Day-to-Day

Jose Abreu, 1B CHW – He left the game Wednesday with what the White Sox are calling a hip flexor strain. The team doesn’t feel like it’s serious enough to warrant a trip to the DL, but they’re keeping a close watch on him especially after he said he thought he’d be playing Friday and was a late scratch. Stay tuned for over the weekend.

David Freese, 3B PIT – He suffered a hamstring injury Monday and has been out ever since. The Pirates have been watching him closely and are expected to make a decision Friday as to whether he’ll be ready to play this weekend or if they need to place him on the 10-day DL. Expect a decision to be made during pre-game warm-ups and if he does hit the DL, look for Alen Hanson to see some decent at-bats while Freese and Adam Frazier are out.

Nelson Cruz, OF SEA – Cruz was a late scratch on Friday due to a hamstring issue. He said he originally felt a twinge when he was pulling into second on a double he just hit. He says he’s fine and should be able to pinch hit Friday, but if the team doesn’t have to risk something worse happening, they’ll hold him out.

Noah Syndergaard, SP NYM – How the mighty have fallen. From God of Thunder to wimpy arm in just a short time span. First it was the blister then it was the fingernail and now it’s biceps tendinitis. The Mets are set to re-evaluate him after he plays catch prior to Friday’s game and a determination will be made then. It seems like he’ll either start Sunday or hit the DL. Not sure which but one of them, for sure.

On the DL

Yoenis Cespedes, OF NYM – The Mets officially placed Cespedes on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, an injury he suffered during Thursday’s game. Given the nature of the injury, Cespedes’ age and typical recovery time, the team expects him to miss a few weeks here. Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares should be expected to see an increase in at-bats over the next three or four weeks.

Travis Jankowski, OF SD – He landed on the disabled list with a deep bone bruise in his foot, but further tests have revealed a potential hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone. If this is the case, then Jankowski is likely to miss at least a month. With Jankowski out, the Padres have a few guys they can use, most notably Jabari Blash who has the biggest power potential of anyone coming off the bench. Cory Spangenberg and Allen Cordoba should also be in the mix.

Adam Frazier, OF PIT – The Pirates placed him on the 10-Day DL with a hamstring strain on April 24, but don’t expect him to need longer than that to recover. He’s shown some improved work at the plate this season but the Buccos are still concerned with his defense. Not that it matters to fantasy owners, but once they start getting healthier, he may not see the at-bats you’d like based on shoddy play in the field.

Felix Hernandez, SP SEA – King Felix owners get some bad news today as the 2-to-3 week timetable has now been pushed to 3-to-4 weeks with reports of right shoulder bursitis being the problem. This is actually something Hernandez has dealt with in the past (2005) and he missed about a month back then. It looks like the Mariners are going to use Chase De Jong as his replacement in the rotation, but for how long will be determined by his performance.

Shelby Miller, SP ARI – He was just placed on the 60-day DL with a partially torn UCL and is now deciding between rest and rehab or Tommy John surgery. Either way, your dealings with Miller are officially done. Even if he says rest and rehab, take a look at Garrett Richards who was dealing with the same thing.

On the Mend

Tom Murphy, C COL – Two weeks ago, it was reported that Murphy was not yet ready for fielding drills and there is no set timetable for his return. He is scheduled to receive a bone scan on his wrist Friday and the club will try and establish a potential return date, but a return doesn’t seem too imminent. If you’ve got space on your DL to still stash him and you play in a two-catcher league, he’s probably still worth holding, but that’s about it right now.

Ian Desmond, OF COL – He hopped a flight with the team to Arizona where he will play in extended spring training games in Scottsdale and, if everything goes well, could rejoin the Rockies at some point next week. The team may stay cautious though and opt for a minor league rehab assignment, but from the way everything looks right now, that mid-May return timetable was pretty accurate.

Colby Rasmus, OF TB – He’s been on a rehab assignment at Double-A Montgomery recovering from his groin injury, but he hasn’t looked particularly good, going 1-for-16 with the Biscuits thus far. The Rays are going to leave him here until at least Monday when the team returns to Florida to face the Marlins for some interleague play. If he does return, don’t expect anything more than a platoon job for him.

Chris Tillman, SP BAL – He’s scheduled to throw a bullpen session this weekend and depending on how his shoulder feels afterwards, he could be on-track to return to the Orioles’ rotation as early as Tuesday. Deeper league owners may want to grab him, but you might want him throw a start or two to get that command back in form.

Junior Guerra, SP MIL – Remember this guy? Pulled a calf muscle coming out of the box during a bunt attempt on Opening Day and he’s been out ever since. He’s apparently been throwing bullpen sessions lately and the Brewers say he’s close to starting a rehab assignment. Barring any setbakcs, he’s still probably about a week away.

Aaron Sanchez, SP TOR – He’s been on the DL with a blister issue, but as of today, the Jays have him penciled in as Sunday’s starter. No guarantees, so definitely check back, but it looks like it should be safe to get him back in your lineup.

Andrew Bailey, RP LAA – The shoulder recovery for Bailey has been a little slow, but he’s on-track to throw his first bullpen session next week. He’s increased the toss distance over the last week or so and showed no issues after a recent session from 120 feet recently, so barring any last-minute issues over the weekend, he should start his bullpen work sooner than later. He’s still not going to see any relevant action outside of maybe some holds work, but given his track record and just the way Bud Norris is throwing, it seems unlikely that he’ll ever see save chances this year.