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Dr. Reuven's (@mlbinjuryguru) fantasy baseball injury updates for Week 8 of the 2022 MLB season. His medical background helps analyze injured MLB players and their recoveries.
We have reached Memorial Day weekend. This is around the time of the baseball season when fluke starts turn out to be career years and down years. This is the time of year to reassess your fantasy team and try to push all in or try to make a big move to fix the deficiencies on your team. Take a look at the standings and try to figure out where you can gain points and where it would be tougher to gain points. Is now the time to drop or trade that injured player to make a difference for your own pennant race in your league? Knowing when injured players are coming back or how long they will be out for is key to your success from now to the end of the season. Planning your pickups, trades and drops may be based solely on how to fill the holes in your team that are there due to injured players. 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 16+ 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
Of 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. There continues to be an uptick of players placed on this list. COVID positive coaches even forced the postponement of a game between the Guardians and White Sox earlier this week. Vaccinated players with close contacts have no minimum stay, which could frustrate fantasy owners everywhere. Non-vaccinated players still need to stay 7-10 days on the IL, at minimum. 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.
Starting Monday, MLB will allow rosters to have 13 pitchers on their active rosters. There will be player crunches. Knowing the status of injured pitchers for this week is very key. When picking up and dropping players, keep that in mind.
Injured Hitters for Fantasy Baseball
Bryce Harper (OF, PHI)- Elbow- Harper was diagnosed with a “small tear” in his UCL in his throwing arm. He is unable to throw for the next few weeks but he continues to DH. He may miss intermittent games due to flare ups, as he did this past week.
Giancarlo Stanton (OF, NYY)- Calf- Stanton injured his right calf, feeling tightness during Tuesday’s game. He was placed on the IL. Miguel Andujar or Marwin Gonzalez should fill in while Stanton is out.
Franmil Reyes (DH, CLE)- Hamstring- Reyes was placed on the IL right hamstring tightness. Severity is not yet known. This may explain his poor play over the past ten days.
Kris Bryant (OF, COL)- Back- Bryant was again placed on the IL with a back injury. He was on the IL earlier this month for the same issue. The issue has not been resolved and Bryant will be eligible to come off the IL as soon as June 2. He played in just three games after being activated from the IL. Yonathan Daza looks to get a lot of playing time with Bryant out.
Jonathan India (2B, CIN)- Hamstring- India landed back on the IL this week with the same injury that landed him on the injured list earlier this year. Reds manager David Bell said on Tuesday that India is about ten days to two weeks away from heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment.
Hunter Renfroe (OF, MIL)- Hamstring- Renfroe was placed on the IL with a strained right hamstring. Renfroe had an MRI and he is dealing with a low-grade strain and is expected to be sidelined 10-to-14 days. Tyrone Taylor should fill in for him while he is out.
Brandon Lowe (2B, TB)- Back- Lowe is on the IL with a back injury. He said that he was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back and won't be available to resume baseball activities for at least three weeks. The earliest he could return will probably be mid to late June. Isaac Paredes and Vidal Brujan should fill in for him for the Rays.
Nick Madrigal (2B, CHC)- Back- Madrigal was placed on the IL with lower-back tightness. Madrigal did take part in hitting, fielding, running and throwing drills during an on-field workout this past Tuesday. There is still no timetable for his return. Jonathan Villar should continue to fill in for him.
Kevin Newman (2B, PIT)- Groin- Newman has been out on the IL with a groin injury. He began a rehab assignment but suffered a hamstring-related setback. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Newman has not resumed baseball activities. He will be out at least until June 27..
James McCann (C, NYM)- Wrist- McCann was diagnosed with a fractured hamate in his left wrist and had subsequent surgery. He should be out for about four to five more weeks. Patrick Mazeika and Tomas Nido will fill in behind the plate with McCann out.
Eddie Rosario (OF, ATL)- Eye- Rosario is on the IL following eye surgery. He is riding a stationary bike and doing light exercises as he recovers from what is still being called just retinal swelling. He remains at least a few weeks away from any baseball activities. He has a possible return date for the end of July.
