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keelinbillue

Ambulance Chasers: Scherz Gettin’ Rough Out There

August 2, 2024 | 2024 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Injury Report | 4 Comments

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Howdy Razzballers!

It’s that time of the season where many injuries become season ending injuries. This week Jordan Westburg and Kodai Senga have entered that territory (or are close to it). Additionally, chronically injured players like Mike Trout and Evan Carter will never really get to make a return as they are officially out for the season.  As the Baseball Bible says “The Baseball Lord giveth injuries and taketh away players.”

Honestly, we may need to start asking what benefit the Baseball Lord is bringing us. I have been questioning my Baseball Faith lately.

I know I am not the only one who is questioning their Baseball Faith as news of Max Scherzer’s latest trip to the IL hit the presses yesterday evening. Right shoulder fatigue does not sound like a death knell, but the news was still developing at the time of publication. On July 30 (before the IL announcement), Scherzer described what the fatigue felt like and how it affected his performance.

Let’s check out the full buffet of the latest baseball injuries.

Notable Injuries

AL Central

Riley Greene (OF, DET), hamstring: Greene takes a visit to the IL with a mild right hamstring strain. There is no current timeline for return, but mild strains can take 3-8 weeks to heal. Luckily, this injury is far less serious than some of the freak accidents Greene has experienced over the past couple of years. Ryan Vilade was recalled to fill Greene’s spot. Vilade hit his first big league HR a few weeks ago. With 32 AB in the MLB, he is slashing .250/.294/.344.

Minnesota’s Matt Wallner’s power streak makes him a good option here. In his last 44 AB, Wallner has 5 HR and 9 RBIs (.364/.451/.818). 2 of those 5 HRs occurred in the last 7 days.

 

AL East

Jorge Mateo (2B/SS, BAL), elbow: Late last week, Mateo hit the 10-day IL with left elbow subluxation (partial dislocation of the elbow). However, he was very quickly moved to the 60-day IL. This move allowed Jackson Holliday to be recalled to the Orioles. Holliday will take over for Mateo at 2B. Holliday has struggled a little in his return, and by “a little”, I mean in 7 AB (at the time of publication).

Now, I am going to throw out some guys’ names.

Mateo’s teammate Ramon Urias is 2B/3B eligible and available.

Jeff McNeil and Gavin Lux are some 2B eligible options that are consistent over the last month and available. As is Seattle’s Jorge Polanco. If being in the AL is not a concern for you, Santiago Espinal and Geraldo Perdomo are NL options.

If you’re in a more desperate situation or simply looking to get a little weirder, Seattle’s Dylan Moore and Josh Rojas are all 2B eligible and available in many leagues. Romy Gonzalez is a surprising option here as well. I did not realize he had been relatively consistent this season, which I think is socially acceptable to admit. Additionally, Gonzalez is on a recent heater.

Jordan Westburg (2B/3B, BAL), hand: Westerburg is now questionable for the season after sustaining a fracture on his right hand after being hit by a pitch. This injury makes way for the Orioles’ no. 3 prospect 3B Coby Mayo. Steamer has Mayo projected to hit .240/.317/.421. He is 3% rostered in RCL leagues thus far.

AL West

Jon Gray (SP, TEX), groin: Jon Gray walks through the revolving door used by Texas Rangers pitchers to reach the IL. Gray sustained a strained groin during warm-ups before his start against the Blue Jays last weekend. Currently, he is expected to be out for one month. In terms of a replacement, I mentioned Oakland’s JP Sears previously, and he would fit here. In his last 13.0 IP over the last week, he has 8.3 K/9 and 0.7 BB/9. However, his ERA and FIP stink. So, you may need to put up with a little inconsistency. If that’s not your cup of tea, I have some options in the NL entries below.

Max Scherzer (SP, TEX), shoulder: If things with Jon Gray didn’t make the Rangers scream, Max Scherzer returning to the IL with right shoulder fatigue probably did. This was a developing story at the time of publication, and I am sure it is making some people develop a big ol’ headache. If the injury is truly fatigue and nothing more, Scherzer will be on rest and won’t be out for too long. However, not enough information is known at the moment to do much beyond speculate.

NL Central

Lance Lynn (SP, STL), knee: Lance Lynn will have a limited stay on the IL after experiencing right knee inflammation. He received injections to help the inflammation. So, you can expect to see him back in mid-August. A natural transition here, maybe permanently, is to pick up Lynn’s teammate Michael McGreevy who debuted earlier this week. In 7 IP, McGreevy has a 1.20 ERA and 2.60 FIP. He has thrown 3.9 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9.

Trevor Megill (RP, MIL), back: Megill is on the 15-day IL with a lower back strain. His timeline for return was uncertain at the time of publication. However, Devin Williams has returned to action. It looks like he is still getting back into the swing of things with 1 K and 1 BB in 1 IP.

The Mets’ Jose Butto is a respectable and available option in some leagues. He may still be listed as an SP. Marlin Andrew Nardi has had a lackluster season but will have some more opportunity as the Marlins bullpen was decimated.

