2B Los Angeles Dodgers Left calf strain; placed on 15-day DL with return possible April 12
 Ruben Tejada SS St. Louis Cardinals Quad strain; placed on 15-day DL with return possible in mid-April
Jhonny Peralta SS St. Louis Cardinals Ligament tear in thumb; Return possible in mid June
Danny Santana SS/OF Minnesota Twins Hamstring strain; placed on 15-day DL April 9
Jung Ho Kang 3B Pittsburgh Pirates September knee surgery; Return in April/May
Michael Brantley OF Cleveland Indians November shoulder surgery; Placed on 15-day DL with return possible in late April
Lonnie Chisenhall OF Cleveland Indians Wrist impingement; Placed on 15-day DL with possible return April 12
A.J. Pollock  OF Arizona Diamondbacks Broken elbow; likely out for 2016 season
Ender Inciarte  OF Atlanta Braves Hamstring strain; placed on 15-day DL on April 10
Rymer Liriano  OF Milwaukee Brewers Facial fractures after hit by pitch; Placed on 60-day DL April 2, return possible in June/July
Andre Ethier OF Los Angeles Dodgers Right tibia fracture; Placed on 60-day DL, return possible in June
Jarrod Dyson OF Kansas City Royals Grade 2 oblique strain; Sent on triple-A rehab assignment April 9
Adam Jones OF Baltimore Orioles Considered day-to-day with rib soreness; Has not played since April 6
Aaron Altherr OF Philadelphia Phillies Underwent wrist surgery on March 9; Out until at least July
Cameron Maybin OF Detroit Tigers Broken wrist; Placed on 15-day DL with return possible in mid to late-April
Josh Hamilton OF Texas Rangers October knee surgery; Placed on 15-day DL possible return in May
Shin-Soo Choo OF Texas Rangers Calf strain; Placed on 15-day DL and expected to miss 4-6 weeks
Jon Gray SP Colorado Rockies Abdominal strain; Placed on 15-day DL with return possible in mid-April
Lance McCullers SP Houston Astros Shoulder soreness; Began rehab assignment April 11, return in mid to late April
Hyun-Jin Ryu SP Los Angeles Dodgers Shoulder surgery in May 2015; Possible return in June
Brett Anderson SP Los Angeles Dodgers Underwent back surgery in March; return possible mid-season
C.J. Wilson SP Los Angeles Angels Shoulder inflammation; Began throwing program April 11, no timetable for return
Matt Garza SP Milwaukee Brewers Lat strain; placed on 15-day DL April 5, no current timetable
Zack Wheeler SP New York Mets Tommy John surgery in March 2015; Return likely in July
Jacob deGrom SP New York Mets Lat tightness; will miss next start with return possible April 19
Henderson Alvarez SP Oakland Athletics Shoulder surgery in July 2015; expected return in May
Tyson Ross SP San Diego Padres Shoulder inflammation; eligible to return from 15-day DL April 20 but no current timetable
Kevin Gausman SP Baltimore Orioles Shoulder tendinitis; Placed on 15-day DL with return possible on April 19
Yu Darvish SP Texas Rangers March 2015 Tommy John surgery; Return likely in May
Alex Cobb SP Tampa Bay Rays Tommy John surgery in May 2015; return likely in August
Eduardo Rodriguez SP Boston Red Sox Dislocated kneecap; Placed on 15-day DL, could return in May
Homer Bailey SP Cincinnati Reds Tommy John surgery in May 2015; return possible in June
John Lamb SP Cincinnati Reds Underwent back surgery in December; return possible in mid-April
Michael Lorenzen SP Cincinnati Reds Mild sprain of UCL; Placed on 15-day DL with return possible in May
Anthony DeSclafani SP Cincinnati Reds Strained oblique; Placed on 15-day DL and scratched from scheduled start April 10
Daniel Norris SP Detroit Tigers  Non-displaced spinal fractures; Began rehab assignment April 10, return possible in April
Brad Boxberger RP Tampa Bay Rays Underwent surgery March 17; Could return in mid-May
Carson Smith RP Boston Red Sox Elbow strain; On 15-day DL, throwing off mound but no current timetable
Will Smith RP Milwaukee Brewers Torn lateral collateral ligament; placed on 15-day DL, currently no timetable for return
Corey Knebel RP  Milwaukee Brewers Oblique strain; Placed on 15-day DL with no current timetable

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Offensive Players

Kyle Schwarber, C/OF, Chicago Cubs

Schwarber was lost for the year after an ugly collision in the outfield this week. An MRI revealed tears in both the ACL and LCL in his left knee which will require surgery to fix.