Willy Adames (SS, MIL)- Ankle- Adames was placed on the IL with a high left ankle sprain. Adames participated in batting practice and fielded grounders on Tuesday but won't be activated until at least the weekend. Luis Urias is expected to take over as the everyday shortstop for the Brewers with Jace Peterson and Mike Brosseau platooning at third.
Abraham Toro (2B, SEA)- Shoulder- Toro was placed on the IL with a sprained left shoulder. Severity is not yet known. The earliest he could come back is June 1. Dylan Moore should fill in for the Mariners while Toro is out.
Austin Meadows (OF, DET)- Vertigo- Meadows is on the IL with vertigo (dizziness). Manager A.J. Hinch said last Sunday there's no update on his status and that the team is "very concerned with what's going on." Meadows was placed on the IL after experiencing dizziness, light-headedness and nausea, and he continues to recover at his home in Florida. He has returned to physical activity the last few days. He hit off a high-velocity pitching machine and ran on the field. "That's a good sign," A.J. Hinch said. "That's the most activity he's done with no symptoms to date. "There is no timeline for his return. Daz Cameron has been filling in for him.
Dan Vogelbach (1B, PIT)- Hamstring- Vogelbach was placed on the IL with a strained left hamstring. Severity is not yet known. He is eligible to return June 3. Michael Chavis should see more playing time with Vogelbach out.
Dylan Carlson (OF, STL)- Hamstring- Carlson was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Cardinals president of baseball operations said Carlson was diagnosed with a Grade 1 to 2 left hamstring tear based on the MRI. The Cardinals are hoping he will only stay on the IL for about two weeks. Corey Dickerson, Brendan Donovan and Juan Yepez should see more playing time.
Max Muncy (1B, LAD)- Elbow- Muncy was placed on the injured list due to ongoing pain in his arm. Muncy suffered a partially torn UCL at the end of 2021 and decided to rest it and not undergo surgery. This elbow issue may be playing into his poor first two months of the season. It may be that the only way to fix the problem would be with Tommy John surgery.
Anthony Rendon (3B, LAA)- Wrist-Rendon was placed on the IL with right wrist inflammation. He has apparently been playing through this injury throughout most of the season. Severity is not yet known. Tyler Wade should get more consistent playing time with Rendon out.
Injured Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
Jacob deGrom (SP, NYM)- Shoulder- deGrom was placed on the IL with a stress reaction in his right scapula. deGrom had another MRI which showed more healing and he is now ramping up baseball activities. This includes videos of him throwing. There has been rumors that his return date would be towards the end of June.
Max Scherzer (SP, NYM)- Oblique- Scherzer is on the IL with a moderate to high grade sprain and will miss 4-6 weeks. David Peterson will continue to fill in for him.
Tylor Megill (SP, NYM)- Biceps- Megill was placed on the Il with biceps tendonitis, based on MRI. Megill played long toss this week and will still need a rehab assignment before he is able to return. Trevor Williams took his spot in the Mets rotation.
Freddy Peralta (SP, MIL)-Shoulder- Peralta is on the IL with a right posterior shoulder strain. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said that Peralta will miss "significant" time but is expected to pitch again this season. Aaron Ashby should fill in for him.,
Lance Lynn (SP, CHW)- Knee- Lynn is on the IL following knee surgery. His rehab is going well and Lynn is targeting a return in early June, possibly June 6th. He did throw live batting practice this week.
Aaron Civale (SP, CLE)- Glute- Civale was placed on the IL with left glute soreness. he had left his last start with cramping, however, it seems to have been a little worse than that. Konnor Pilkington was called up.
Clayton Kershaw (SP, LAD)- Back- Kershaw is currently on the IL with back pain, SI joint inflammation. He started throwing the other day and is now throwing from 90 feet. There is no timeline for his return.
Jesus Luzardo (SP, MIA)- Forearm- Luzardo is out on the IL with a left forearm strain. Severity is not yet known. Luzardo has yet to start a throwing program. Cody Poteet filled in for Luzardo the first time around the Marlins rotation.
