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Dr. Reuven's (@mlbinjuryguru) fantasy baseball injury updates for Week 23 of the 2021 MLB season. His medical background helps analyze the injured MLB players and their recoveries.
There are only five full weeks left of the major league baseball season. Players will now begin to be shut down for 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 23 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season.
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Injured Players - New Listings
Triston McKenzie (SP, CLE): McKenzie was placed on the IL with right shoulder fatigue. It is not yet clear whether he will be shut down. Logan Allen was recalled to take his spot in the Cleveland rotation.
Jack Flaherty (SP, STL): Flaherty was placed on the IL with a strained right shoulder. Flaherty left his start this week early due to this injury and his velocity was down. Based on the fact that Flaherty had just come off of the IL, there is a good chance the Cardinals shut him down for the rest of the year.
Chas McCormick (OF, HOU): McCormick was placed on the IL with left hand soreness. Severity is not yet known. Kyle Tucker was activated from the COVID IL and Jake Meyers should continue seeing time in center field for the Astros.
Eduardo Escobar (2B, MIL): Escobar was placed on the IL with a strained right hamstring. Severity is not known. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Escobar will miss about two weeks. Luis Urias will see an increase in playing time while Escobar is out.
Ji-Man Choi (1B, TB): Choi was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Severity is not yet known. Nelson Cruz was activated and made his first career start at first base while the Rays are in Philadelphia.
Zack Britton (RP, NYY): Britton was placed on the IL with a left elbow sprain. The severity is not yet known but it has been reported that Britton is considering surgery. If that is the case, he would be done for the year.
Dylan Bundy (SP, LAA): Bundy was placed on the IL with a right shoulder strain. Severity is not yet known. With a shoulder injury this late in the season, there may not be enough time for Bundy to come back this season. This, of course, will depend on injury severity.
Tejay Antone (RP, CIN): Antone was placed on the IL with a right forearm strain. Antone had missed the past two months with a strained forearm before being activated for one appearance before re-aggravating the injury. He will be headed for Tommy John surgery and is done for this year and the majority of next year as well.
Rhys Hoskins (1B, PHI): Hoskins was placed on the IL with a left groin strain. Hoskins says he will miss the rest of the season and will undergo surgery to repair a tear in his lower abdomen. Brad Miller should see more time and the recently demoted Alec Bohm could be recalled to fill in.
Injured Players - Updates
Kenta Maeda (SP, MIN): Maeda is on the IL with a right forearm strain. He was sent for a second opinion on his forearm injury today with the Twins concerned about potential UCL issues. It is questionable as to whether he will return this year.
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. Bassitt had surgery August 24 to repair the displaced and fractured bones in his right cheek and is done for the regular season.
Jesse Winker- (OF, CIN): Winker was placed on the IL with an intercostal strain. Winker's MRI confirmed that his intercostal strain. The earliest projection of him coming back is on September 3rd, but it may be later than that.
Freddy Peralta- (SP, MIL): Peralta was placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Peralta was scheduled for a bullpen session on Friday and may not need a rehab assignment. Counsell also said Peralta should be activated around their September 3rd homestand.
Yu Darvish- (SP, SD): Darvish was placed on the IL with lower-back tightness. Darvish has thrown three bullpen sessions since last Friday. Padres manager Jayce Tingler said regarding Darvish- "We're getting close." He could rejoin their rotation soon.
Adbert Alzolay- (SP, CHC): Alzolay was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Alzolay was is scheduled to make a rehab start this past Wednesday and will probably need one more rehab start prior to activation from the IL.
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. A new MRI was performed and deGrom has been cleared to start a throwing program with a possible late September activation the goal.
Noah Syndergaard- (SP, NYM): Syndergaard has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year. He was scheduled to make a rehab start this past Thursday. When Syndergaard returns to the majors, he is expected to be pitching out of the bullpen.
Gleyber Torres- (SS, NYY): Torres was placed on the IL with a sprained left thumb. Torres hopes to start a rehab assignment next week.
Domingo German- (SP, NYY): German is on the IL with a right rotator cuff strain. German continues to throw bullpen sessions, but no rehab assignment has been set up yet for him. Return date expects to be mid September.
Jose Urquidy- (SP, HOU): Urquidy has been on the IL with shoulder inflammation. He has begun a rehab assignment and has made two rehab starts so far. He is expected to return the first week in September and the Astros may then go forward with a six man rotation.
Corey Kluber- (SP, NYY): Kluber has been on the IL for the past few months with a subscapularis strain. Kluber is set to return from the IL this Monday. Expect there to be a pitch/innings limit for his first few starts.
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 games. Angels manager Joe Maddon said this week that Trout is feeling better following his workouts, but that he is still not ready to begin a rehab assignment.
Justus Sheffield- (SP, SEA): Sheffield has been on the IL with a forearm strain. Sheffield has had two rehab games so far with one more on tap at which point the Mariners could activate him.
Chris Paddack- (SP, SD)- Paddack was placed on the IL with a strained left oblique. Paddack has been throwing bullpen sessions and the earliest he could return is around the first week of September.
Adalberto Mondesi- (SS, KC): Mondesi has been on the IL with an oblique strain. Mondesi continues his rehab assignment. There is a limited time a player can be on a rehab assignment at which point the player must be activated.
Matthew Boyd- (SP, DET): Boyd has been on the IL since before the All-Star game with trips tendonitis. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Boyd is "penciled in" to start Sunday's game.
Evan Longoria- (3B, SF): Longoria is on the IL with a right hand contusion. Longoria is still feeling too much pain to hit high-velocity pitching and still has considerable swelling in his right index finger. Longoria hopes to return next Tuesday, but needs to be able to hit pain-free.
Cavan Biggio (2B/3B/OF, TOR): Biggio was rehabbing a neck/back injury when he was diagnosed with a grade one sprain of his left UCL and will not hit for at least a week. This may push back his return to the middle portion of September, if at all.
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