Fantasy Baseball Injury Report - Week 5
It’s been a frustrating start to the season if you’re hoping to have an ace pitcher carry your team. Strasburg is sitting there with an ERA over 5 and four of the other top eight pitchers coming into the season have missed time due to injuries. While it gives me something to do, it isn’t what anyone, you nor the pitchers themselves, want. Thankfully, Darvish is back, Kershaw is getting there, and Wainwright shouldn’t miss any time. Keep reading to see what’s happening with the rest of the league in this week’s Fantasy Baseball Injury Report.
Matt Wieters (C): Day-to-Day Healthy
MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli reports that Wieters (.321, 9 runs, 11 RBIs, 3 HRs) was able to make his way back into the lineup on Wednesday. He had missed the last two games with soreness in his forearm that occurred on Sunday against the Red Sox. Thankfully he’s back and can hopefully continue to play well for his owners.
Wilson Ramos (C): 15-Day DL
To be honest, I’m really looking forward to Ramos coming back. He seems to be here each week, and while I don’t need to focus on him, he keeps making good progress towards returning. Manager Matt Williams said, “He’s able to grip stuff and start to do some strength stuff. So it’s good. He’s right on schedule, maybe a little bit ahead, actually.” The estimate for his return is still mid-May, with a little more time to get his power back, but he’s worth grabbing from an impatient owner if you can afford to.
Mark Trumbo (1B): Day-to-Day
Trumbo has been dealing with a sore foot for the last few days and hasn’t been able to play. It’s unfortunate because he was starting to get out of the slump he had been in (3-27 from April 10th – April 16th) before having to take time off. He’s hitting .210 with 12 runs, 19 RBIs, and 7 HRs, so aside from the mediocre batting average he was doing alright. The Diamondbacks have not given much info about when Trumbo might return so stay patient. It could be as soon as Thursday.
Advice: If you’re stuck waiting on Trumbo to heal, a possible replacement could be James Loney (.302, 8 runs, 12 RBIs, 1 HR).
Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B): Day-to-Day
According to Evan Grants of the Dallas Morning News, Kouzmanoff had to leave Tuesday’s game with tightness in his back. It’s unfortunate because Kouzmanoff (.362, 8 runs, 12 RBIs, 2 HRs) had been playing pretty well filling in for Adrian Beltre before he got injured. The Rangers have the day off on Thursday so hopefully he’ll be good to go come Friday’s tilt. None of it could be very important as Beltre is supposed to be returning to the club on Friday against Seattle.
Advice: Matt Dominguez (.217, 7 runs, 9 RBIs, 4 HRs) or Alberto Callaspo (.297, 6 runs, 9 RBIs, 2 HRs) could be possible fillers if Kouzmanoff is out for an extended period of time and Beltre can’t come back for some reason.
Manny Machado (3B): 15-Day DL
Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports that Machado will be playing nine innings at third base in a minor game on Friday. We haven’t heard a specific date that he’s expected to return as of yet but it’s looking like early May. This is another individual that seems to be written about here each week. Just as we’ve been saying all along, if you can trade for him without giving up too much, go for it.
Michael Cuddyer (OF): 15-Day DL
Unfortunately, the Rockies placed Cuddyer (.317, 11 runs, 10 RBIs, 3 HRs) on the 15-Day DL Monday. “I can hit, I can throw, I can catch, obviously — and I can run, probably, 50-60 percent, but no more. It’s a minor strain in the tendon area, so we’ll see if I can get better,” said Cuddyer. An MRI revealed a minor strain in his tendon, thankfully not showing anything muscular. We’ll have to keep an eye on his progress during the next week to see if last year’s NL batting champ will be returning at the end of the 15 days.
Advice: Third baseman Nolan Arenado is moving up to 2nd in the batting order, taking Cuddyer’s spot, so more can be expected from him over the next week or so. If you’re looking to fill Cuddyer’s spot on your roster, though, Marcell Ozuna (.312, 12 runs, 10 RBIs, 3 HRs) might be available as well as Matt Joyce (.347, 10 runs, 10 RBIs, 2 HRs)
Adam Wainwright (SP): Day-to-Day
Wainwright suffered a hyperextended right knee in Tuesday”s game against the Mets. He has been lights out since the season started with a 3-1 record, a 1.46 ERA, and a WHIP of 0.81. It doesn’t get much better than that. For all of you freaking out over the injury, don’t. It appears he’s doing very well and might not miss his scheduled start on Sunday. He said after the injury, “I’ll be alright. Just give me a couple days and everything will be alright. I was very off balance as you could probably see. Everything is good. At first you feel a little scared, but as I walked off the field I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. All is good.” One always has to be careful when listening to a players diagnosis of themselves, but from what the rest of the league is saying, this isn’t a serious injury. The only concern I have is if he reinjures it while pitching in his next couple starts. We’ll keep you up to date if anything like that occurs so keep checking back.
Chris Sale (SP): 15-Day DL
A flexor muscle strain in his left arm forced Sale to the 15-day DL, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. White Sox GM Rick Hahn is assuming that the lefty will only be out for the 15 days he’s on the DL. At the moment, Cale is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 27 strikeouts. He’s ranked 10th in the majors with a WHIP of 0.84 While it’s unfortunate that he’s going to be on the DL for the 15 days, his MRI came back without showing any ligament damage, and it isn’t believed he will miss more time than the DL requires. He last pitched on April 17th so he’ll be eligible to come off the DL around May 3rd.
Advice: Kyle Lohse (3-1, 2.67 ERA, 26 Ks) or Aaron Harang (3-1, 0.70 ERA, 22 Ks) might both be available if people haven’t been focusing as much as they should on the free agents in your league.
Clayton Kershaw (SP): 15-Day DL
Kershaw is looking to make a minor league start on Friday, according to team sources. Manager Don Mattingly said that Kershaw will need at least one more successful outing before he’d be ready to hit the big leagues again, but it seems that he’s within a few weeks of returning at this point.
Aroldis Chapman (RP): 15-Day DL
Aroldis Chapman threw batting practice on Wednesday and will throw another this weekend, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. This is his first action against live batters since being struck in the head with a line drive on March 21st. It looks as though Chapman is in line to return to the diamond in early May so keep your eyes open.
Thanks again for reading the Fantasy Baseball Injury Report. Hopefully, we will not be reading most of these names on this report in the coming weeks.
Fantasy Baseball Injury Report – Week 5 was originally published on Fantasy Team Advice
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