We have reached the halfway point of spring training and Opening Day is on the horizon.  We are deep into fantasy baseball draft season which means it is imperative to pay attention to MLB news on a daily basis.  Injuries in March do not necessarily equate to missing time in April, but they can certainly effect the perceived value of players during a draft.  So without further adieu, here is the next edition of the fantasy baseball walking wounded.

Corey Seager (SS-LAD)

Fantasy owners held their collective breaths last week when Seager suffered a knee injury during a spring training game.  He avoided disaster as the test results showed a minor sprain rather than any ligament damage.  Seager’s status for Opening Day is questionable depending on how soon he is able to resume baseball activities, but he shouldn’t miss much time, if any at all.  Seager is one of the top prospects in all of baseball and will be a valuable fantasy commodity with the rare combination of power and speed at the scarce shortstop position.  Assuming he has no setbacks, Seager’s draft position should remain status quo as one of the top targets at the position.

Brian McCann (C-NYY)

C.C. Sabathia may need some more therapy after his battery mate was struck by a pitch that ricocheted off of Ryan Howard last weekend. McCann suffered a bruise on his left knee and was taken out of the game later on.  The injury does not appear serious as McCann’s status for Opening Day is not in jeopardy at all.  However, as a veteran catcher, McCann already takes enough punishment making him even more susceptible to lost playing time.  He is still one of the top fantasy catchers in the league with his tremendous power and the benefit of playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium.

Matt Wieters (C-BAL)

The Orioles had Wieters undergo an MRI on his surgically-repaired right elbow after he experienced pain making a throw to second base over the weekend.  Wieters underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 but the recent MRI did not show any major damage.  Baltimore will shut Wieters down to allow the pain and soreness to subside, and then the plan is to try and build up to throwing again.  This will likely be an ongoing issue and it is possible that Baltimore will limit Wieters’ games behind the plate, thus making Caleb Joseph an interesting fantasy option in two-catcher leagues.

Lance McCullers (SP-HOU)

Fantasy owners got some good news after an MRI revealed no structural damage to McCullers’ right shoulder.  He had been experiencing some soreness and was sent for tests which came back negative.  McCullers will be given time to rest before getting back on the mound.  He is one of the better young pitchers in the AL coming off a rookie season in which he made 22 starts and pitched to a 3.22 ERA and averaged over one strikeout per inning.

Jarrod Parker (SP-OAK)

The career of Parker has turned into a tragedy after dealing with multiple major injuries that have kept him off the mound since 2013.  He was making his way back from a fracture of the medial epicondyle in his elbow when tests confirmed he refractured it during spring training.  Parker has already undergone Tommy John surgery twice and now will very likely have to deal with a recurrence of this elbow fracture.  At 27 years old, there is still time for him to be a productive big league pitcher.  However, fantasy owners have no reason to be patient and should simply send a “Get Well Soon” Hallmark card rather than draft him.

Asdrubal Cabrera (SS-NYM)

As a Mets fan, I hated this signing as soon as the rumors started swirling around.  Cabrera has had one relevant offensive season in his career and is essentially a more expensive version of Ruben Tejada.  He suffered a knee injury last week and an MRI revealed some damage which will shut Cabrera down for a couple weeks.  His status for Opening Day is in serious question, but that shouldn’t make too much of a difference for fantasy owners who should not be touching Cabrera with a 10-foot pole outside of deep NL-only leagues.

Michael A. Stein, Esq. is the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, the industry’s premier dispute resolution service, and co-host of the Fantasy Alarm Podcast.  You can contact him at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com or on Facebook and Twitter (@FantasyJudgment).