Though the hits keep on coming, we’re at least starting to see a few players returning from their early-season IL stints. Here is the Fantrax Injury Report for Monday, April 17, 2023.
More great fantasy baseball advice and analysis: Waiver Wire & FAAB Recommendations | Daily MLB Injury Report | MLB DFS Picks | Line-up Analysis | Dynasty Rankings and Strategy | MLB Bullpen Updates | MLB Player Props | Prospect Rankings & Analysis | Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Fantasy Baseball Injury Report
Max Fried – SP Atlanta Braves
Snit confirmed post game that Max Fried will open the series tomorrow night in San Diego. #Braves
— Kelly Crull (@Kelly_Crull) April 16, 2023
Be prepared.
Ramon Urias – INF Baltimore Orioles
Brandon Hyde said Ramon Urias is a lot better. Contusion behind his ear. Unsure about Tuesday status #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) April 16, 2023
Prospect Joey Ortiz was removed from the lineup in Triple-A as a precaution for Urias who could miss Tuesday’s game. He has been diagnosed with a contusion and was in concussion protocol. Stay tuned.
Keegan Akin – SP Baltimore Orioles
Keegan Akin expected back Tuesday #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) April 16, 2023
Akin has missed some time due to the birth of his baby. Be prepared.
Spencer Steer – INF Cincinnati Reds
Spencer Steer hurt his knee in the 8th and then landed on it in the 9th and came out
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) April 16, 2023
Steer hurt himself twice in the game. During the 8th inning, he first hurt it and then re-aggravated it while fielding in the 9th inning. There is no timetable for a return, but for now, he’s DTD.
Amed Rosario – SS Cleveland Guardians
Tito will give Amed Rosario a day saying back is bit "balky", he's day to day. Also will let Steven Kwan DH today to not have to play the field, but he's fine. #Guardians
— Byron Kerr (@ByronKerr) April 16, 2023
Consider Rosario DTD for now, though the term balky seems vague.
Antonio Senzatela – SP Colorado Rockies, Randal Grichuk – OF Colorado Rockies, Daniel Bard – RP Colorado Rockies
Injury rehab assignments begin today for #Rockies RHP Daniel Bard and OF Randal Grichuk with @ABQTopes. RHP Antonio Senzatela will pitch Tuesday in extended spring training. The club will make a decision on his rehab assignment after assessing Tuesday's performance.
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) April 16, 2023
Lots to unpack here. First, Senzaltela has been slowly returning from a torn ACL, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s not yet ready for a rehab assignment. He had been up to two innings pitched less than a week ago. Second, Grichuk has been slow to recover from bilateral sports hernia surgery but had been ramping himself up to a return. Expect a lengthy rehab assignment. Finally, Bard’s issues have been anxiety-related, so a short ramp-up is possible. It’s all about how comfortable he feels.
Matt Manning – SP Detroit Tigers
Manning said X-rays were sent to various specialists to gather opinions. It was 50-50 whether to insert a screw or just let it heal with rest. They opted for the latter.
Manning said the prognosis would have been about 6 weeks either way.
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) April 16, 2023
Manning broke a bone in his foot in a game against the Blue Jays last week. The hope is that within six weeks he is able to return to the mound. He’d likely need time to ramp back up once that’s possible.
Lance McCullers – SP Houston Astros
Meanwhile, McCullers threw long toss today and his throwing program is going well and ahead of schedule. His next step is mixing in offspeed pitches in with mound work before the end of the month, if all continues to go well. https://t.co/K8l27aRV8p
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 16, 2023
It’s good news that McCullers has progressed to long-tossing the baseball. While he aims to be mixing in pitches by the end of the month, it’s looking like he’s still at least a month away from returning. Still, getting back onto the mound would be a significant move.
Michael Brantley – OF Houston Astros, Chas McCormick – OF Houston Astros
Some injury updates:
◼️Baker said Brantley "had a good day," taking live BP in Florida. He's facing pitchers, unlike in Spring Training when coaches were throwing.
◼️McCormick is "about the same" and won't be available today.— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 16, 2023
Brantley continues to slowly work his way back to competition. It’s unclear when he’ll be able to rejoin the Astros, but sometime in May seems likely. As for McCormick, his vision problems are concerning in that nothing seems to get better. It’s fair to wonder if a trip to the Injured List is coming.
Kris Bubic – SP Kansas City Royals
Matt Quatraro on Kris Bubic heading to 15-day IL: "The concern was the velocity was down … with the weather we weren't sure … velo's seemed to be down a little bit throughout the game, but we probably should've had more concern than we did." #Royals
Sponsored by @Toyota. pic.twitter.com/FIbJlVirZR
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) April 16, 2023
Interesting that Bubic seemed to be okay to keep pitching, so there’s that. As Quatraro said, Bubic’s velocity was down, and the belief was that it was the weather. There is no word on if he will miss more than the minimum amount of time with this injury.
Will Smith – C Los Angeles Dodgers
Dave Roberts said Will Smith passed SCAT5 testing on Friday after reporting symptoms on Thursday, but those symptoms still haven’t subsided, hence the IL placement. Had more tests today. He said he doesn’t know if Will Smith has had a concussion before.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 16, 2023
Interesting development here, as Smith may have had a concussion the entire time and not known it. He will miss at least seven days with this, and it’s unclear how severe this really is.
Avisail Garcia – OF Miami Marlins
Right wrist contusion for Avisail Garcia. X Rays were negative, per #Marlins
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) April 16, 2023
Consider him DTD after having likely avoided a serious injury.
Jesse Winker – OF Milwaukee Brewers
Jesse Winker has been scratched from the lineup today with right oblique tightness.
Brian Anderson will DH and Mike Brosseau will play third.
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) April 16, 2023
Winker goes from missing time with bronchitis to now potentially missing extensive time with an oblique injury. Stay tuned to see if this evolves into a trip to the Injured List.
Jorge Polanco – 2B Minnesota Twins, Alex Kirilloff – 1B Minnesota Twins
Both Polanco and Kirilloff have been battling it out in Low-A for a while and are feeling better. If they get the call to Triple-A, they should be on their way, as mentioned, within the week. Keep that in mind when looking at the Twins’ current roster and who may have to be moved.
Luis Campusano – C San Diego Padres
Related: Luis Campusano jammed his thumb catching a bullpen the other day. X-rays negative, but some serious swelling. Unclear if he’ll be able to avoid the 10-day IL.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) April 16, 2023
With serious swelling happening, a trip to the Injured List seems quite possible, though nothing has yet been made official. Stay tuned.
Michael Conforto – OF San Francisco Giants
Michael Conforto remains out of the lineup today and wasn't available to run yesterday, but Gabe Kapler says #SFGiants are hopeful he returns to the starting lineup tomorrow.
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) April 16, 2023
The good news is that he’s seeing a return on Monday as a possibility. Time will tell though if that’s a reality. The Giants can ill afford to lose another body to the Injured List.
Alec Burleson – St. Louis Cardinals
#STLCards manager Oli Marmol said the X-rays on Alec Burleson’s shin came back clean. Burleson fouled a ball off his shin and left the game. Burleson was diagnosed with a contusion and he is listed as day to day.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) April 16, 2023
There were fears that this was more serious, but it looks like Burleson has avoided a major injury.