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Dr. Reuven's (@mlbinjuryguru) fantasy baseball injury updates for Week 5 of the 2022 MLB season. His medical background helps analyze injured MLB players and their recoveries.
It is hard to believe, but we are already in the second week of May. I hope all of your teams have been doing better than the Cincinnati Reds. Soon, we will all know how our fantasy teams are doing and if they have a chance to win it all. Injuries, like every year, continue to be an issue for many Major League Baseball teams as well as your fantasy team. I will continue to highlight players on the IL with their hopeful return timeframe and the next man up.
A little about myself for new readers: My name is Reuven Guy and I am a practicing orthopedic/pain management Physician Assistant. I have been dealing with sports injuries for the past 15+ years and have a knowledge of orthopedic injuries and their recovery times based on my medical experience. I have also been playing fantasy baseball during that same time period, which has helped me get an advantage in this aspect of fantasy baseball, which I hope to share with you.
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MLB Injury List Update
One thing to note for all the fantasy baseball injury news is what type of IL the players are being placed on. Besides the regular IL for injuries, there is also a COVID IL. Recently, there has been a big uptick of players placed on this list. Vaccinated players with close contacts have no minimum stay. Non-vaccinated players still need to stay around seven to 10 days on the IL. The current MLB IL is now at 15 days.
One can learn a lot about the players' current injury based on which IL they get put on. Teams will be placing injured players on the 60-day IL to create for themselves more roster flexibility as those players do not count against the active 40-man rosters. More importantly, if a player is hurt and is placed on the 15-day IL, the team then believes that the player will be back sooner than the 60 days or mid-June.
Also of interest, MLB will allow rosters to have 14 pitchers on their active rosters through May 29, and then the limit of 13 pitchers will take effect. This will go into the thinking of Major League teams when calling up players for injured ones. When picking up and dropping players, keep that in mind.
Injured Hitters for Fantasy Baseball
Teoscar Hernandez (OF, TOR)- Oblique- Hernandez was placed on the IL with a left oblique strain. He is currently playing in rehab games in the minors. Hernandez will make at least one more rehab appearance before being activated from the injured list, most likely Saturday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS, SD)- Wrist- Tatis is on the IL while recovering from left wrist surgery earlier this spring. Tatis has been running and taking grounders, but he has yet to swing a bat or play catch. His target return date is early June.
Andrew Vaughn (OF, CHW)- Hand- Vaughn was placed on the IL with a bruised right hand. Vaughn had not played since last Friday when he got hit in the hand by a pitch. Although the White Sox have said there is no fracture, there is still soreness and could even affect his power when he comes off of the IL. Gavin Sheets and Adam Engel should be splitting time in the right field while Danny Mendick was activated to take Vaughn's place on the roster.
Carlos Santana (DH, KC)- Ankle- Santana was placed on the IL with right ankle bursitis this past Wednesday, retroactive to May 3. The severity is not yet known. Hunter Dozier and Ryan O'Hearn should see more playing time for the Royals.
Miguel Sano (1B, MIN)- Knee- Sano is dealing with a torn meniscus in his left knee and will undergo surgery. Recovery time is about 4-6 weeks. Jose Miranda should see the majority of playing time at third as Luis Arraez was placed on the COVID list.
Carlos Correa (SS, MIN)- Finger- Correa was initially believed to be dealing with a non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger after being hit by a pitch but the finger is ultimately just bruised and sore. A CT scan was performed and no fracture was seen. It is possible he could avoid a trip to the IL. Royce Lewis was called up to play shortstop for the Twins
Evan Longoria (3B, SF)- Finger- Longoria was placed on the 10-day IL following surgery to repair a ligament in his right index finger in mid-March. Longoria is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon. There is still no timetable for his return or for how long Longoria will need to stay on the assignment.
Yoan Moncada (3B, CHW)- Oblique- Moncada was placed on the IL with an oblique strain early in the season. Moncada is on a rehab assignment and is expected to be activated off of the IL this Monday.
