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Kyle Bishop looks at four big-name players primed to return this weekend from lengthy stints on the injured list in this edition of the Friday Focus.
Last week, we discussed the sheer number of injuries that have befallen the MLB in 2021. The deluge has continued unabated since then, with Corey Kluber (shoulder), Lance McCullers (ditto), Marcell Ozuna (fingers), Zach Plesac (broken thumb from "aggressively removing his shirt" because hey, why not), Kyle Gibson (groin), Luke Voit (oblique), Franmil Reyes (ditto), Bryce Harper (forearm), J.T. Realmuto (wrist), Nick Senzel (knee), and Nico Hoerner (hamstring) all landing on the injured list. Oh, and turns out that Carlos Carrasco (hamstring) is probably still over a month away, and we may not even see Noah Syndergaard (elbow) before September, now that he's been shut down for the next six weeks thanks to inflammation as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Neat!
We're dealing with a 30 percent increase in IL stints over 2019, and that's without including COVID designations. We all knew health could be an issue for players after the pandemic threw everything into chaos last year, but you can't realistically plan for this many injuries. All you can do is try to patch the holes and hope circumstances get better.
It isn't all bad, though. The only silver lining with injuries is that the player does return at some point (provided he is not a Mets pitcher, at least). We're on the cusp of welcoming back several big names who can provide beleaguered fantasy managers with a major boost. Let's turn our attention to them, because dwelling on all the red ink we're collectively drowning in is, frankly, depressing. (Not depressing: This absolute disasterpiece, provided you're not a Pirates fan.)
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Starling Marte, OF, Miami Marlins
Marte has been on the shelf since breaking a rib on April 18, but is joining the Marlins in Boston this weekend and is likely to be activated ahead of that series. At the time of the injury, Miami's center fielder was hitting a cool .310/.414/.483 with two home runs, three stolen bases, and 23 R+BI in 16 games. The veteran has only played in more than 135 games twice in his career, and he won't be adding to that total this season. But he's also been one of the most consistent all-around contributors in the game over the past decade, and a particularly reliable base stealer. The injury shouldn't have much in the way of lingering effects, so he's likely to continue meeting that standard.
Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Bellinger got spiked in the calf in the season's first week, and his recovery went more slowly than anyone initially anticipated. He's expected to return on Saturday, however, and went deep twice in four games on his rehab assignment at Triple-A this week. Bellinger's struggles in 2020, the result of a nagging shoulder injury, didn't do much to depress his draft cost this spring. The 25-year-old has alternated transcendent campaigns with merely good ones since breaking into the bigs in 2017, so it will be especially interesting to see how he looks in the coming days.
Giancarlo Stanton, DH, New York Yankees
Stanton is no stranger to the injured list; after setting a career high with 705 plate appearances in his first season in the Bronx back in 2018, the slugger has made just 310 trips to the plate since. Like most of his teammates, the 31-year-old got off to a slow start in 2021, but he slashed .378/.432/.659 with six homers and 23 R+BI in the 18 games leading up to his quad injury on May 13. He'll be back in action on Friday. Fantasy managers will cross their fingers that he can avoid more time in the trainer's room moving forward, but we know he'll be productive when he plays.
Framber Valdez, SP, Houston Astros
Valdez broke a finger late in spring training, to the dismay of those who eagerly drafted him in the middle rounds. There were whispers that he might miss the entire season, but he avoided that fate and will make his season debut on Friday. The Padres are a tough draw to come back to, so it's probably wise to leave him on the bench for that start. But the 27-year-old flashed tantalizing upside in 2020, combining an extreme ground ball tendency with plenty of strikeouts.
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