Top 25 Injured Players to Stash for Fantasy Baseball - Week 16 (2025)

Santander has been injured for most of the season, but he could return for the final stretch and help managers hoping to reach the fantasy playoffs.

The Blue Jays slugger has been on the injured list since May 30, and the latest update stated that he still hasn't swung a bat yet. While this update is discouraging, Santander is still rostered in 59% of Yahoo! leagues for a reason.

Santander is fresh off a season where he finished with the third-most home runs in baseball. The 30-year-old smacked a career-high 44 home runs as a member of the Baltimore Orioles and was projected to be one of the most valuable hitters in fantasy baseball heading into his first season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Although 44 home runs was his highest in a single season, Santander has been a proven power hitter since his 2022 season. Across 2022 and 2023, Santander hit a total of 61 home runs.

While 2025 has primarily been a lost season for Santander, he could be a valuable piece to hold onto in anticipation of his return. Given his current inactivity, Santander will likely be sidelined until at least the middle of August.

Eflin is dealing with a back injury, but completed a rehab outing on Sunday, July 13. This return to action is a welcome sight for the 31-year-old.

Eflin has not been particularly impressive this season, carrying a 5.95 ERA into the All-Star break, but there are reasons to believe in a turnaround. Eflin's xERA of 4.25 is not great, but it is nearly two runs lower than his actual ERA.

The veteran pitcher's HR/9 sits at 2.32, the highest of his career and a far cry from his 1.2 HR/9 last season. Eflin's HR/FB rate sits at 20%, which is also the highest of his career. 

It should also be noted that Eflin has managed to produce six quality starts in his 12 trips to the mound this season. The main reason for his high ERA is those blow-up starts in his six other appearances. Those blow-up starts can likely be attributed to his inflated home runs this year.

As long as Eflin can bring the home runs down, he should be in for a much better second half.

The Orioles starter completed four innings with one walk and two strikeouts in his rehab outing. The results were not eye-popping, but the fact that he came through the outing unscathed is a good sign for his recovery.

Fantasy managers should acquire Eflin because he should be a viable fantasy starter for the back half of the year.

Shane Bieber, SP - Cleveland Guardians

Rostered: 34% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: August

In the shortened 2020 season, Bieber compiled a 1.63 ERA, 122 strikeouts, and eight wins to bring home the Cy Young award and the pitching triple crown. This display of utter dominance shows the upside that Bieber possesses.

Despite having a down 2023 season with a 3.80 in 21 starts, Bieber started the 2024 season with some electric performances. The right-hander tossed six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in the season opener and followed that up with another six shutout innings and nine strikeouts.

Bieber was well on his way towards a massive bounce-back season because suffering his elbow injury. It's been a long road back, but his return could provide a massive boost.

The 30-year-old is only 34% rostered in Yahoo! leagues, and that number should climb with the news of him beginning a rehab assignment. Grab him while you can.

Bowden Francis, SP - Toronto Blue Jays

Rostered: 17% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: TBD

Francis owns a 6.05 ERA in 64 innings this season, but there are a few things that could go his way and turn his season around in the second half. Like Eflin, Francis is a victim of increased HR/9 and HR/FB rate this season. The 29-year-old's HR/9 has jumped from 1.48 to 2.67, and his HR/FB rate has increased from 12.8% to 20.7%.

Francis has also seen a jump in BABIP from .211 in 2024 to .288 in 2025. Perhaps Francis has been unlucky in that department relative to last season.

If Francis can bring those home run numbers down, he should be able to bounce back. Those home run numbers may be attributed, in part, to a change in pitch mix. 

The right-hander threw his four-seam fastball 51.3% of the time in 2024, and batters hit .174 against it. Francis is now throwing his four-seamer 57.6% of the time, and batters are hitting .280 against it. The velocity and movement profile of the pitch has stayed relatively the same year over year, so maybe this is a case of less is more with the fastball.

If Francis can tweak his pitch mix a bit to give hitters different looks, perhaps the ERA and home run numbers will see some positive regression.

Although Francis does not have a set return date, fantasy managers can stash him based on last year's numbers and the hope that he is in for some better luck down the stretch.

Ruiz has been on the seven-day injured list with a concussion for the past few weeks, but he has recently taken steps towards returning.

The Nationals catcher suffered the initial head injury back on June 20 when he was struck by a foul ball while in the dugout. The Nationals activated Ruiz, but his concussion symptoms returned, and he was placed back on the injured list.

While the renewed presentation of symptoms is not a positive development, Ruiz recently returned to baseball activities and was working out with the team.

When healthy, Ruiz is one of the better contact hitters at the catcher position. The 26-year-old has a 9.7% strikeout rate this season, placing him in the 97th percentile among qualified hitters. The issue is that the majority of his batted balls are weakly hit ground balls or fly balls.

Despite making an excellent amount of contact, Ruiz owns a career .258 BABIP. The way to maximize Ruiz's contact would be to pull his fly balls, giving them a greater chance to leave the yard.

This season, Ruiz's pull air rate is down to 16.5%. If he can bring that number up over 23%, a number he was over the past two seasons, we could see some increased power numbers in the second half.

Fantasy managers in two-catcher leagues and deep points leagues can stash Ruiz because it appears his return may not be far away.

More Fantasy Baseball Analysis