Howdy-do, Razzgals and guys.
It’s Saturday morning, you’re glad it’s the weekend, and you’re ready to read your favorite uplifting article to carry those lifted spirits throughout the next couple of days. Or rather, you’ll be lifting spirits of a different kind repeatedly toward your face hole as you drown out the bad news you’re about to read.
Except actually it’s not all bad news this week! There’s one terrible piece of news hinted at in the headline that I’ll get to shortly, but other than that, this is a week of rehab stint updates, progress reports of various kinds, and healthy returns! I’ll cheers my lifted spirit to that! Still plenty of injuries to cover, though, don’t worry.
Friendly reminder: Other writers cover some injuries throughout the week, so if you’re looking for an update on a player not mentioned here, slap their name into the ol’ search bar and give it a look-see. I’m just here to give you the latest injury buzz for the week, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be mentioning everyone you care about each and every time.
Zac Gallen: Two kinds of gallon/Gallen shortages going on in America right now. We got bozos buying up all the gas, causing a shortage that wouldn’t be nearly as bad if people were, you know, not buying up all the gas. And then we’ve got beloved fantasy darling Zac Gallen, who came off the IL earlier than expected and looked great only to find himself with UCL damage and inevitable Tommy John surgery in his future. Okay, sure, whatever, fine, right now they’re calling it a “minor UCL sprain” and saying surgery will not be needed. All of that is news as of now. I am not even for a small second going to pretend like this is going to go away. Gallen’s words in an MLB.com article don’t even sound all that optimistic. He used the words “small win” and “knock on wood.” I have very little hope he makes it the rest of the way in 2021. He could come back and pitch some more, but I expect this to get worse sooner or later. But for now, he’s getting shut down for two weeks and then they’ll go from there.
Jacob deGrom: JDG has been dealing with a side injury. He’s on the IL for it, but that’s a little misleading. That’s really just to get him some rest and to get another warm body on the active roster. He played catch yesterday and is, as of now, on track to return this coming Friday. MRI revealed nothing at all, not even inflammation.
San Diego Padres/New York Yankees: You’ve probably heard by now about the crazy situation with the Yankees where, despite being vaxxed, several members of the organization have tested positive. One of them is Gleyber Torres, who has now tested positive twice. Huh. Weird. Almost as if someone administering the vaccine to NYY really mucked something up. Or the tests are jacked. Anyhoodles, he’s out for a little while probably. No telling how long, but he’ll obviously have to test negative before coming back. Miguel Andujar was recalled in a coordinating move. As for the Padres, a slew of players are in protocol: Eric Hosmer, Jurickson Profar, and Jorge Mateo. Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers have tested positive. Fun.
Ronald Acuna Jr.: Dude smashed his 12th HR of the season to lead off the game, then did this later:
Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the first-base bag wrong hustling out an infield single and he's down with an apparent ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/KNdnl5AFqP
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 13, 2021
X-rays came back negative and he was seen walking on his own in the dugout, so he seems to have avoided a serious injury, although it forced him to sit yesterday. For today, he’s questionable.
Christian Yelich: Yelich is rehabbing and almost ready to come back. Hopefully. Cuz remember how did actually come back and then went right back on the IL? He played last night for Triple-A Nashville. Could be back with the Brewers within the next several days.
George Springer: Springer is inching closer by the sound of things. Doing some swinging and running. Not much more to go on beyond that.
Giancarlo Stanton: Stanton has been doing Stanton things this year. Mashing when playing (go peep that Statcast page…100th percentile in avg EV, max EV, and HH% lol), but also not always fully healthy. He was a late scratch Friday after feeling quad tightness. Word is he could miss a couple days at least. With his luck, it’ll be more.
Cody Bellinger: Not a lot to report here, but we’ve learned he’s running again at least. He’ll need a rehab assignment before playing again — we don’t even have a timeline on that, let alone on an activation from the IL. Sigh.
It looks like Cody Bellinger is running at more than 60% speed now ? pic.twitter.com/CvZ2G29NuK
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 14, 2021
Stephen Strasburg: Stras is close to a return to the Nationals. Should just need one rehab start (which will come tomorrow) before getting back into the rotation…and then the countdown to his next IL stint shall begin.
Anthony Rendon: Rendon fouled a ball off his knee and it kept him sidelined since May 4. He returned yesterday! Not necessary to mention that, but hey, we need all the good vibes we can get these days.
