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Ambulance Chasers: Noot Noot Not Not

June 3, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 10 Comments

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Greetings Razzballites!

Long time no see. Did you miss me? No? That’s a little rude, but cool. Fine.

I don’t have kids and recently spent a lot of time around sick kids and then got very sick myself. I don’t know how any of you with kids do it, but kudos to you for holding up around those little germ factories

Enough about my time on the IL! It brings me no pleasure to tell you there are some big names that hit the IL this week, and the implications are interesting and could possibly give gold seekers a leg up. Let’s hit the obits!

Notable Injuries (Week of May 27-June 2)

Willy Adames (SS, MIL)

Adames sustained a concussion in a series of events that I will only describe as “freaky”. Milwaukee’s Brian Anderson hit a line drive straight into Adames’ head. Adames was moved to the IL under the concussion protocol. However, he resumed batting activities yesterday and could return to the roster as early as Tuesday.

The Brewers have been rotating through Brice Turang and Andruw Monasterio at SS. Monasterio made his MLB debut in Adames’ absence. In 9 PA, an admittedly tiny sample size, Monasterio is hitting .375/.444/.375.

Luckily, if you have and want to keep Adames, there is no need to make changes at this point.

Harrison Bader (CF, NYY)

Bader is out with a minor strained hamstring for “a couple of weeks” according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone. In the interim, Greg Allen, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Aaron Judge will be busy out in center field.

Here are some stats for Judge, Allen, and Kiner-Falefa for the 2023 season so far:

Player PA BA OBP SLG HR
Greg Allen 15 .231 .286 .615 1
Aaron Judge 205 .298 .410 .679 18
Isiah Kiner-Falefa 123 .235 .279 .365 3

Clearly, Judge will not be available. You could take a chance on Allen or Kiner-Falefa. Outside of the Yankees, Jack Suwinski (.240/.352/.445 with 11 HR in 179 PA) and Luke Raley (.244/.343/.545 with 10 HR in 143 PA) are possible options.

Alec Bohm (3B, PHI)

Bohm is out with a mild hamstring strain, but at the time of publication, a timeline for return had not been released.

The Phillies recalled Drew Ellis for coverage in Bohm’s absence. Ellis has only had 118 PA in the big leagues since 2021, and his stats are not anything I will spend time sharing here.

If you are looking for an available and mostly serviceable infield replacement for Bohm, Jeimer Candelario, and Brian Anderson could be available in your league. If you want to pick up some SBs along the way, Ha-Seong Kim and Zach McKinstry each have 10 so far this season.

Kris Bryant (OF, COL)

Bryant held up a little longer than some folks speculated, but he hits the IL with a heel contusion. The injury should not keep Bryant down for long. The injury is reportedly unrelated to plantar fasciitis, which he previously struggled with. Charlie Blackmon returned to the roster but may continue as a DH with Jurickson Profar, Randal Grichuk, and Brinton Doyle in the outfield.

There are a lot of options out there that will probably work better for you. Maybe Patrick Wisdom or Adam Frazier (plus any of the other OFs I mentioned earlier in the article).

Riley Greene (OF, DET)

In a big loss for the Tigers, Riley Greene is out with a stress fracture in his left leg. According to Dr. Google, a stress fracture can take about 6 weeks to heal. Before the injury, Greene was slashing .296/.362/.443 in 224 PA.

In the interim, the Tigers selected Jake Marisnick to cover Green’s spot in the outfield. In 6 PA in the MLB, Marisnick has slashed .333/.333/.333.

Pete Fairbanks (RP, TBR)

I have written about Pete Fairbanks a few times this season, and well, he’s back! This time Pete is suffering from left hip inflammation. Luckily, an MRI showed no serious damage, and you can expect Pete back sometime around June 12 or a little after (barring any setbacks).

While not necessarily a long-term solution, I am once again going to offer up Yennier Canó during this trying time for Fairbanks holders.

Cedric Mullins (OF, BAL)

In a big loss for Baltimore, Mullins hit the IL with a strained right groin. He is on the 10-day IL, but the injury can take three or more weeks to heal.