Stephen Strasburg (SP, WAS)- Shoulder- Strasburg is recovering from thoracic outlet surgery. Strasburg is expected to need at least three rehab starts before rejoining the Nationals rotation for the first time this year.
Andrew Heaney (SP, LAD)- Shoulder- Heaney was placed on IL with shoulder soreness. Heaney threw three sim innings during a bullpen session and could face live hitters over the weekend. He remains without a timeline to resume facing hitters. He continues to build up arm strength and will then be sent on a rehab assignment.
Casey Mize (SP, DET)- Mize is currently on the IL with a sprained medial collateral ligament. The Tigers hope to begin a throwing program for him this weekend or early next week. He's currently limited to plyo throws only. There is no timetable for his return. "He has reported this is the best he's felt so far. That's a good sign," A.J. Hinch said. "Until he throws, we're not going to know."
Matt Manning (SP, DET)- Shoulder- Manning was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Matt Manning “came clean” and acknowledged soreness after Tuesday’s rehab start, A.J. Hinch said. He has bicep tendinitis and will not throw for the foreseeable future.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP, DET)- Side- Rodriguez has been placed on the IL with a left rib cage sprain. Rodriguez underwent tests on his ribs this week which did not reveal any stress reaction. He played catch with no symptoms reported. He will need to stretch out to 150 feet before getting back on the mound. There is no clear timeline for his return..
Jake Odorizzi (SP, HOU)- Ankle- Odorizzi was placed on the IL with some strains and sprains to the ligaments of his right foot/ankle. He was able to throw a 25 pitch bullpen session this week. There is no timeline for his return.
Hyun Jin Ryu (SP, TOR)- Forearm- Ryu was taken out of this past Thursday's start after he was experiencing tightness in his left elbow. He threw only 65 pitches. Ryu has already missed time on the IL earlier this month with forearm inflammation. This is not a good sign and does not bode well for him. earlier in the year.
Nick Lodolo (SP, CIN)- Back- Lodolo was placed on the IL with a lower-back strain. Lodolo has been cleared to restart a throwing program but won't be ready to rejoin the rotation in the near future. There is no timeline for his return at this time.
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 was transferred to the 60 day IL and is not eligible to return until June 21.
Luis Gil (SP, NYY)- Forearm- Gil left his last Triple-A start after throwing a slider with diminished velocity and then pointed to his forearm. He will undergo Tommy John surgery and is done for the 2022 season.
Max Meyer (SP, MIA)- Elbow- Meyer is on the IL with ulnar nerve irritation. He was scheduled to throw off flat ground as he was shut down a week ago. No word on when he will get back on the mound.
Injured Relief Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
Lucas Sims (RP, CIN)- Back- Sims was placed on the IL today with low back spasms, retroactive to May 11. He was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back. Sims has begun a throwing program but there is no timeline for his return. Art Warren, Tony Santillan and Hunter Strickland are still in the mix for the closer role for the Reds.
Alex Reyes (RP, STL)- Shoulder- Reyes will undergo shoulder surgery at the end of May. He is most likely done for the 2022 season.
Chad Green (RP, NYY)- Forearm- Green was placed on the IL with a forearm strain. He is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery and is done for the year.
Aroldis Chapman (RP, NYY)- Achilles- Chapman was placed on the IL with left Achilles tendinitis. Severity is not yet known. Clay Holmes and Michael King may split time as the Yankees closer until Chapman returns.
Anthony Bender (RP, MIA)- Back- Bender was placed on the IL retroactive to May 23, with a back injury. Severity is not yet known. Cole Sulser, Dylan Floro and Anthony Bass could be the fill the closer for the Marlins until his return.
Jonathan Loaisiga (RP, NYY)- Shoulder- Loaisiga was placed on the IL with right shoulder discomfort. Severity is not yet known. The Yankees are hoping that Loaisiga will be ready to go after a near-minimum length stay on the IL.
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