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Ambulance Chasers: Eflin Up My Roster

May 24, 2024 | 2024 Fantasy Baseball | 8 Comments

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Welcome back to another rousing edition of Razzball Ambulance Chasers. The bodies are still warm. The hamstrings are served strained.

Speaking of rousing, warm, and strained, I took a note from MarmosDad’s playbook and injured my leg in a sports incident (or rather a series of sports incidents). Now, I get to attend weekly physical therapy. This week, I looked my physical therapist deep in the eyes as she massaged my quad and asked “Physical Therapist, I hear people talk about ‘the groin’ as an alternative word for the crotch. Can you help me understand this?”. It was an intimate moment, and she chuckled and said “We all have a groin, and it’s in our inner thigh.”

And that’s how I was inspired to write my first romance novel.

Whose groin was gonged this week? Let’s jump in and find out.

Notable Injuries

AL Central

Carlos Carrasco (SP, CLE), neck: Elder statesman Carrasco was moved to the 15-day IL with neck spasms. His performance this season has been worse than projected: 5.16 ERA, 5.31 FIP. Maybe the neck issue influenced his performance for a while. Carrasco is eligible to return in early June.

Xzavion Curry stepped in for Carrasco. He’s done fine, but let’s look at some other options. You won’t have to look too far to find fellow Guardians Ben Lively (apparently no relation to Blake Lively) and Logan Allen.

In his last 5.7 IP, Lively has 11.1 K/9 and 0.0 BB/9. In his last 6 IP, Allen has a 10.9 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 with a squeaky clean 0.00 ERA and 1.20 FIP. Once again, Allen may be in “How long will this last?’ area. At the time of publication, I will not have seen the outcome of the Guardians vs. Angels, but the outlook was not good for leftie Logan. Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee!

Eloy Jiménez (DH, CWS), hamstring: Regular visitor Eloy is back with us for a hamstring injury. Timeline of return is uncertain. My heavens look at this list of Eloy’s injuries over the past 5 years. Hamstring injuries (among other things) appear to be a once-a-year promise these days despite moving away from the outfield.

Anyway, I’ll get back on track here. If you are looking strictly for a DH, Mark Vientos has been busy. In his last 14 AB, Vientos is hitting .357/.471/.786. He hit a homer as I wrote the last sentence.

 AL East 

Zach Eflin (SP, TBR), back: Eflin is out with a spot of lower back inflammation. He could return in early June. Like Carrasco, Eflin has had a rougher than projected season. I was going to propose Alek Manoah because he almost got me, but no, I won’t be fooled.

Dean Kremer (SP, BAL), triceps: Ohhhh noooo Pt. 1. It’s a double whammy for the Birds. Kremer goes to the IL with a strained right triceps. There is no timeline as of yet. Albert Suarez and Cole Irvin may see some more time as starters. Both have been functioning as relievers so far this season. In 25.3 IP, Suarez is has a 1.78 ERA and 2.82 FIP with 7.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. Irvin has been a little more variable this season, and his last week was a little bit of a stinker.

John Means (SP, BAL), forearm: Ohhhh noooo Pt. 2.  Means goes back to the  IL with a left forearm strain and was seeking a second opinion on his forearm, which isn’t always bad but is mostly…un-good.

Garrett Whitlock (SP, BOS), elbow: Whitlock is on the IL with potential UCL damage in his pitching elbow. At the time of publication, surgery was not certain, but there were many reports that it was a likely outcome. We may have seen the last of Gary Dub this season.

AL West 

Jon Gray (SP, TEX), groin: The Rangers pitching staff appears to be even more cursed than originally suspected. Maybe because they still don’t have a Prid…never mind. Gray joins the 15-day IL with a mild strained groin. Luckily, Bruce Bochy shared that they expected Gray to return after the 15-day stint, per Evan Grant. Jesús Tinoco was added to cover Gray’s spot. Look across the AL West to find José Soriano. He is on the Angels and no Jon Gray, but he is serviceable for a short time period.