Kyle Lewis (OF, SEA) 🌊 the - Knee- Lewis was placed on the IL as he continues to come back from knee surgery last year to repair a torn meniscus. He is currently on a rehab stint but general manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed this week that Lewis will stay on his minor-league rehab assignment for the majority of the allotted 20 days.
Mitch Haniger (OF, SEA)- Ankle- Mariners manager Scott Servais said that Haniger is dealing with a Grade 2 high-ankle sprain. Haniger is on the IL with no timeline for his return. A Grade 2 ankle sprain could keep him out up to two months of action. Jarred Kelenic and Dylan Moore should split time in the outfield for the Mariners.
Alex Kirilloff (OF, MIN)- Wrist- Kirilloff was placed on the IL with a recurrence of the right wrist issues that sidelined him for much of last season. He began a rehab assignment. There is no clear timetable for when he will return. "We just want to make sure when we're inserting him, we're not just inserting a guy that we think is healthy; we're inserting a guy that's ready to play and go out there and produce," manager Rocco Baldelli said. This delay may be due to Trevor Larnach filling in well for him.
Luke Voit (1B, SD)- Biceps- Voit was placed on the IL with a biceps tendon injury. Voit is currently taking part in a rehab assignment and could be activated as early as this weekend.
Kris Bryant (OF, COL)- Back- Bryant is on the IL with a back injury. There is no timeline for his return as Bryant has not begun hitting again. Sam Hilliard and Garrett Hampson could see more playing time for the Rockies.
Injured Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
Jacob deGrom (SP, NYM)- Shoulder- deGrom was officially placed on the IL with a stress reaction in his right scapula. He had a new MRI exam and CT scan performed which showed "considerable healing of the stress reaction on his scapula." He has been cleared to begin strengthening his shoulder muscles. deGrom is expected to undergo another MRI in approximately two weeks to determine the next steps in his rehab.
Luis Castillo (SP, CIN) what - Shoulder- Castillo has been on the IL all season with shoulder soreness. He is expected to need one more rehab start until he is activated, as early as this week.
Blake Snell (SP, SD)- Groin- Snell was placed on the IL with left adductor tightness. Snell has said this injury is "way more minor" than the issue he dealt with in 2021, but was still forced to the IL. Snell made his second minor-league rehab start this past week, pitching four innings. He may still need 1-2 more rehab starts before he is activated. When Snell comes back, Mackenzie Gore or Nick Martinez could lose their rotation spot.
Andrew Heaney (SP, LAD)- Shoulder- Heaney was placed on IL with shoulder soreness. He has not yet begun to throw since he was placed on the IL. Tyler Anderson took his place in the Dodgers rotation.
Matt Manning (SP, DET)- Shoulder- Manning was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Manning may begin a rehab assignment as early as this weekend.
Cole Irvin (SP, OAK)- Shoulder- Irvin underwent an MRI on his left shoulder on Wednesday. No diagnosis for his shoulder was given but he is on the IL with shoulder soreness. Zach Logue could fill in.
Casey Mize (SP, DET)- Elbow- Mize is on the IL with a medial collateral sprain or golfers elbow. Mize has thrown multiple bullpen sessions and could be set to face live batting hitters as soon as this weekend.
Hyun Jin Ryu (SP, TOR)- Forearm- Ryu was placed on the IL with left forearm inflammation. Ryu will begin a rehab assignment on Saturday.
Nick Lodolo (SP, CIN)- Back- Lodolo was placed on the IL with a lower-back strain. He is expected to be activated to pitch this Saturday.
Anthony DeSclafani (SP, SF)- Ankle- Desclafani was placed on the IL with right ankle inflammation. DeSclafani visited an ankle specialist and underwent an MRI, but the test didn't reveal anything more than the inflammation. He began playing catch this week and has no clear timeline for his return yet.
Injured Relief Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
Dylan Floro (RP, MIA)- Shoulder: Floro has been on the IL with shoulder tendinitis. He continues his rehab assignment and should be activated soon as most of this past weekend, he pitched on back-to-back days.
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