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Dr. Reuven's (@mlbinjuryguru) fantasy baseball injury updates for Week 22 of the 2021 MLB season. His medical background helps analyze the injured MLB players and their recoveries.
The second half of the baseball season is in full swing, and believe it or not, there are only six weeks left of the major league baseball regular season. We will now begin to start hearing of players being shut down for the rest of the year. Knowing injury timelines is an extremely crucial part of the fantasy baseball season. There are still many players that have injury questions yet to be answered. I will continue to highlight players on the IL with their hopeful return time frame. Some teams are still not giving us enough information to have a solid time frame for returning injured players.
Starting pitchers returning from injuries do not necessarily have the same timeline to return as do everyday players. Most commonly, players coming back from injuries require rehab stints in the minors prior to activation from the IL. Pitchers coming back from injury usually have a few rehab assignment starts prior to being activated from the IL. This trend should change as teams are thinking about possibly having these starters rehab in the majors and act as their openers or long men to help speed up this process.
Let's take a look at the latest injury breakdown as we enter Week 22 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season.
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Injured Players - New Listings
Julio Urias (SP, LAD): Urias was placed on the IL with a left calf contusion Saturday. He is expected to return this Tuesday.
Chris Bassitt- (SP, OAK): Bassitt was placed on the IL with facial fractures following getting hit in the side of the head with a line drive. His vision was not affected. Athletics trainer Nick Paparesta said Bassitt is expected to undergo surgery August 24 to repair the displaced and fractured bones in his right cheek. Bassitt is expected to need six weeks to make a full recovery. This may mean that he is done for the regular season. More info will be known following his surgery next week.
Jesse Winker- (OF, CIN): Winker was placed on the IL with an intercostal strain. Winker's MRI confirmed that his intercostal strain is not a long-term issue. However, Reds manager David Bell said Jesse Winker has not done any baseball activities yet and is unlikely to be ready when he is eligible to come off the IL.
Freddy Peralta- (SP, MIL): Peralta was placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Severity or test results are not known yet. No word yet as to who will fill in for the Brewers.
Eric Haase- (C, DET): Haase was placed on the IL with a right abdominal strain. No word on severity. Grayson Greiner will be the starter for the Tigers at catcher with Dustin Garneau being the backup.
Patrick Sandoval- (SP, LAA): Sandoval was placed on the IL with a left lumbar spine stress reaction. Severity or length of absence is not yet known. The Angels have also not yet given a name for his replacement in their rotation.
George Springer- (OF, TOR): Springer was placed on the IL with a left knee sprain. MRI revealed a grade one left knee sprain. This is usually a two to three-week injury as there is no ligament damage.
Dylan Carlson- (OF, STL): Carlson was placed on the IL with a right wrist sprain, retroactive to August 14. Severity is not yet known. Lars Nootbaar will get more outfield time while Austin Dean was called up.
Greg Holland- (RP, KC): Holland has been placed on the IL with right shoulder impingement syndrome. Severity is not yet known and the earliest he could be activated is August 26th.
Yu Darvish- (SP, SD): Darvish was placed on the IL with lower-back tightness. Severity is not known, however he has begun to play catch this week, which is positive. Darvish will be eligible to be activated over the weekend though it's uncertain if he'll be ready to pitch.
Adbert Alzolay- (SP, CHC): Alzolay was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Severity is not known. Alzolay has already done some light jogging, agility work, and threw a light bullpen session already which bodes well for him coming back this year.
Injured Players - Updates
Jacob deGrom- (SP, NYM): deGrom is on the IL with forearm tightness. He has said that he will not return until the tightness has subsided, which means there is no current timeframe. He continues to throw bullpen sessions. Although deGrom has said he plans on pitching again this year, do not expect him back any sooner than mid-September. According to a source, there is a "99.99%" chance deGrom is done for the year.
Francisco Lindor- (SS, NYM): Lindor is currently on the IL with an oblique strain. Lindor is taking batting practice and fielding. Lindor is also advocating to rehab at the major league level instead of the minors, which would speed up his return timeline.
Clint Frazier- (OF, NYY): Frazier has been on the IL with head/eye issues since July 2 that was due to dizziness. He was placed on the sixty day IL and is basically done for the year.
Mookie Betts- (OF, LAD): Betts was placed on the IL with right hip pain. He received an injection for his hip. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Betts could be activated next week after a two to three day rehab assignment.
Willson Contreras- (C, CHC): Contreras was placed on the IL with a right knee strain. Severity is not yet known but it is not considered serious at this time. Contreras played catch and went through some agility drills before Monday's game. With the Cubs out of the playoff race, they will not rush him back. Robinson Chirinos and Austin Romine will continue to see more time behind the plate for now.
Drew Pomeranz- (RP, SD): Pomeranz was placed on the IL with right forearm tightness. Pomeranz was scheduled for surgery Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season.