 

NL East

Reynaldo Lopez (SP, ATL), forearm: Technically, Lopez is not on the IL, but he is DTD with forearm tightness. It is possible he may be retroactively put on the IL. That is mostly a good thing.

However, Justin Toscano, Braves beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shared that Reylo has not thrown a BP session since he began experiencing forearm tightness. While nothing is official, that certainly does not sound good. Luckily, Max Fried is back and may pitch on Sunday.

Prepare yourself for potential Reylo injury stint by taking a look at Philadelphia’s Tyler Phillips, who is fresh off a complete game shut out only a couple of weeks after his MLB debut.

Kodai Senga (SP, NYM), calf: Senga has returned to the IL with a strained calf. Unfortunately, this means Senga is likely done for the season per Carlos Mendoza. You likely weren’t relying on Senga much, but just in case, Arizona Diamondback Ryne Nelson is available to pick up. In his last 37.3 IP, Nelson has thrown 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

NL West

Christian Walker (1B, ARI), oblique: Walker walks on down to the IL with a minor left oblique strain. Currently, he is expected to return in late August. If you are searching high and low for what to do, Josh Bell has been on the up-and-up, which could benefit you. In his last 13 AB, Bell has hit 2 HR and 4 RBIs (.385/.467/.923). In his last 6 games, Bell has hit 5 HR.

 

Injury Updates

Here are your lightning round injury updates. I did my best to update team changes from the trade deadline action here.

  • Mookie Betts (2B/SS/OF, LAD), hand: hitting off the tee; may be back in the next week or two.
  • Walker Buehler (SP, LAD), hip: struggling in rehab assignment.
  • Kerry Carpenter (OF, DET), back: live BP and running bases.
  • Evan Carter (OF, TEX), back: expected to miss the rest of the season.
  • Triston Casas (1B, BOS), ribs: began rehab assignment!
  • Alex Cobb (SP, CLE), hip: expected to begin rehab assignment soon.
  • Yu Darvish (SP, SDP), groin: moved to the restricted list for a personal matter; return still uncertain.
  • Tommy Edman (SS, LAD), wrist: rehab assignment.
  • Vaughn Grissom (2B/SS, BOS), hamstring: will return to the Red Sox line-up or optioned in the next week.
  • Michael Harris II (OF, ATL), hamstring: return still planned for this month.
  • Liam Hendriks (RP, BOS) elbow: may ramp up progression soon followed by rehab.
  • Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B/3B/SS/OF, PIT), knee: rehab assignment.
  • Matt McLain (2B/SS, CIN), shoulder: set back in rehab with rib stress reaction; will start rehab assignment on or around August 12.
  • Mason Miller (RP, OAK), finger: throwing BP sessions.
  • Max Muncy (3B, LAD), oblique: visited a chiropractor and is feeling better per Fabian Ardaya; no return timeline updates.
  • Joe Musgrove (SP, SDP), elbow: beginning rehab assignment tomorrow.
  • Eduardo Rodriguez (SP, ARI), shoulder: expected to make season debut next Tuesday.
  • Julio Rodriguez (OF, SEA), ankle: began light activities but the timeline is still uncertain.
  • Fernando Tatís Jr. (OF, SDP), leg: swinging the bat and some lower body exercises per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune; return timeline still uncertain.
  • Mike Trout (OF, LAA), knee): RIP.
  • Kyle Tucker (OF, HOU), shin: placed on 60-day IL; we may not see him again this season.
  • Justin Verlander (SP, HOU), neck: may begin rehab assignment soon.
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, LAD), shoulder: BP sessions.

That’s it for this week! Have a great week!

Would you like more injury related (but mostly random chaos) content? See you over on  Twitter or BlueSky.

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junior56
junior56
1 month ago

Thanks for the write up!

Too bad for Riley Greene he’s starting to feel like he’s injury prone.

What’s Brandon Woodruff prognosis for his return from Raynaud’s syndrome? Is there any sort of timeline ?

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keelinbillue
keelinbillue
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Reply to  junior56
1 month ago

Hey Junior! Sorry for the late reply. Sometimes my spam folder wins.

It does stink about Riley Greene. Two of his three (errr four now?) bigger injuries are pretty freaky (one of the fractures and the TJ), but maybe he is…tender.

Brandon Woodruff is expected back in 2025 as of now, but I haven’t seen a super specific timeline. He had shoulder surgery, and he seemed to feel that he would be back and healed when speaking to the media.

You pointed out his Raynaud’s syndrome too. I think we can expect Woodruff to be on and off the IL with flare ups from Raynaud’s similar to Pete Fairbanks. So maybe a stint or two on the IL here and there, but I believe it is managed by medication (per Google).

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junior56
junior56
Reply to  keelinbillue
26 days ago

Okay t

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junior56
junior56
Reply to  junior56
26 days ago

Sorry about that!

Okay so with Edman coming back Monday will what kind of role will he have for LA? Any chances he gets significant AB’s or is he more for depth?

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