Well, here we are again friends. Another injury article, another lead off for Aaron Judge. Judge made it halfway through a single game off the IL before re-aggravating his calf injury last week and has been promptly put on the shelf again. This time, it seems like the Yankees are going to take their time with their start outfielder to make sure they don’t run into any more setbacks. At this point, everyone worth grabbing on this Yankees squad has been profiled already, but these are no longer fluke issues with this team. Even upon the return of Stanton and Judge to the lineup, I’d hold onto Clint Frazier (who’s flashing some impressive leather lately) and Mike Tauchman as it’s only a matter of time until they hit lineups again.
On a more positive note, it looks like Gleyber Torres will be back this weekend, giving the Yankees back their complete infield after DJ LeMahieu returned earlier in the week.
Walker Buehler also look like he’s over his minor blister issue and will start today.
Not all good news for the Dodgers however as Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger are both having some issues. Turner has already hit the IL and Bellinger has been dealing with a lat issue that kept him out of the lineup on Tuesday night. With all the moving pieces the Dodgers have, it’s tough to predict who’s going to benefit the most from these absences, but Chris Taylor, Edwin Rios, and Matt Beaty are the best bets depending on pitching matchups. The Dodgers are so L/R flexible at this level of player on their roster that you’re going to have a tough time getting value unless you really watch the probables they will face, or you have daily lineups.
Scott Kingery went on the IL earlier in the week with back tightness. There’s not a lot of info on how much time he’ll miss, but it’s at least going to cost him a couple of weeks. Alec Bohm was already getting regular at bats here, but this just solidifies his every day spot in the lineup for the Phils. Jay Bruce also will steal a few more ABs in the outfield.
Ken Giles looks like he’s inching closer to a comeback for the Jays. He’s been throwing BP sessions this week and could be activated as soon as the weekend. We’ll see how he’s used, but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t immediately resume the closer role.
Some other comebacks of note that are expected this week/weekend: Alex Bregman and Josh James for the Astros, Kris Bryant, and Josh Donaldson.
Marcus Semien had a scare earlier in the week when he was pulled with a side injury. The A’s haven’t played since, but reports are it’s not a serious injury. With a few days off here, he might only miss a game or two, if any. A big sigh of relief there.
Still waiting on news from Ronald Acuna being pulled from Tuesday night’s game with hamstring tightness. He’s considered day to day at the moment and the Braves said the move was only precautionary. So hoping to avoid an IL stint here.
A lot of lower tier arms hit the IL this week: Nathan Eovaldi, Ian Kennedy, Andrew Miller, Tyler Chatwood, Steven Matz and Dellin Betances. Overall pitching has been decimated this season, with injury rates way up across the board. It’s pretty easy to see the connection to the disjointed “Summer Camp”, the cancelled and pushed back starts, and just the overall irregularity in how pitchers are being managed this season. There’s not an easy answer here, just gotta stay on top of spot starters and try to get your innings in where you can. Might not be a bad idea to roster a couple extra middle relievers with good ratios to churn and burn a couple times a week and get you 5-6 high K innings.
