Howdy, Razzfolks!
Just what we all wanted, more superstars on the shelf. Lots to jump into this week, so let’s do it to it.
Infielders
Adalberto Mondesi: Getting this out of the way now lol: there is nothing new on Mondesi since last week’s update.
Alejandro Kirk: Kirk is active and is now a starter in a loaded lineup cuz Danny Jansen is back on the IL with a hammy strain. If’n you need help at C, Kirk has upside.
Brandon Belt: IL (knee) – Belt will start running bases sometime this weekend. Not a bad stash if you need 1B help.
Brandon Crawford: IL (oblique) – Add another casualty to the oblique pandemic rocking the nation. Crawford landed on the IL with a strain, putting a big nasty damper on his random af awesome season. Chances are solid he’ll need more than the minimum 10 days.
Corey Seager: IL (hand) – There was chatter Seager would return last Wednesday, but alas that did not come to pass. Sounds like he’s very close, though! Get ready to activate him ASAP and plan accordingly.
Francisco Lindor: IL (oblique) – Landed on the IL last Saturday with an oblique strain. So many oblique strains. Grade 2, so expect a nice lengthy absence, cuz that’s just how it has to be in 2021. Lindor was a dud for his owners most of the season then finally found his stride only to have this happen.
Gavin Lux: IL (hammy) – Lux hit the IL back on Monday with a hammy strain. Labeled mild at first, but you never really know. Carlos Carrasco’s was mild at first. We’ll just have to see in a few days.
Jazz Chisholm: IL (shoulder) – Jazz is one of the most fun things about this baseball season, and it sounds like he’s dodged a bullet as far as his shoulder injury goes. He’s already expected to begin rehab pretty soon and could be back by next weekend! At first it looked like a terrible injury that could have ended his season. Whew.
Jeff McNeil: DTD (hammy?) – McNeil tweaked something late in Wednesday’s game and remained out of the lineup Friday. Hmmmm. They’re calling it “leg fatigue.” Day-to-day for now.
Josh Rojas: DTD (finger) – Rojas dislocated a finger but hasn’t been put on the IL yet. Not clear whether he will be or not. Ain’t a lot of bright spots in the desert this year, but Rojas has been a pleasant surprise. He holds a .356 OBP despite a middling .268 BA. Good chance he finishes the year with 10+ HR/SB as long as he’s healthy.
Mike Moustakas: IL (heel) – “Progressing a lot quicker now” but that’s all we’ve got as of Tuesday. He’s done some fielding drills and the like. Gotta think he’s finally rounding the corner and isn’t too far away. He plays in a lovely park for hitters and now has sticky-less pitchers throwing his way………
Mike Zunino: DTD (hip) – Big Z left Monday’s game with hip tightness. He’s been available off the bench and has even pinch hit, so it’s truly just a day-by-day thing.
Travis d’Arnaud: IL (thumb) – TDA is ready to start doing some hitting and stuff before games. Sounds like he could return in the not-too-distant future. Odds are good he’s floating around out there in your league and odds are also pretty good you could use him.
Outfielders
Byron Buxton: IL (hand) – Sadly I don’t have anything terribly encouraging to offer on Buck. He’s still limited to any activities that don’t require use of his hands. Def won’t be skipping leg day amirite.
Eloy Jimenez: IL (pectoral) – Eloy’s rehab is going well in the sense there haven’t been any setbacks. He’s rusty of course, but I have no doubt he’ll catch up quick enough. More like About To Bring Mejoy Jimenez amirite…hello? Is this thing on?
Kyle Lewis: I’m just gonna leave this tweet here and dip to the next guy. Maddest of props to Ryan Divish for not deleting this masterpiece.
Kyle Lewis is going to start hitting off a teet and taking soft toss in the next few days.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 22, 2021
Luis Robert: IL (hip) – Robert started rehab back on Wednesday! I had a real fear we wouldn’t see him again this year. Obvs you gotta go add him if he’s still on your wire.
Mike Trout: IL (calf) – Trout ran at 90% back on Monday and ran some more and did drills and some swinging throughout the week. Haven’t seen an estimate for a return, but it can’t be too far away. Could be before July is up, but there’s just a week left, so I can say with 99.9% certainty we’ll see him sometime in August at the latest. *wink emoji*
Mike Trout’s rehab work today: Ran the bases, did some outfield drills and now is taking some BP swings
Still TBD on when he will go on his rehab assignment, but more good signs pic.twitter.com/jo7CIlPIi2
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) July 22, 2021
Mookie Betts: DTD (hip) – Betts missed time, then was supposed to play Monday but ended up being a late scratch. He did, however, pinch hit. He did not, however, get back in the starting lineup at all this week. Not encouraging for a team that’s fighting for a division lead against a team no single person thought would have it. He could very well need an IL stint.
Nick Castellanos: IL (wrist) – Lovely. A wrist fracture. Hit-by-pitches in the wrist/hand area are always scary but sometimes they’re just little boo-boos. This one ain’t little, but it’s also not Byron-Buxton-level bad. Casty might not need an actual cast (had to make the headline pun!) but he’ll need at least a couple weeks to heal up. Maybe more.