J.T. Realmuto: Jank Taco also made his return yesterday after missing a couple days with both a knee injury and what sounded like some sort of stomach bug? A case of the Jank Taco runs, maybe? It put him on the COVID-IL “out of an abundance of caution,” but he was cleared to return Friday.
Luke Voit: Made his return Tuesday! He’s done nothing yet at the plate except draw a walk, and sat Thursday just to get some rest as he gets eased back in, but start him with confidence, I say!
Corbin Burnes: Finally returned! Looked as good as ever but finally walked someone. Still broke an MLB record by recording 52 K before issuing a walk. Nasty stuff. He went 5 IP on Monday, allowing 5 H, 1 ER, 1BB, and struck out 9. That’s now 6-for-6 in starts where he’s struck out at least that many. And still just the one walk. Bonkers. Totes bonkers.
Ketel Marte: Making good progress and participated in a four-inning sim game yesterday. Rehab stint soon! Then real Ketel Marte soon! Hopefully! Positivity! Yay!
Joey Gallo: Sat Friday with a very mild hamstring issue. Could be he plays today. Rangers don’t sound concerned about it.
Raimel Tapia: Similar situation with Mr. Tilapia, except it’s a minor thumb issue. Could be back today. Tapia was another one of Rudy’s War Room darlings that has panned out beautifully. He’s batting .301 with 18 R, 4 HR, 20 RBI (very surprising — had just 17 last year), and 5 SB. Bargain Bin Badass.
Jose Abreu/Hunter Dozier: The two collided in an ugly way Friday and left the game immediately. Dozier popped up to first-base side and ran directly into Abreu, who was running in attempting to field it. Can’t fault Abreu for watching the ball, and Dozier just happened to have his head down and was adjusting his helmet at the moment of the collision. Dozier is on the 7-day concussion IL, while Abreu reportedly wanted to play the second game of the doubleheader but was not allowed to do so. Abreu sounds fine other than having a bruise and cut on his face.
Jazz Chisholm: Very close to a return. On Thursday night, he stole a base and got caught stealing two other times. Not a good success rate, but the fact he’s running that much shows he’s ready to get back in action. Could be activated today or tomorrow at this rate.
Mike Soroka: Soroka is gonna be on the shelf for a long, long time. He got bad news this past week and will need to undergo another surgery just to figure out what to do next. They don’t even know. He was ramping up his activities but started to feel more discomfort. So after that, depending on what needs to e done, he’ll need to ramp up all over again. I’d wager we don’t see him at all in 2021, if I were a betting man.
Diego Castillo: The Rays activated Castillo yesterday. Figures to get right back in the mix for saves. Aside from barrel rate, exit velocity, and walk rate, Castillo’s Statcast page is dripping blood straight out of my computer screen.
Rafael Dolis: Participated in some pregame stuff Friday and threw a pen session. Probably won’t be out too much longer. Bummer for Jordan Romano owners.
Chris Martin: Martin earned his first hold of the season on Thursday. If you’re in a SVHD league and he’s on the wire, you should make that happen. The Braves are a pretty good baseball team.
Noah Syndergaard: Thor should begin a rehab assignment very soon. Like, this weekend maybe. Stay tuned, but it’s looking more and more like that June timetable will be right on the mark.
Paul DeJong: PDJ has been both pretty okay and pretty terrible this year. On one hand, he’s got 18 R, 7 HR, 17 RBI, and 2 SB in 35 games. Paces out to 83/32/79/9. Nice bargain for a guy drafted well outside the top 200. On the other hand, he’s slashing .177/.277/.371. That paces out to .177/.277/.371, cuz that’s how pacing slash lines works. *Inserts “The More You Know” GIF* Anyway, PDJ is on the 10-day IL with a rib fracture. Timeline for return is unclear.
C.J. Cron: Cronk (I call him Cronk now) has been having himself a dandy of a year with the Rockies. Lotta people thought he might cuz 1). Coors and 2). he’s been lowkey good for the last few years. Just can’t stay healthy. Well, he’s un-healthy again. On the IL with a lower back strain. Cronk is 95th percentile in max EV, 94th in xwOBA, 88th in xBA/xSLG, 83rd in BB%, and 74th in barrel%. That’s, um, really good. K% ain’t good, but he’s a slugger. Bound to happen. Hopefully he can come back when eligible Monday.
Christian Walker: Funny story but I just typed “Christina Walker” before correcting my typo. But tbh that just means I’m always gonna think of him as Christina now. Miss Walker is on the IL with an oblique strain, and it’s the second time she’s been, I mean he’s been, on the IL with that injury. More like Christian “Needs A” Walker amirite?! He’s having a poo poo year, but clearly hasn’t been healthy for any of it. His latest MRI has shown healing, so he’s confident he’ll be back sooner rather than later. If he indeed can heal up nicely, I could see Walker being the type that boosts fantasy squads in the second half.
