We are roughly one-quarter of the way through this baseball season and a week does not pass without a frustrating amount of IL stints. I have teams on the NFBC with entire benches littered with red IL stints. There is nothing more painful than not having a fantasy IL for the real-life IL but it does make setting my lineups a whole lot easier.
Life is full of silver linings, fantasy baseball is not. If there were any injuries missed, feel free to yell at me in the comments or on Twitter/X @RotoSurgeon.
Injuries to Monitor
Teoscar Hernandez (OF, LAD) Groin
The Dodgers placed Teoscar Hernandez on the Injured List earlier this week due to an adductor strain. Adductor is just a fancy word for groin and the good news is that Hernandez was seen hitting in the cages recently. Dave Roberts announced that Hernandez would be “inactive for a while” after Hernandez’s move which sounded extremely ominous despite the injury characterized as Grade 1. I guess the minimum 10-day IL stint is technically “a while” but what do I know?
Hunter Greene (SP, CIN) Groin
Hunter Greene is also dealing with a groin strain and moved to the IL. Greene suffered the injury mid-game this week but should be back later this month. The injury could be a blessing in disguise as he is pitching like an ace this season and could benefit from a few weeks off given the velocity he possesses.
Jordan Westburg (2B, BAL) Hamstring
The Orioles are preparing to activate Jordan Westburg from the IL this weekend and desperately need his bat back in the lineup. Baltimore’s offense is sputtering and their pitching is doing zero favors for the team as well. Westburg started the season hot but dealt with back issues in the preseason and general body aches before the hamstring injury. He should be back to 100% now and ready to make up for his underperformance (.289 wOBA vs .330 xwOBA). Pick Westburg up if anyone dropped him in your leagues.
Noelvi Marte (3B, CIN) Oblique
The breakout is cut short. Noelvi Marte has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 oblique strain which could sideline him for two months. Despite a hot start to the season, you should be dropping him in your leagues instead of holding on the IL if your roster spots are shallow. Marte has outperformed his expected numbers by a wide margin and may be worse upon return.
Tommy Edman (2B, LAD) Ankle
The Dodgers are planning to activate Tommy Edman within the coming days. After missing two weeks with an ankle injury, Edman makes his heroic return to a lineup that has been forced to call up James Outman. The good news resulting from Edman’s injury is Hyeseong Kim’s elevation to the majors and based on his performance thus far, we should expect him to stay up moving forward! Kim could be sent down come Hernandez’s activation but that would require a massive cold streak. Kim playing multiple positions helps his case along with Michael Conforto’s ice-cold bat.
Justin Martinez (RP, ARI) Shoulder
The Diamondbacks de facto closer is beginning his throwing program and could be back before the end of May. Martinez’s velocity was way down in his last two appearances and it was allegedly due to his shoulder strengthening program which was expedited. It is never good to deal with shoulder issues as a pitcher but early in the season, maintenance is not crazy as high-velocity arms ramp up.
Martinez received a lot of innings in the first few weeks of the season and likely should have been managed better (along with A.J. Puk who is also on IL). If you need saves, Martinez is a fine stash on IL given that Ginkel is struggling in the role and Shelby is not trusted with the ninth inning.
Spencer Strider (SP, ATL) Hamstring
The Braves had Spencer Strider throw a bullpen session early this week and the reports seem positive. Strider’s hamstring issue is being treated with kid gloves despite the Grade 1 assessment and that could be beneficial with more time removed from his elbow surgery. Expect Strider back in the coming weeks and back to form shortly after.
Andres Gimenez (2B, TOR) Quad
Andres Gimenez is on the IL due to a quad strain and can finally be laid to rest by fantasy managers. The defense-first 2B has been a plague to our collective batting averages all season and was held far too long in leagues due to a supernova start. Gimenez hit three HR in the first five games of the season and zero from April through May. He is slashing .173/.240/.200 since April 1 which makes the fact that he began the year as a cleanup hitter even more hilarious.
Dylan Cease (SP, SD) Forearm
Dylan Cease left his most recent start early (ish) due to forearm cramps. Any time a forearm issue is involved my entire body shutters but at least they did not rule it a “strain” or “soreness”. Cramps could just be a muscle issue from dehydration and given what we have heard from the team, he is scheduled to make his next start. I would not be too worried about Cease unless a similar issue arises in the coming weeks.
I’m in a 10-team 5×5 roto league and my rookie SPs (Sasaki, Jobe, Meyer) are killing my WHIP and I have Glasnow and Strider on the IL already. I need to pick up an impactful starting pitcher who can help me down the road for the rest of the season. What two pitchers, currently on the IL, would you pick up? Spencer Arrighetti, Grayson Rodriguez, Kumar Rocker, Sean Manaea, Yu Darvish, Eury Perez, Aaron Civale, Shane McClanahan or Clayton Kershaw?
One more (3 leagues!), Mixe. Any idea if > 25 days.
Probably more than the minimum given the nature of hamstring strains. No more than a month on Mize
Any word about Colson (Balt)?
He played catch but not much baseball activity otherwise. I’m not too interested outside of deeper leagues upon return given how bad the thumb injury seems (bent all the way back)
Unfortunately (for me, big time), Westburgh another week or more.
WOOF just saw that
Do you anticipate Ryan Weathers return this week hits the ground running? Can he be penciled in to the Miami rotation and pitch for as long as his pitch count permits?
I’d bet on it. 3 AAA outings so far and looks reeeeaal good. Doubt it lasts all season given the nature of his injury but could get a chunk of good starts.