As we head into the dog days, the injuries are still outpacing the recoveries. The situation has gotten so bad that, for the first time ever, I’m extending this list to 60. Can you believe there was a time when 40 was enough? Among the newest added are Elly De La Cruz and Konnor Griffin — both of whom are priority stashes, of course. Fortunately, a number of long-term injury cases have embarked on rehab assignments recently or are getting close to it, including Hunter Brown, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Josh Hader.
As always, the order isn’t just a reflection of how close the player is to returning but also how impactful he’s likely to be when he does. The latter matters even more than the former, in fact.
| 1 |
Tarik Skubal
|
| loose bodies in elbow – threw four simulated innings Monday; new, less invasive procedure has him a couple weeks away from returning | |
| 2 |
Elly De La Cruz
|
| strained hamstring – injury falls between Grade 1 and Grade 2, which likely puts him out 2-4 weeks | |
| 3 |
Hunter Brown
|
| strained shoulder – has looked good in two rehab starts; scheduled for another Thursday, with one more likely to follow | |
| 4 |
Drake Baldwin
|
| strained oblique – about two weeks into what could be month-long absence, but still no official timetable for return | |
| 5 |
Francisco Lindor
|
| strained calf – recently resumed baseball activities, so should begin rehab assignment within a week or two | |
| 6 |
Dylan Cease
|
| strained hamstring – threw bullpen session Saturday, less than a week after going on IL, so likely back when first eligible | |
| 7 |
Garrett Crochet
|
| shoulder inflammation – shut down from throwing program with continued tightness in lat, will visit with doctors soon | |
| 8 |
Cal Raleigh
|
| strained oblique – back to hitting in the cage after spending some time at the team’s spring complex; rehab assignment forthcoming | |
| 9 |
Tyler Glasnow
|
| back spasms – throwing but “hasn’t gotten over the hump” to the point he can “let it rip,” according to manager Dave Roberts | |
| 10 |
Cole Ragans
|
| elbow impingement – resumed playing catch Monday after one false start already; unclear when he’ll go back on rehab assignment | |
| 11 |
Max Fried
|
| bone bruise in elbow – played catch Monday, but newest imaging hasn’t cleared him for a full ramp-up yet | |
| 12 |
Munetaka Murakami
|
| strained hamstring – has received PRP injection for Grade 2 injury, will be sidelined several more weeks | |
| 13 |
Corey Seager
|
| back inflammation – has been hitting, fielding and running, putting him on track to return in a week or so | |
| 14 |
Wyatt Langford
|
| flexor strain – on rehab assignment, could be activated by the end of the week | |
| 15 |
Roman Anthony
|
| sprained wrist and finger – recently shut down hitting progression because of continued soreness, likely out a couple more weeks | |
| 16 |
Josh Hader
|
| elbow inflammation – newest rehab appearances came on back-to-back days, which was a big test; could return this week | |
| 17 |
Konnor Griffin
|
| flexor strain – expected to be a short absence | |
| 18 |
Ryan Helsley
|
| elbow inflammation – still ramping up toward facing live hitters, will be evaluated for possible rehab assignment next week | |
| 19 |
Hunter Greene
|
| bone spurs in elbow – throwing bullpen sessions, still looking at a lengthy rehab assignment | |
| 20 |
Jose Altuve
|
| strained oblique – taking part in all baseball activities and likely closing in on a rehab assignment | |
| 21 |
Kris Bubic
|
| elbow soreness – has been playing catch but won’t take next step until fatigue subsides completely | |
| 22 |
Blake Snell
|
| loose bodies in elbow – had the less invasive version that should speed up return, but 60-day IL stint has him out until mid-July | |
| 23 |
Brandon Woodruff
|
| shoulder inflammation – scheduled to throw 60 pitches of batting practice Wednesday, could forgo rehab assignment | |
| 24 |
Kenley Jansen
|
| pelvic inflammation – sounds minor, but he recently saw a specialist and is rehabbing with the big club for now | |
| 25 |
Teoscar Hernandez
|
| strained hamstring – expected to miss about a month, which means he’ll be back at the start of July | |
| 26 |
Edwin Diaz
|
| loose bodies in elbow – has begun throwing progression with an eye on returning in the second half | |
| 27 |
Casey Mize
|