However, in an interesting twist, the Orioles picked up Aaron Hicks around the same time Mullins was injured. Hicks was recently DFA’ed by the Yankees after having a rough few years followed by a recent hot streak. There is speculation that Hicks might have a turnaround as he enters Baltimore after around seven years with the Yankees. So maybe, keep Hicks on your watch list.

His debut with the O’s went well, but he did leave the game with some muscle tightness in the 6th inning. I will keep you updated if the injury turns out to be more serious.

Lars Nootbaar (OF, STL)

JKJ called Nootbaar “Lars Hurtbaack”, which is simultaneously one of the funniest and dumbest things I have ever read. Anyway, Noot Noot is out with a lower back contusion but should not be out too long (reportedly). What more of you might be interested in is that Nootbaar’s open roster spot marks the return of Jordan Walker.

The top prospect Walker was heralded early in the 2023 season and went .274/.321/.397. However, there were some issues with his defensive skills and he was demoted to the minors. Walker and Brendan Donovan will see more playing time with Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, and Tyler O’Neill on the Cardinals’ IL.

Eduardo Rodríguez (SP, DET)

I asked my Razzball colleagues what injuries goofed up their teams most this week, and Eduardo Rodríguez was one of the top answers. The answer was followed by a punch of pull-my-finger jokes as we tried to understand what a “ruptured pulley finger” is. I am not a medical professional but, most basically, and maybe not that accurately, it has to do with a tendon and bone connecting. Now that the bone and tendon don’t connect, the Tigers could be kind of screwed.

The timeline for Eduardo’s return could be anywhere from around 6 weeks to half the season based on players who suffered the same or similar injury.

This injury leaves the Tigers with Matthew Boyd, Alex Faedo, Joey Wentz, Reese Olson, and Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen is the only one that has an ERA below 5.00 (3.50). On that note, feel free to keep looking around.

Chris Sale (SP, BOS)

Once again, LHP Chris Sale makes like Enya and sails away to the IL with a left shoulder inflammation. Sale has had a tough time staying injury-free, and at 34, he isn’t getting any younger.

Corey Kluber, who was on paternity leave, has returned to the roster. However, the news is still a little fresh, and return timeline or other replacement options were available at the time of publication.

Beyond Kluber, the Red Sox have James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, and Brayan Bello in their starting rotation. Scroll down to the next entry to learn about how Paxton is doing.

Vince Velasquez (SP, PIT)

Unfortunately, Velasquez’s return from the IL was short-lived. He was pulled after two innings in a game against the Mariners. The injury caused discomfort in his right elbow, which is the same elbow he was nursing on his last IL stint. So, it is looking a little bleak out there for VV.

James Paxton is back, doing well, and possibly available in your league. It is obviously early for our Injury-Prone King, but if you are in a pinch, he may give you a boost for a little bit. Kyle Gibson is another option that may be available in your league.

Jesse Winker (OF, MIL)

Another one bites the dust for the Brewers. Jesse Winker is on the IL with a strained neck, which is a recurrent issue. Winker had mainly been serving as a DH for Milwaukee. It is uncertain who will fill the position now. However, I listed a few good replacement options above that you could consider here too.

Other Injuries and Injury Updates

While I covered some more high-impact players above, there were some other injuries that may impact your roster:

Here are some updates about players who have been on the mend:

  • Shawn Armstong (RP, TBR), to be activated this weekend (neck tightness)
  • Aaron Civale (RP, CLE), to be activated this weekend (strained oblique)
  • Darick Hall (1B, PHI), rehabbin’ (torn ligament)
  • Kenta Maeda (SP, MIN), rehabbin’ (strained triceps)
  • John Means (SP, BAL), back injury while rehabbin’ (recovering from Tommy John surgery)
  • Triston McKenzie (RP, CLE), to be activated this weekend (strained shoulder)
  • Frankie Montas (SP, NYY), could be back in September (shoulder surgery)
  • Andrés Muñoz (RP, SEA), rehabbin’ (shoulder strain)
  • Dylan Moore (INF/OF, SEA), rehabbin’ (strained oblique)
  • Trevor Rogers (SP, MIA), rehabbin’ (strained biceps)

Thanks for dropping by. Have a wonderful weekend, Razzballites!

Participating in RazzSlam? Don’t forget the June 6 FAAB. Let me know who you are targeting in the comments or via Twitter.

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