There can be no silver lining for those who lost Jose Ramirez to a fractured hamate bone over the weekend. Their first-round pick is now out for more than a month, and no matter how shallow the league, there’s no accounting for that loss.
Worse yet, the injury comes only two weeks after consensus best player in Fantasy Aaron Judge was lost to a stress fracture in his rib and a week after Ronald Acuna’s hamstring put him out of commission again. Between those three and Oneil Cruz (fractured hand), the IL is as abounding in star power as it’s been all year.
Those of us who’ve managed to dodge those bullets can indeed see a silver lining, though, and it’s that Hunter Brown at long last returned from a shoulder strain Tuesday. The undisputed Fantasy ace made only two starts before landing on the IL in early April.
Some others who have returned this week include Cal Raleigh (strained oblique), Yainer Diaz (strained oblique), J.P. Crawford (bruised hand), Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation) and Casey Mize (strained adductor). The list is actually shrinking faster than it’s growing, but it doesn’t feel that way with so many high draft picks having succumbed to injury.
I’ll remind you once again that the order here is more about how impactful the player will be when healthy than how close he is to returning, though both factors carry some weight.
| 1 |
Elly De La Cruz
|
| strained hamstring – testing himself on the bases early this week to determine if he’s ready for a rehab assignment | |
| 2 |
Aaron Judge
|
| stress fracture in rib – about two weeks into an injury that will be reassessed in 4-6 weeks | |
| 3 |
Ronald Acuna Jr.
|
| strained hamstring – same injury cost him two weeks earlier this year, but Braves expected to give him longer this time; first half is likely over | |
| 4 |
Jose Ramirez
|
| fractured hamate bone – expected to miss 5-7 weeks, which puts him out until the second half | |
| 5 |
Francisco Lindor
|
| strained calf – has been playing in simulated games as he nears a rehab assignment, could return before the end of June | |
| 6 |
Oneil Cruz
|
| fractured hand – fractures are non-displaced, which will hopefully put him on the closer end of the 4-to-6 week timetable | |
| 7 |
Max Fried
|
| bone bruise in elbow – ready to resume throwing off a mound; first session will be “touch and feel” as he progresses toward rehab assignment | |
| 8 |
Hunter Greene
|
| bone spurs in elbow – will begin rehab assignment Thursday, may need a month to build up but should return before All-Star break | |
| 9 |
Tyler Glasnow
|
| back spasms – still no word on when he’ll resume throwing following an injury that seemed minor at first; out until the All-Star break at least | |
| 10 |
Garrett Crochet
|
| strained lat – mixed messages about injury, from it being “a lot worse” than first revealed to it being asymptomatic; should return in second half | |
| 11 |
Munetaka Murakami
|
| strained hamstring – about three weeks into 4-to-6-week timetable, so we should hear talk of him resuming running soon | |
| 12 |
Corey Seager
|
| concussion – generally banged up after home plate collision, seemed like he might avoid the IL at first so may require only the minimum seven days | |
| 13 |
Konnor Griffin
|
| flexor strain – has been throwing at team’s spring training complex, could return before the end of the month | |
| 14 |
Ryan Helsley
|
| elbow inflammation – has looked good in two rehab appearances, so you can expect him back at some point this week | |
| 15 |
Edwin Diaz
|
| loose bodies in elbow – will throw first bullpen session this week, trending toward returning right around the All-Star break | |
| 16 |
Blake Snell
|
| loose bodies in elbow – began playing catch over a week ago; had same less-invasive procedure as Tarik Skubal and now nearly a month into recovery | |
| 17 |
Teoscar Hernandez
|
| strained hamstring – resuming baseball activities this week and could go on rehab assignment this weekend, expected to beat initial one-month timetable | |
| 18 |
Eury Perez
|
| adductor strain – initial timetable was eight weeks, but he’s set to begin rehab assignment Thursday after missing only three | |
| 19 |
Brent Rooker
|
| bone bruise in knee – cortisone shot will hopefully speed up recovery, allowing him to return when first eligible | |
| 20 |
Brandon Woodruff
|
| shoulder inflammation – scheduled for another rehab start Tuesday after iffy showing in Complex League; Sunday return possible | |
| 21 |
Kris Bubic
|
| elbow soreness – felt something in shoulder in rehab start, but resumed throwing Sunday when no structural damage was found | |
| 22 |
Spencer Strider
|
| elbow inflammation – validated to have no structural damage; will be reevaluated after four weeks but placed on 60-day IL, keeping him out until mid-August | |
| 23 |
Cole Ragans
|
