2011 Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Chase Utley, Andre Ethier & More

Posted by Howard Bender on 09/08/2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: fantasy baseball, MLB injury report, 2011 fantasy baseball injury report, Chase Utley, Andre Ethier, Jose Tabata, Rickie Weeks, Aubrey Huff, Jimmy Rollins, Adam Lind, Jason Kubel

Enough is enough already!  Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the injury bug takes however many legs it has and kicks you square in the fantasy groin with each one of them.  By the throbbing pain and imminent swelling, I’m guessing it’s atleast a six-legged creature.  Losing guys in September is like a nightmare and, to quote pool-shark extraordinaire, Grady Seasons, it just keeps getting worse and worse.  Sadly, you’re limited in what you can do at this point and that’s hunt through the waiver wire and hope to find replacements that can help carry your tired and broken lineup to the end.  Here’s the latest of what’s going on at MLB Triage…

Banged Up

After getting beaned in the head Wednesday night and being forced from the game due to the ensuing headache, Chase Utley stayed behind Thursday and skipped the team flight to Milwaukee.  Instead, he will head to the doctor’s and see a concussion specialist to give him the once over.  They haven’t said anything about putting him on the 7-day concussion DL, but you can probably expect that the Phillies will hold him out for a few days.  Time to find a healthier alternative at second base from the waiver wire; somebody that can contribute the whole weekend if necessary.

Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young is dealing with a ligament issue in his thumb and a lingering wrist issue and Arizona hitting coach Don Baylor says that it is dramatically altering his work at the plate.  The pain is apparently excruciating when he swings and misses and is changing his approach.  He missed Wednesday’s game and is being considered day to day for the remainder of the weekend.  If you have a healthier alternative then go with it.  The D-Backs probably don’t want to DL Young just yet due to the pennant race, but they will certainly err on the side of caution.

The Giants are using Aubrey Huff’s cranky back as a nice excuse to get some rookie work in.  Huff missed the last two games and was replaced in the lineup by recent call-up Brett Pill.  There’s also Brandon Belt waiting in the wings.  The injury is probably minor, but it is being used to explain why the veteran the team re-signed to a two year deal is stinking up the joint and riding the pine.  Expect to see Huff remain in some form of a platoon the rest of the way.

While he may be targeting a return to action Friday, Todd Helton is another aging veteran succumbing to back problems.  He’s missed the last three games and is hoping to take the off-day on Thursday as more time to heal.  Check the Rockies lineup prior to Friday’s game to see if he is really back…no pun intended.

Roger Bernadina remains sidelined with a cut on his hand he got sliding into a base Sunday.  He’s been out all week and is again absent from Thursday’s lineup card.  He is likely out for the rest of the weekend as well, but you’ll have to check back on a game by game basis.  Really though…how bad could it be?  Slap some Neosporin on it and get back to work!

Adam Lind’s wrist, which has been a minor issue throughout most of August, has caused him to miss the last few games and could keep him sidelined for the rest of the weekend.  If his plummeting average wasn’t enough for you to bench him, this is probably as good, if not better, a reason. 

The foot that had Jason Kubel sidelined for almost two months this season is acting up again.  He’s been out of the lineup the last three games and is being considered day to day right now.  You’ll have to check back over the weekend to see if he is in the starting lineup, but you also may want to seek a healthier alternative for the short term.

Other banged up players whose status you’ll have to check daily include:  Johnny Damon, Michael Stanton, Justin Morneau, Jack Hanahan, Conor Jackson, Casper Wells, Brooks Conrad, Pat Burrell, Laynce Nix, and Michael Cuddyer.

Out of Commission

Well, it’s officially official now.  Andre Ethier is done for the season.  When we last discussed Ethier, apparently the Dodgers weren’t buying his claims that he was hurt worse than they thought.  The August slump was a pretty big red flag, but the two sides were still at odds.  Now we’re here a week later and manager Don Mattingly is saying that the outfielder will not play for the rest of the season.  He’s done and headed to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on the knee.  Any time you get a mention of Dr. Andrews, you know it’s bad.  Safe to assume you’ll be seeing a lot of Juan Rivera down the stretch and while he doesn’t produce like a healthy Ethier, he still has some pop in his bat.

While he technically hasn’t been placed on the DL, Jose Tabata could find himself back on soon enough with a wrist issue.  Well, it’s actually a fracture of the 4^th metacarpal on his hand, but it’s obviously affecting his wrist and the way he grips and swings the bat.  Cut him loose and hope that Mr. Glass here can come back healthier next season.  Great tools, frail body.

On the Mend

The Brewers are finally activating Rickie Weeks from the DL, but before you get too excited, you’ll have to note that he is coming back in a limited capacity for right now.  Ron Roenicke will use him as a pinch hitter for the most part, with limited time in the field.  How long this goes on is still up in the air, but with the Brewers sitting on an 8 ½ game lead over St. Louis, you have to figure that Weeks won’t be seeing full-time action until he is 100% healthy or the playoffs start; whichever comes first.  Hopefully he’ll be getting steady at bats soon, so keep monitoring the situation.

It looks like the Giants will activate Nate Schierholtz who has been sidelined with a fracture in his foot.  However, he will likely be limited to pinch hit duties and late game defensive replacements out in left field for the time being.  The team is loaded up with mediocre outfielders, so he’ll just be joining a platoon when he’s 100% ready to go.

Similarly, Jimmy Rollins was activated from the DL Thursday, but he is only going to be used on an emergency basis.  His groin is healed, for the most part, but the team would like to give the veteran a little extra time to be sure.  However, with Utley out of action this weekend, they felt the need to activate him as a safety net.  He is not in Thursday’s lineup and may not start the rest of the weekend either.

DL candidates who may be back for the final two weeks of the season include:  Brian Wilson, Denard Span, Tommy Hanson, Scott Baker, and Alexei Casilla.

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Howard Bender is the founder of The Fantasy Baseball Buzz and SF Giants Report.  You can also find his work at FanGraphs and RotoWire.  For questions, thoughts and comments, you can email Howard at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter - @rotobuzzguy and @SFGiantsReport.