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Ambulance Chasers: Moncada’s Desastre Personal Continues

June 17, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 6 Comments

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Howdy, Razzball Brethren!

Pete Fairbanks has visited the IL a few times this season, but have you seen his most recent, season-threatening injury?

While this is a family-friendly column, I agree it is important to dunk on kids, even if it means sustaining a black eye. They must meet the long-arm of the law sometime.

Not nearly enough injuries this week are as funny. Let me immediately kill the mood and tell you about them.

Notable Injuries: Week of June 10-16

Brandon Belt (DH/1B, TOR)

In a game against the Minnesota Twins last week, Toronto’s Brandon Belt sustained a strained hamstring. Luckily, an MRI showed there was no serious damage to Belt’s hammy.

Belt has a spotty injury history but has slashed .263/.378/.434 in his role as DH (with occasional time at 1B when Vlad is unavailable). In Belt’s absence, George Springer has been spending some time as the DH for Toronto. Springer has been slashing .320/.393/.600 over the last 7 days, but he is not going to be readily available in your league.

If you are looking for a quick replacement and feel risky, you could try Seattle’s primary DH Mike Ford has been slashing .357/.400/1.214 over the last seven days. He has only had 15 PA, but he has hit 4 HR in those PA.

If you don’t necessarily need a DH/1B, Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia is still unrostered in some leagues, but he may be a little bit more reliable if you need a replacement that you can hold onto for a bit longer.

Mike Clevinger (SP, CWS)

Clevinger is out with right elbow inflammation and will not be back until sometime after June 20. Clevinger is the third best pitcher in the White Sox line-up, which is not really saying much. He has a 3.88 ERA, 4.89 FIP, and 7.61 K/9 in 62.2 IP. Miss me with having him rostered up anyway.

Jesse Scholtens was brought up from Triple-A to take Clevinger’s spot on the roster. Scholtens has 16.2 in the majors so far this year. He has a 3.24 ERA and 4.42 FIP with 4.86 K/9.

Here I will make a pitch for Ranger Suarez. In his last 13 IP, he has 15 Ks, a 0.69 ERA, and 1.64 FIP. And…he’s only 81% rostered.

Mitch Haniger (OF, SFG)

OUCH! The oft injured Haniger sustained a forearm fracture after being HBP. Unfortunately, the break required surgery, which means Haniger likely won’t be back until early September.

Haniger’s injury gave 21-year-old outfielder Luis Matos a chance to make his MLB debut. In 223 AB in the minors, Matos slashed .350/.415/.561. He has only had three AB in the majors, but he had one hit and one run in those three AB.

Ryan Helsley (SP, STL)

Helsley has not pitched for about a week and a half because of a forearm issue, but he was finally moved over to the IL. He will be out until the end of June if not longer.

In Helsley’s absence, Giovanny Gallegos (4.05 ERA) will have some starts, and Jake Woodford (5.57 ERA) was recalled from Triple-A.

In the interim, the Phillies’ Taijuan Walker has been on a hot streak as of late. In the below tweet, @mccrystal_alex shared that between April 26 and May 17, Walker had a 9.45 ERA. From May 18 to this week, he had a 1.93 ERA. Walker is only about 78% rostered right now.

Liam Hendriks (RP, CWS)

Liam Hendriks deserves a break, but this is not what I was thinking. Hendriks is on the IL with elbow inflammation and won’t return until early July. An MRI showed there was no structural damage to Hendriks’ elbow.

The White Sox bullpen is kind of a weird mess, but Gregory Santos may be worth looking at right now (check out his stats below).

Gregory Santos pitching stats

Gregory Santos pitching stats

Outside of the White Sox, Yonny Chirinos is…interesting. If I said “good”, that would be a lie in some regard. It appears the Rays are doing something here, and Yonny has been on one the last week or so. He has had 6 SO in 9.3 IP with a 0.96 ERA. His FIP is 3.78. So, there is some work to be done there, but this one is interesting to watch unfold.