| adductor inflammation – back on IL with inflammation in the same area that sidelined him for three weeks previously | |
| 28 |
Logan Henderson
|
| strained back – got a good result against the Dodgers while pitching through the discomfort, so minimum stint may be enough | |
| 29 |
Matthew Boyd
|
| torn meniscus – went four innings in first rehab start Sunday, could be activated this weekend or make another rehab start | |
| 30 |
Shane Bieber
|
| forearm fatigue – roughed up in Sunday rehab start but velocity was OK; still 2-3 weeks away from return | |
| 31 |
Emilio Pagan
|
| strained hamstring – recent MRI showed 50-60 percent healing; using ant-gravity treadmill but still a ways away | |
| 32 |
Mickey Moniak
|
| ankle tendinitis – still dealing with discomfort, won’t begin rehab assignment until it subsides | |
| 33 |
Luis Robert
|
| herniated disc – has received injections to promote healing, but no measurable progress yet | |
| 34 |
Mick Abel
|
| elbow inflammation – has been playing catch and will throw batting practice Thursday, with rehab assignment soon to follow | |
| 35 |
Chase Dollander
|
| sprained elbow – still another week or so away from throwing | |
| 36 |
Spencer Schwellenbach
|
| bone spurs in elbow – throwing off flat ground but effectively ruled out for the rest of the first half | |
| 37 |
Eury Perez
|
| adductor strain – what was originally classified as hamstring spasms is expected to require eight weeks of recovery | |
| 38 |
Corbin Burnes
|
| Tommy John surgery – scheduled to throw another batting practice Tuesday, still on track to return in the second half | |
| 39 |
Nick Pivetta
|
| flexor strain – played catch for the first time this week, but likely won’t be ready to return in first half | |
| 40 |
Ryan Jeffers
|
| fractured hamate bone – about two weeks into 6-to-8-week timetable | |
| 41 |
Jacob Wilson
|
| shoulder subluxation – taking part in baseball activities, expected to begin rehab assignment this week | |
| 42 |
Brendan Donovan
|
| strained groin – could begin running program soon, with rehab assignment soon to follow | |
| 43 |
Francisco Alvarez
|
| torn meniscus – set to begin rehab assignment Tuesday, could beat initial timetable by a month or more | |
| 44 |
Giancarlo Stanton
|
| strained calf – finally resumed running over the weekend, bringing him closer to beginning rehab assignment | |
| 45 |
Edward Cabrera
|
| blister on middle finger – has been using entire arsenal in bullpen sessions; unclear if he’ll need a rehab assignment | |
| 46 |
Alejandro Kirk
|
| fractured thumb – has resumed batting practice and could begin rehab assignment within a week | |
| 47 |
Yainer Diaz
|
| strained oblique – has been hitting and running, expected to begin rehab assignment this week | |
| 48 |
Hurston Waldrep
|
| bone spurs in elbow – lasted two innings in first rehab start Monday, will probably spend all of June on rehab assignment | |
| 49 |
Kyle Teel
|
| sprained knee – back to running but expected to miss another three weeks at least | |
| 50 |
Trevor Story
|
| sports hernia – about a week into 6-to-10-week timetable, so you shouldn’t expect to see him until the second half | |
| 51 |
Joe Musgrove
|
| Tommy John surgery – ready to begin ramping up this week with an eye on returning in the second half | |
| 52 |
Justin Steele
|
| UCL revision surgery – shut down from throwing in late April; will resume when asymptomatic, keeping him out for the first half | |
| 53 |
Jorge Polanco
|
| Achilles bursitis – on rehab assignment, could return any day | |
| 54 |
Addison Barger
|
| elbow inflammation – doing cage work at the team’s spring training complex, still a ways to go | |
| 55 |
Heliot Ramos
|
| strained quadricpes – began hitting progression Monday but no word on rehab assignment yet | |
| 56 |
Jasson Dominguez
|
| sprained shoulder – has been taking swings and could begin rehab assignment any day, making mid-June return possible | |
| 57 |
Noah Schultz
|
| patellar tendinitis – expected to need only a minimal stay | |
| 58 |
Bailey Ober
|
| flexor strain – injury considered minor; could resume throwing within a couple weeks | |
| 59 |
Lars Nootbaar
|
| heel surgery – has looked good on rehab assignment, set to be activated before the end of the week | |
| 60 |
Max Scherzer
|
| forearm tendinitis – struck out four over three scoreless innings in a rehab start Sunday, may have something left at age 41 | |