Akil Baddoo- (OF, DET): Baddoo was placed on the concussion IL. He will be out for an undetermined length until his symptoms resolve, however he has begun a rehab assignment this week and barring any setbacks, he could be back next week.
Carlos Rodon- (SP, CHW): Rodon was placed on the IL this week with left shoulder fatigue. Rodon felt good after throwing from ninety feet this week. The earliest he could return is Monday
Gleyber Torres- (SS, NYY): Torres was placed on the IL with a sprained left thumb. Severity is not yet known. Torres' sprained left thumb is expected to sideline him for about two more weeks. Tyler Wade will continue to fill in for the Yankees.
Kwang Hyun Kim- (SP, STL): Kim was placed on the IL with left elbow inflammation, retroactive to August 8. Severity is not known. Kim did begin a rehab assignment this week (first start did not go well) and could return by the end of next week, barring any setbacks.
Tony Gonsolin- (SP, LAD): Gonsolin was placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Gonsolin will throw a fastball-only bullpen session this past Thursday. If all goes well, a rehab assignment should be on tap and a late August/early September return is possible.
Domingo German- (SP, NYY): German is on the IL with a right rotator cuff strain. Severity is not yet known. He was shut down and did not throw for a week. German was throwing bullpen sessions, but no rehab assignment has been set up yet for him. Return date remains unknown.
Jose Urquidy- (SP, HOU): Urquidy has been on the IL with shoulder inflammation. He has begun a rehab assignment and the earliest he could be activated is September 1. He began a rehab assignment this past Thursday.
Zach Eflin- (SP, PHI): Eflin was placed on the IL with right patella tendinitis. Eflin will begin a rehab assignment on Saturday and could be back in two weeks.
Luis Severino- (SP, NYY): Severino is currently on the IL rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year. He then suffered a Grade 2 groin strain during his rehab stint. Severino now is having shoulder issues and is awaiting a second opinion on his shoulder. MRI of the right shoulder showed no structural damage.
Javier Baez- (SS, NYM): Baez is on the IL with a back strain/sprain. Mets acting GM Zack Scott has said that he thinks Baez will be ready to return from the IL when first eligible this Sunday.
Shane Bieber- (SP, CLE):- Bieber has been on the IL for the past few months with a subscapularis strain. Bieber has thrown two bullpen sessions so far in his quest to return from his injury in September.
Corey Kluber- (SP, NYY): Kluber has been on the IL for the past few months with a subscapularis strain. Kluber has had two rehab starts so far and should need anther one or two before his activation from the IL. Around September 1 is his target return date.
Mike Trout- (OF, LAA): Trout has been on the IL with a calf strain. Trout has taken batting practice and participated in on-field activities prior to Tuesday's game. The Angels have said they will not shut him down for the year. His earliest return date is September 6.
Chris Archer- (SP, TB): Archer has been on the IL since the start of the season due to right lateral forearm tightness. Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Archer is expected to be activated from the 60-day IL in the coming days to make his next appearance in the majors.
Gio Urshela- (3B, NYY): Urshela is on the IL with a hamstring strain. He was scheduled to come off the IL this week but suffered a setback. Urshela has now been shut down after he received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection. Urshela ran at 80% this past Monday and will ramp up his participating in baseball activities in the next couple days. If all goes well while increasing his rehab work, Urshela may begin a rehab assignment by the end of this week. This would allow him to be activated sometime next week.
Byron Buxton- (OF, MIN): Buxton has been out with a broken hand since late June. Buxton was scheduled to take part in live batting practice this week with a rehab assignment, which was scheduled to begin this past Friday.
Justus Sheffield- (SP, SEA): Sheffield has been on the IL with a forearm strain. Sheffield has had one rehab game so far, not faring very well. He may require two to three or more rehab starts prior to his activation from the IL.
Chris Paddack- (SP, SD)- Paddack was placed on the IL with a strained left oblique. The move was made retroactive August 4. Paddack threw on the field on flat ground last week and threw a bullpen session this week. If all goes well, a rehab assignment is the only thing standing in his way to being activated.
Joe Ross- (SP, WAS):- Ross was placed on the IL with due to a flexor pronator strain in his right forearm and a partial UCL tear in his right elbow. Ross was examined by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas and the recommendation was for no surgery, but Ross will need "extensive time off" and won't return to pitch this season.
Adalberto Mondesi- (SS, KC): Mondesi has been on the IL with an oblique strain. He began a rehab assignment but experienced oblique tightness during his rehab assignment and returned to Kansas City last Sunday to be evaluated. Mondesi restarted his rehab assignment on Thursday.
Matthew Boyd- (SP, DET): Boyd has been on the IL since before the All-Star game with trips tendonitis. The Tigers are targeting their August 27-29 series for Boyd's return from the 60-day IL.
Nico Hoerner- (2B, CHC):Hoerner has been on the IL since late July with an oblique strain. Hoerner will continue workouts through the weekend with the intention of beginning a rehab assignment early next week. This would make a return by next weekend possible.
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