Ben Joyce (RP, LAA)

Ben Joyce! Watching him pitch is incredible and also made me ask “Is this sustainable?”. In the short term, his performance was not sustainable. Joyce was diagnosed with ulnar neuritis. Luckily, an MRI revealed no structural damage. He will be able to return sometime at the end of June or early July if all goes well.

I am curious to hear if any of you have him on your teams in the comments.

Lance McCullers Jr. (SP, HOU)

This is more of a formal announcement. Friend of the IL Lance McCullers Jr. had season-ending elbow surgery for flexor tendon. The 29-year-old McCullers has spent most of the last two seasons on the IL. So, I doubt you had him on your roster (and if you did, my condolences, but I need to know why).

Yoán Moncada (3B, CWS)

Back in April or May, I got really nervous because I was like “Moncada is hot now, but he’s going to keep getting injured and not be hot!”. Then he kept being hot for about one or two weeks. However, it was not supposed to be like this.

Moncada is on the IL with lower back inflammation until later June. If you missed it, Moncada was diagnosed with a herniated disc earlier this season (among a few other injuries).

If you are still holding onto Moncada, it may be time to let go (and by “may be” I mean, it is a few weeks or a month past time). If you need some infield support, Donovan Solano is slashing .364/.500/.727 in 28 PA over the last week and is currently 0% rostered.

Ryan Mountcastle (1B/DH, BAL)

The Orioles’ Mountcastle was hit with a case of vertigo that put him on the 10-day IL. Mountcastle has been struggling for the last month. Maybe you are holding him and hoping for a turnaround, but it isn’t going to happen yet. He will be out until at least June 20.

If you need a quick fix for hitting and are not feeling particularly picky at this point, Detroit catcher Jake Rogers, who returned from Tommy John surgery this season, is slashing .333/.421/.889. However, he does have a pretty high SO rate. It could be worth a shot, and he should be available in your league.

Jorge Polanco (2B, MIN)

Polanco has a recurrent left strained hamstring issue that has him back on the IL. The hamstring has been bother Polanco since May. Polanco has not had his best season ever. He is slashing .250/.291/.450 and 104 wRC+ in 127 PA.

Edouard Julien, who you may remember because of his hot streak in Spring Training, was recalled to MIN. Julien has been working on his plate discipline and defense in the minors. While some have improved, he still has a lot to work on and prove. He should be getting a decent amount of playing time as Minnesota’s hitting is pretty abysmal right now.

Other Injuries and Injury Updates

There were a few other injuries over the past week:

  • Akil Baddoo (OF, DET), strained quad
  • Jesse Chavez (RP, ATL), shin contusion
  • Colin Holderman (RP, PIT), wrist inflammation
  • Brandon Hughes (RP, CHC), knee inflammation
  • Penn Murfee (RP, SEA), elbow inflammation
  • Zach Neto (SS, LAA), strained oblique; Rengifo will likely fill-in
  • Gio Urshela (INF, LAA), fractured pelvis
  • Austin Voth (RP, BAL), elbow discomfort

Here are a few updates on what you can expect over the next week or weeks from players who have been on the IL:

  • Harrison Bader (OF, NYY), hamstring- expected to return Tuesday
  • Yu Chang (SS, BOS), wrist- set back in rehab
  • Ji-Man Choi (DH, PIT), achilles- resumed baseball activities but still no timeline
  • Darick Hall (1B, PHIL), thumb- rehab
  • Lars Nootbaar (OF, STL), back- rehab
  • Tyler O’Neill (OF, STL), back- cleared to resume catching
  • Edwin Ríos (DH, CHC), groin- rehab
  • Julio Urias (SP, LAD), hamstring- setback in rehab; return date uncertain
  • Vince Velasquez (SP, PIT), elbow- out for the season

Good luck out there this week!

What injury is giving you nightmares this week, friends? Hit me up in the comments for any injury updates, comments, or questions. You can also find me on Twitter: @keelin_12ft. 

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