When Will Spencer Arrighetti, Blake Snell, Zebby Matthews Return? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

June 12, 2025

When will Spencer Arrighetti, Blake Snell, and Zebby Matthews return and play? Will Arrighetti, Snell, and Matthews be back again this season? Read the latest fantasy baseball injury updates and return date for Week 11 of the 2025 MLB season.

We are at the point in the season where fantasy managers have to navigate a lot of different injuries. Fantasy stars like Logan Gilbert, Alex Bregman, Hunter Greene, Tyler Glasnow, Michael King, and Yordan Alvarez are some players currently dealing with injuries on the injured list. 

It's not surprising that most of those players listed above are pitchers, which is why some fantasy managers avoided taking that position early in drafts. Three more pitchers on the IL are Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, and Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews. 

So, should fantasy managers be stashing Arrighetti, Snell, and Matthews in most leagues? When will all three pitchers return? Let's dive in and find out. 

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Spencer Arrighetti Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

Arrighetti was a popular breakout pick this season after finishing his 2024 campaign on a high note. The Astros pitcher had a 3.04 ERA and 85 strikeouts in his last 13 appearances in 2024. The right-hander tossed a quality start in eight of those 13 appearances while completing at least six innings nine times during that span. 

Unfortunately, Arrighetti hasn't been able to build on those numbers in 2025. That's because he has been out for most of the season due to a broken right thumb. The 25-year-old suffered the injury back on April 7 when he was hit directly on the thumb by a fly ball during batting practice. The Astros then immediately placed him on the 15-day IL. 

This injury was definitely a tough break for Arrighetti, considering he tossed six innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts in his first start of the year on March 29. With his last start coming all the way back on April 5, it has been a while since we have seen the Astros pitcher on the mound. The good news, though, is that he is making significant progress in his recovery. 

Arrighetti started playing catch on May 28, marking the first time he has thrown since fracturing his right thumb on April 7. The right-hander has now progressed to playing catch from 70 feet. That is a notable development for the young pitcher because this has been somewhat of a slow recovery process for him. 

None of Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick or Zach Dezenzo are swinging a bat yet, Joe Espada said.

Spencer Arrighetti could start throwing off a mound by the time the Astros leave for their next road trip on Sunday, Espada said.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 10, 2025

Given that Arrighetti's thumb appears to be completely healed now, he will have to ramp up over the next few weeks before being activated from the IL. Astros general manager Dana Brown said a few weeks ago that he hopes to have the right-hander back "somewhere in the month of July."

That means it's fair to assume that Arrighetti won't return until around the All-Star break. He is still in the early stages of his recovery and will surely need a few rehab assignments before being activated by the team. However, fantasy managers will only have to wait a couple more weeks to have him back in their lineups. 

If you have an open IL slot on your roster, then the Astros pitcher is a nice stash candidate. He has looked solid on the mound since the end of last season, and the potential is there for him to be a strong fantasy option in 2025. Arrighetti had an impressive 36.2% whiff rate in his first two starts this year. 

Blake Snell Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

There was always some risk in selecting Snell early in 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. He always has a high walk rate, and injuries have limited him in recent years. The left-hander has made under 28 starts in three of the past four seasons. Therefore, it's not a total surprise to see the Dodgers pitcher currently on the IL. 

Snell was injured back at the beginning of April when he dealt with some shoulder inflammation following a start on April 2. The southpaw gave up five unearned runs with four walks across four innings against the Atlanta Braves in that outing before landing on the IL a few days later on April 6. 

Although Snell is only dealing with some inflammation/soreness in his shoulder, it has been a long two months for him. He suffered a minor setback with his shoulder in late April, and that has delayed his potential return. The 32-year-old has already been out for over two months, making some fantasy managers impatient with him. 

However, Snell is steadily improving. He recently threw a bullpen session on Tuesday, throwing 15 pitches off the mound. This bullpen session was a major step forward for the southpaw. This marked the first time he has thrown off a mound in weeks, and the two-time Cy Young winner appears to be moving in the right direction. 

Meanwhile, Blake Snell is throwing his first full bullpen session since April. pic.twitter.com/0UjUQCDgud

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) June 10, 2025

With Snell still in the early stages of his recovery, fantasy managers shouldn't expect him back until at least the middle of July. He will need to go through multiple bullpen sessions and eventually appear in a few rehab assignment games before being activated from the 60-day IL. So, we are still weeks away from seeing him back with the Dodgers. 

That means fantasy managers should continue to stash him in one of their IL slots. He will pitch again this season and should be a solid fantasy option the rest of the way once he returns. Snell had a 2.00 ERA and four strikeouts in his only two starts for the Dodgers in 2025. 

Zebby Matthews Injury Update For Fantasy Baseball

Every fantasy manager was waiting patiently for the Twins to call up Matthews early in the year. He was dominating in Triple-A and didn't have much left to prove down in the minors. Minnesota eventually promoted the right-hander on May 18 to make his first start of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Matthews then made four straight starts in Minnesota's rotation from before suffering a shoulder strain. This injury comes at a bad time for the right-hander, considering he is coming off one of the better starts of his career. He threw five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts against the Athletics on June 4. 

Matthews will now be shut down from throwing for at least the next two weeks after being diagnosed with a moderate strain of the subscapularis muscle in his right shoulder. As a result, there isn't a clear timeline on when the Twins pitcher could return from that injury.

#MNTwins say Zebby Matthews has been diagnosed with a moderate subscapularis strain in his right shoulder and will be reevaluated after not throwing for approximately two weeks.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) June 11, 2025

Minnesota is in a wait-and-see mode over the next few weeks to see how his shoulder recovers. Although the team is optimistic that Matthews will pitch again this season, he will be out for quite some time with this injury. Once his shoulder is completely healed, he will have to build back up and go on a rehab assignment.

With Matthews expected to miss some time, he is a fine drop in most leagues. He might not be worth keeping in one of your IL slots following some mixed results on the mound in 2025. The 25-year-old had a 5.21 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts across four starts for the Twins this season. 

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