| elbow impingement – newest setback Friday has him slated for more testing; return is entirely up in the air but likely won’t be in the first half | |
| 24 |
Roman Anthony
|
| sprained wrist and finger – still hurts to swing, but he feels like he’s making progress; hard to imagine he’ll return before the All-Star break | |
| 25 |
Vinnie Pasquantino
|
| fractured hamate bone – has already undergone surgery; 4-to-6-week timetable will put him out until second half | |
| 26 |
Will Smith
|
| neck inflammation – not expected to be a long-term absence, but he’s lost an increasing number of at-bats to Dalton Rushing as the year has progressed | |
| 27 |
Mickey Moniak
|
| ankle tendinitis – doing most baseball activities but still not changing directions while running; likely still has a few weeks of recovery ahead | |
| 28 |
Ryan Jeffers
|
| fractured hamate bone – began taking swings about a week ago, probably still a month away | |
| 29 |
Daniel Palencia
|
| elbow inflammation – no timetable offered; just pitched Monday and showed usual velocity, so hopefully severity is low | |
| 30 |
Emilio Pagan
|
| strained hamstring – has been throwing bullpen sessions and should begin facing hitters this week, with an eye on returning before the end of June | |
| 31 |
Mick Abel
|
| elbow inflammation – looked good in first rehab outing with five strikeouts in three scoreless innings; likely to need at least two more | |
| 32 |
Shane Bieber
|
| forearm fatigue – newest rehab start was best one; one more to go | |
| 33 |
Matthew Boyd
|
| torn meniscus – shoulder soreness canceled weekend return but set to resume rehab assignment Saturday; could return by the end of June | |
| 34 |
Logan Henderson
|
| strained back – no updates since his injection two weeks ago, making a June return unlikely | |
| 35 |
Kyle Teel
|
| sprained knee – set to begin rehab assignment Tuesday; suffered the knee injury in an earlier one in which he was rehabbing a hamstring strain | |
| 36 |
Daulton Varsho
|
| wrist inflammation – has received cortisone shot and is already back to hitting in the cages; doesn’t seem like the sort of injury that will sideline him for long | |
| 37 |
Spencer Schwellenbach
|
| bone spurs in elbow – has begun throwing program; no word on rehab assignment yet, so likely out until August, at least | |
| 38 |
Nick Pivetta
|
| flexor strain – increased throwing distance and intensity a week ago, still trending toward second-half return | |
| 39 |
Justin Steele
|
| UCL revision surgery – scheduled to throw weighted balls this week and then will progress to actual ones, could potentially return in August | |
| 40 |
Luis Robert
|
| herniated disc – back has been responding to treatment, and he’s been doing some hitting and running; sounds like he could return in second half | |
| 41 |
Trevor Story
|
| sports hernia – was expected to miss 2-3 months as of May 21 surgery, so looking to return at some point in the second half | |
| 42 |
Joe Musgrove
|
| Tommy John surgery – back to playing catch as of late May, still hopeful of returning in second half | |
| 43 |
Seth Lugo
|
| concussion – expected back Friday; CT scan came back negative after he was hit in the head by a liner Wednesday, but he wound up on the IL anyway | |
| 44 |
Brendan Donovan
|
| strained groin – finally cleared to run Tuesday, likely to begin rehab assignment before the end of the month | |
| 45 |
Chase DeLauter
|
| fractured rib – no official timetable, but typical six weeks would put him out until August; he had been pretty useless since massive opening weekend | |
| 46 |
Trent Grisham
|
| strained hamstring – determined to be of moderate severity, which will likely sideline him through the All-Star break | |
| 47 |
Giancarlo Stanton
|
| strained calf – tweaked injury soon after he resumed running, which could set back return by several weeks | |
| 48 |
Noah Schultz
|
| patellar tendinitis – threw bullpen session Wednesday and beginning rehab assignment Tuesday, which should last multiple starts | |
| 49 |
Bailey Ober
|
| flexor strain – began playing catch last week, should resume throwing off mound this week and go on rehab assignment soon thereafter | |
| 50 |
Gleyber Torres
|
| strained oblique – same injury cost him a month earlier this year, so you can expect it to take at least as long this time | |
| 51 |
Jorge Polanco
|
| Achilles bursitis – earlier rehab assignment was cut short due to continued soreness, but he’s expected to resume it this week | |
| 52 |
Addison Barger
|
| elbow inflammation – on verge of a rehab assignment, which could be a lengthy one given that he’s appeared in one game since early April | |
| 53 |
Heliot Ramos
|
| strained quadriceps – has been building up as a hitter and runner and is now about ready to begin rehab assignment Wednesday | |
| 54 |
Grayson Rodriguez
|
| back inflammation – injury isn’t considered serious, but he wasn’t providing much reason for optimism even before it | |