Colin Moran: On the surface, Moran is having a very strong year: slashing .297/.352/.468 with 4 HR and 19 RBI in 32 games. It comes with the help of a .392 BABIP, though. And, like, I mean, he plays for the Pirates. All of this is to say that if you’ve got him stashed on your IL (out indefinitely with a groin injury but did resume activities back on Wednesday), I’d think about selling high rather than hoping he comes back and picks up where he left off. He’s not bad, but I don’t think he’s this good.
Donovan Solano: Solano has done nothing but hit at least .300 since joining the Giants. In 2019, he hit .330 in 81 games. In 2020, he hit .326 in 54 games. So far in 2021, he’s hit .300 in 17 games. He’s hoping to start a rehab stint this weekend and could feasibly be back with the Giants next week sometime. If your team is sorely lacking BA, bet you can find him on the wire.
J.D. Davis: Could return to the team today. Like I said last time I brought him up, he was awesome in 2019, disappointed last year, but still sported a .371 OBP after batting only .247. This year, he’s slashing .390/.479/.610 in 14 games.
Aaron Hicks: If you were impressed by Davis’s OBP despite a middling BA in 2020, you should check out what Hicks did in 2020: hit .225 but rocked a .379 OBP. Nice! This season hasn’t been so kind to Hicks, but he was often the 3-hole hitter for the Yankees. Wellllll, he’s gone and gotten hurt, per the usual with him. This time it’s a torn tendon in his wrist. More precisely, it’s a torn sheath that houses a tendon in his wrist. It’s kind of in limbo, cuz he’s not on the IL yet but they’re also considering surgery. We’ll see.
A.J. Pollock: Pollock missed a few games with a hamstring injury, came back Friday, then re-aggravated it early on. Lengthy IL stint incoming, perhaps?
Anthony Santander: Santander enjoyed a mini-breakout last year, slashing .261/.315/.575 with 11 HR and 32 RBI in just 37 games. Okay maybe that’s more than a mini-breakout. Again, my favorite unpopular thing to do as an analyst is the classic 162-game pace. Santander would be at 48 HR and 140 RBI. Pacing RBI is even dumber cuz it’s so contextual and random and whatnot. But still, it’s fun! Isn’t just looking at a 48HR/140RBI line fun? I think so. Santander began rehabbing yesterday in Double-A and is expected to join the Orioles later this coming week.
Brandon Nimmo: Things were going well and he played Thursday, but pain cropped back up in his finger so he sat Friday. Right now we don’t know if it’s minor or major. Stay tuned.
Jake Marisnick: Scout’s honor: I wouldn’t normally waste your time with a Jake Marisnick update. But dammit if the dude wasn’t scorching burning molten hot before going down with a hamstring injury. Hard to ignore a .973 OPS with 4 HR, 14 RBI, and 2 SB in just 60 ABs. Very unlikely to be sustainable for him, but it’s the kind of production you take advantage of while you can. Timetable for a return is not clear. Could very well be that this injury killed all momentum he had.
Framber Valdez: Rehab starts tomorrow! Early-ish June is a realistic date for a return. Maybe closer to mid-June. But still, much better than the “season-ending surgery” we had on the table at one point.
Jake Odorizzi: Set to start a rehab stint Monday. Would join the team soon after that if things go well. I’ll let you decide how fantasy relevant he is. I’m good, but you do you.
Jose Urquidy: Urquidy is one of those guys who always falls under my radar. I was frankly more than a little surprised to see he’s 3-2 on the year with a 3.22 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. I have several teams that could use that kind of production. I don’t know what’s going on in Houston, but this is the third Astros pitcher in a row I’ve had to talk about (and don’t forget JV!). Urquidy had an MRI Thursday that revealed inflammation in his shoulder. Doesn’t seem to be serious, but shoulder problems can always get serious pretty quick. It’s not clear if he’ll make his next start or not.
Miles Mikolas: As with Odorizzi, I’ll let you decide how fantasy relevant Mik is, but he’s been rehabbing and will make another start tomorrow for Triple-A Memphis. Could be back next weekend.
Find me on Twitter: @jkj0787. DMs are always open for questions, comments, concerns, complaints, etc. Odds are good I’m drinking black coffee, dark beer, or some form of bourbon at any given time.