Unfortunately the young slugger has a long road back to the field which won’t start until next spring. If you are a Schwarber owner feel free to mourn the loss for a few days, we won’t blame you.

He can then be safely dropped in redraft leagues to open up a spot for a replacement.

Ben Revere, OF, Washington Nationals

Those drafting Revere were hoping for more than two at bats from their steals guy. Alas, he was removed from the game during their season opener after pulling an oblique muscle during his second time at the plate. Placement on the 15-day DL soon followed.

Now here we are waiting for April 20th and hoping for a return shortly after he is eligible to come off the list. Oblique issues can stick around longer that expected so we will need to see positive signs if a return by the end of April is going to happen.

On a bright note, the Michael Taylor supporters get a chance to see him start games as long as Revere is out.

Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles

Jones is the latest to sit out multiple games with a “day to day” issue. We’ve heard he will be back tomorrow each day for the last five now. It’s possible Jones is close to playing but the team wants to avoid pushing him until they are comfortable he’s at 100%. There is also a decent chance in my opinion that he could be headed for the DL once the Orioles need to open a spot on the roster for some reason.

For now I would avoid starting Jones in weekly lineup leagues. In formats with daily lineups we can continue to watch for his return, but don’t be surprised if this turns into 3-4 weeks of lost productivity if this is actually an oblique strain.

Update- Jones was spotted working the outfield as a defensive substitution Monday. A bit of good news to start the week.

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Pitchers

Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets

Jacob deGrom left his last start in the 6th inning due to tightness on his right side and it has lingered since. Considering the same sort of issue put Steven Matz on the shelf for two months last season the team is going to play it safe.

His start this week is not going to happen but the team is hopeful that he will be able to return next week and avoid a DL stint. Note to deGrom owners- Cross your fingers that rest does the trick.

Tyson Ross, SP, San Diego Padres

Shoulder inflammation has put Ross on the DL after his first start of the season. His stint was backdated to April 5th, so he could be back as soon as April 20th but there’s no guarantee on that. We’ll have to see how quickly he moves back into a throwing routine before a timetable for his return should emerge.

Andrew Heaney, SP, Los Angeles Angels

After some preliminary Tommy John fears an MRI came back clean for Heaney. Still, he’s got a flexor muscle strain in his throwing arm with no timetable to resume throwing. It’s quite possible that this could be a lengthy stay on the injury report for the Angel’s pitcher.

Nick Tropeano got the ball Monday and Tyler Skaggs is getting close to a return. Both are worth keeping an eye on.

Singles

  • Ender Inciarte pulled a hamstring this week and was quickly placed on the 15-day DL. This made room for the Braves to call up Mallex Smith, a speedy prospect that looked awfully good in spring training. If you are shopping for steals Smith is worth adding.
  • Shin-Soo Choo pulled his calf during warm-ups Saturday and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks opening a spot in the Ranger’s outfield. The team quickly called up top prospect Nomar Mazara to fill the void and he didn’t disappoint going 3-for-4 with a homerun in his major league debut. This kid may not be able to drink a beer legally yet, but he should be rostered in all leagues.
  • Kevin Gausman continues his rehab in the minors. It’s possible he could start a major league game on April 19 if all goes well.
  • After being hit by a Garrett Richards pitch while swinging Robinson Chirinos actually finished his at bat with a broken forearm.  That’s tough. He was pulled from the game after hitting a fly ball (with a broken arm) and has now been placed on the 60-day DL. He’ll be out 8-to-12 weeks as he heels up.
  • Jarrod Dyson began a rehab assignment this week and looks close. If you need steals you might have another week to get him cheap off the wire.

Let’s hope next week players decide to stay a little more healthy. We could use a week to catch up on all the prospects getting calls and to figure out how many DL spots we actually have on our fantasy teams! For this week you can fill in those roster holes with our weekly waiver wire article, right here!

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