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.
Ben Revere could not even jog on to the field for intros. Had to limp slowly out.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) April 7, 2016
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!
- 2016 Fantasy Baseball: Injury Report, May 24 - May 24, 2016
- 2016 Fantasy Baseball: Injury Report, May 17 - May 17, 2016
- 2016 Fantasy Baseball: Injury Report, May 10 - May 10, 2016