Starters
Alek Manoah: IL (back) – Back on Monday, pun intended, Manoah landed on the IL. You guessed it: back injury! Good news is he is expected to miss only one start.
Corey Kluber: IL (shoulder) – Dang, y’all remember Klubot? He threw off a mound yesterday. Just 20 pitches, though. You might recall his no-no back in May. I don’t know for sure he’s a sticky user, but I assume, cuz I assume everyone was before The Crackdown. He could be a different guy post-injury and maybe-post-sticky, but he’s worth an add if you need an SP for the fantasy home stretch.
Huascar Ynoa: (L (hand) – Ynoa should most def be added if you need SP help. He threw to live batters Thursday, which went well enough that he’s scheduled to start rehab on Tuesday.
Jack Flaherty: IL (oblique) – Flaherty threw a couple of bullpen sessions this past week and will soon progress to facing live hitters. Rehab would follow. Assuming all that goes well, we could see J-Flare back sometime in early August.
Jacob deGrom: IL (forearm) – NOOOOOO. IT’S FOREARM TIGHTNESS. DeGOAT has tightness in his forearm that won’t subside, so for now he’s shut down until it goes away. Coooooool. I’m not even a tiny bit a Mets fan, but I can’t not feel for them. All the hype that went into this year and we still haven’t even seen Cookie pitch, Edwin Diaz is back to having the yips or something, their shiny trade acquisition finally got good only to get hurt, and now the greatest pitcher to ever sling a baseball is out. I mean, at least Mets fans always had deGrom, right? Every five days you got to watch deGOAT do GOAT things, no matter how the rest of the season was going. And if the Mets are saying “it’s no biggie,” then that just amplifies my concern even more.
Jacob deGrom went back to New York to continue treatment on his right forearm tightness. The good news is the Mets have changed their tune on his injury, now saying it’s no biggie. More details: https://t.co/GBcWX33sMf
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) July 21, 2021
Joe Ross: IL (elbow) – Threw a pen session Wednesday and Friday. Might need to do a rehab start or might just jump straight back into the Nats rotation.
Nate Pearson: IL (sports hernia) – I forgot all about this guy, not gonna lie. Reportedly, Pearson is beginning to get back into game shape, but it won’t be as a starter. The Jays plan to use him in the pen with Tyler Chatwood and Julian Merriweather (not to mention Kirby Yates and David Phelps) still on the Infuriating List.
Pablo Lopez: IL (shoulder) – Rotator cuff strain for Pab-Lo, so he’s on the IL. These are nasty. Could very well end his season, at least in terms of fantasy value. Last year was no fluke, apparently; he was having a great year. *heavily crying emoji*
Spencer Turnbull: IL (elbow) – Well damn. It’s Tommy John time for Turnbull. Donezo in redraft both this year and next most likely. Dynasty stock drops quite a bit, but maybe you can buy low if you’re in it for the long haul.
Stephen Strasburg: IL (neck) – Stras felt more discomfort in his neck recently so he’s back to just playing catch with dad in the front yard. I am ready to declare two things: 1). his 2021 season is a complete wash, and 2). I will be 100% avoiding him for the rest of my fantasy baseball career. I’ve 100% avoided him until this year when I took him in TGFBI as a boom-or-bust mid-round ace. Dude busted harder than that Cristiano Ronaldo bust. You know the one.
Two years ago today, THAT Cristiano Ronaldo bust was unveiled ? pic.twitter.com/VDMr3ML0F8
— GOAL (@goal) March 29, 2020
Zach Eflin: IL (knee) – Eflin hit the IL last Tuesday with a knee injury. There doesn’t seem to be a ton of concern over it, at least. Might just miss one or two turns.
Relievers
Devin Williams: IL (elbow) – Ugh. His second scary injury in less than a calendar year. Ugh. BUT. Bullpen session is on tap today. We’ll see how it goes.
Lucas Sims: IL (elbow) – Sims will start rehab in Triple-A next week. Should jump back in as the primary closer for Cincy before too long. Heath Hembree is definitely a hold in SVHD leagues but will in all likelihood be a safe drop in SV-only leagues when that time comes unless your league is deep enough that you can afford holding handcuffs. A re-injury for Sims is pretty likely given his track record.
Nick Anderson: IL (elbow) – Threw 20 pitches Tuesday and felt good after. Next step is rehab with Tampa’s FCL affiliate, Port Charlotte. This is fantastic news for Rays fans; it’s not exactly fantastic news for fantasy baseball fans. Anderson will bolster an already loaded, deep, and rotating bullpen.
Tanner Rainey: IL (leg) – Rainey threw a modified pen session Monday. If you’re not in any SVHD leagues, stop reading. But if you are and need help, then he’ll share setup duties with Daniel Hudson.
Tejay Antone: IL (forearm) – Antone isn’t ready to rehab but he’ll at least progress to throwing bullpen sessions next week. I’d target a mid-August return, with the early half of August not being out of the question for now.
Find me on Twitter: @jkj0787. DMs are always open for questions, comments, concerns, complaints, etc. Odds are good I’m drinking black coffee, dark beer, or some form of bourbon at any given time.