Zach Neto (SS, LAA), elbow: Bummer for many of you as Neto went DTD with right elbow soreness, but an MRI showed the injury is just some inflammation. There are some sources that say he will be back in action today. He was not in the lineup last night but mentioned he was available if needed.

Esteury Ruiz (OF, OAK), wrist: Esteury Ruiz was officially moved to the IL because of a strained left wrist. Ruiz originally injured his wrist a couple of weeks ago during a diving catch. Daz Cameron was recalled to take Ruiz’s spot on the roster. Ruiz’s teammate Seth Brown could be an easy pick-up here. Brown has been doing well in recent performances. In 17 AB, Brown has 2 HR, 4 RBIs, and 1 SB.

NL Central 

Jake Fraley (OF, CIN), hand: Fraley was hit by pitch on his hand. However, he is back in the mix and celebrating by being patriotic.

NL West

Xander Bogaerts (2B/SS, SDP), shoulder: Bogaerts sustained a shoulder practice after diving to make a catch. The team shared that only the bone was damaged in the fall, and no surgery would be required to repair the bone or any soft tissue. The current timeline for return is end of summer.

If you’re in a pinch, Dylan Moore has been heating up. Will his performance be sustainable? Probably not. In his past 17 AB, he is hitting .412/.565/1.118 with 3 HR and 6 RBIs. It’s a little bonkers, but if you have some room, (to be read in the tone of a soccer mom who’s wine drunk on a Friday night) it could be funnnnnn.

Max Muncy (3B, LAD), oblique: Muncy sustained a Grade 1 strained oblique last Friday. He is not expected back any earlier than June. Enrique Hernández has been serving in Muncy’s place at 3B and hitting with mixed results.

There are some other options. Detroit’s Colt Keith is on a little streak. In his last 20 AB, he is hitting .550/.571/.650 with 11 H and 4 RBIs. If you need someone in the NL East, Diamondback Kevin Newman is hitting .300/.364/.350 with 6 H and 2 BB in his last 20 AB.

Injury Updates

Here are the most speedy updates I can give you. If I missed anything or you want to know more (or less!), I’ll see you in the comments.

  • Gerrit Cole (SP, NYY), elbow: facing hitters before starting rehab; planning on June return.
  • Jacob deGrom (SP, TEX), elbow: shooting for August return per MLB’s Kennedi Landry.
  • Brandon Drury (1B/2B, LAA), hamstring: hitting in batting cage but not running yet.
  • Nathan Eovaldi (SP, TEX), groin: throwing in the bullpen; may receive news about a rehab assignment in the next week.
  • Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B, PIT), back: returned to baseball activities; might be back sometime in the next week.
  • Josh Jung (3B, TEX), wrist: timeline updated to an early July return.
  • Steven Kwan (OF, CLE), leg: may be able to start rehab assignment in next week.
  • DJ LeMahieu (1B/3B, NYY), foot: may debut next week.
  • Wyatt Langford (OF, TEX), hamstring: early June return.
  • Royce Lewis (3B, MIN), quadricep: return before mid-July
  • Kenta Maeda (SP, DET), illness: may pitch this weekend per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
  • Bobby Miller (SP, LAD), shoulder inflammation: rehab assignment begins Sunday per Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
  • Sean Murphy (C, ATL), oblique: destroying balls in rehab.
  • Luis Robert (OF, CWS), hip: also destroying balls in rehab.
  • Lane Thomas (OF, WSH), knee: should return in the next week.
  • Trea Turner (SS, PHI), hamstring: timeline still 6 weeks from early May (so mid to late June return).
  • Max Scherzer (SP, TEX), back: earliest he could be activated is May 28; no certain updates.
  • Alek Thomas (OF, ARI), hamstring: ramping up activity; will need a rehab assignment.
  • Gavin Williams (SP, CLE), elbow: throwing bullpen sessions; June return possible.

Protect yo neck. And groins. See you next week!

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