Fantasy Baseball Injury Report - 2024 MLB Spring Training Updates
As we enter the 2024 MLB season, there are players returning from injury, getting injured daily, or re-aggravating a previous injury. In this inaugural fantasy baseball injury report, we’ll take a look at all of that stuff from the major to minor injuries across the league including the latest MLB injury updates on Justin Verlander, Aaron Judge and Josh Jung.
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2024 MLB Fantasy Baseball Injury Report
Starting Pitcher Injuries
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees - Elbow
A breath of fresh air, Yankees fan? After the initial shutdown, nobody knew what was next for Gerrit Cole and his elbow but according to Jon Heyman and Mark W. Sanchez, Cole's expected to avoid surgery and return in 10-12 weeks and there is no tear of the UCL. That puts him on track for a June return as long as there is no regression.
Justin Verlander, Houston Astros - Shoulder
Update: 3/15 - Verlander threw a bullpen on Thursday and is closing in on facing live hitters. He's still a ways away from pitching in a live game and will start the year on the injured list, which is different reporting from what it was in the middle of February.
After comments from Justin Verlander that he’s a couple of weeks behind due to his shoulder not feeling great. That was on Wednesday, February 14th. Since then, Verlander has thrown a bullpen and had a catch the following day, aka this past Sunday and Monday. Everything seems on track for Verlander to be ready for the regular season, despite being behind his normal schedule.
Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants - Elbow
Update: 3/15 - We saw Robbie Ray toss 25 pitches off the mound on Monday. Nothing suggests anything different coming from Ray's return coming this summer.
The latest report out of Giants camp is that Ray is going to be ready by the middle of the campaign but is on a three-per-week throwing plan as of right now. Ray will be debuting with the Giants during the summer after being traded from Seattle this offseason.
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants - Hip
Update: 3/15 - Susan Sussler of the SF Chronicle reported that if all goes well this week, he'll be pitching in a game as early as next week. He'll miss the beginning stages of the year, but he could be back in April.
Cobb is hoping to avoid the 60-day injured list after returning from offseason hip surgery. Cobb threw 12 pitches on Sunday off the mound, they were all fastballs, but still. The progress is there. He’s going to continue to follow that same throwing pattern on Tuesday.
Gavin Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers - Elbow
Update: 3/15 - Despite everything coming back clean on the MRI, Williams will start this season on the injured list. They're shutting them down for the next three to four days before he resumes throwing.
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles - Elbow
Update: 3/15 - All reports are looking up for Kyle Bradish as he threw a bullpen session on Wednesday. He only threw fastballs, so we'll need to see how he reacts when mixing his other pitches. Manager Brandon Hyde said he felt good afterward.
The 2023 second-place ERA finisher, Kyle Bradish, has a tear in his UCL and will start the season on the injured list. He had a PRP shot per Jeff Passan, and will attempt to pitch through it.
We’ve seen specific cases like Adam Wainwright and Masahiro Tanaka in which the pitchers opted against Tommy John and pitched through it. Both pitched well. We’ll see what happens with Bradish in 2024 once he returns to the mound.
John Means, Baltimore Orioles - Elbow
Update: 3/15 - Means threw a side session on Wednesday as he continues to build up for his return, which will be after the start of the campaign.
Upon reporting to camp, John Means is a month behind the rest of the Orioles pitching staff due to elbow soreness dating back to October. Means’ will likely hit the injured list to start the year, but he has been throwing and manager Brandon Hyde said his “rough draft” has Means pitching in April.
Braxton Garrett & Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins - Shoulders
Update: 3/15 - Garrett is working behind the eight-ball here as he started camp with shoulder soreness and will not be ready for Opening Day. Manager Skip Schumaker said Garrett's feeling great, but he's still building up to being regular season-ready. Cabrera underwent an MR on his shoulder and was diagnosed with an impingement in his right shoulder. Nothing has yet to be determined on how long he's going to miss.
Eury Perez, Miami Marlins - Finger
Update: 3/15 - Perez was forced from his last start with another fingernail issue that's caused him a ton of issues in his young MLB career. This fingernail issue has limited Perez's ability to get stretched out this offseason, which could lead to a possible stint on the injured list.
Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays - Pectoral Strain
Update: 3/15 - Manager Kevin Cash announced that Bradley will not throw for the next two weeks and will start the season on the 15-day injured list with a pectoral strain. Once he's cleared, he'll go on a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining the Rays rotation.
Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals - Hamstring
Update: 3/15 - It's been a brutal offseason for the Cardinals as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Gray has a mild strain of his hamstring and may start the 2024 campaign on the injured list. The oft-injured Gray with an injury before the season is not a good sign.
Relief Pitcher Injuries
Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers - Back
Update: 3/15 - Williams was battling through back soreness all spring which resulted in seeing a spine specialist who revealed two fractures in his back. He's going to miss upwards of three months of action, which puts him on pace to return in the summer.
Liam Hendriks, Boston Red Sox - Elbow
Hendriks just inked a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox and upon signing, he mentioned he’ll be ready by the summer as he returns from Tommy John surgery. He *could* wind up as the Red Sox closer depending on how things go with Kenley Jansen.
Kenley Jansen, Boston Red Sox - Lat
Update: 3/15 - Tonight will be the FIRST appearance of Spring Training for Kenley Jansen as long as nothing happens before game time. Things are trending in the right direction for Jansen to be available to start the year.
Things are a little murky on the Jansen front as he’s a little behind schedule due to general lat soreness. He threw off flat ground to start the week, which is a good sign for Jansen. His job security is not the same as it was a day ago with the Red Sox signing Liam Hendriks. It is worth mentioning, however, that Hendriks will be on IL until the summer.
Gregory Santos, Seattle Mariners - Lat
Update: 3/15 - Santos will not be ready for Opening Day as he's been diagnosed with a lat strain.
The newly acquired Gregory Santos figures to play a prominent role in the Mariners bullpen but he’ll need to get back from the lat injury he’s dealing with. He’s behind schedule because of it and although he hasn’t been ruled out from being available come Opening Day, he also hasn’t been deemed available either. He’s one of the first relievers in line to pick up saves if Andres Munoz struggles at all.
Catcher Injuries
Endy Rodriguez, Pittsburgh Pirates - Elbow
This is a brutal loss for the Pirates as one of top-50 prospects in 2023 is lost for the year due to UCL tear, leading to Tommy John surgery. He injured himself while playing winter ball in the Dominican Winter League. We’ll see Rodriguez back in 2025.
Jose Trevino, New York Yankees - Calf
According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Jose Trevino has started to hit after straining his calf at the beginning of the February. Austin Wells and Trevino will be battling for at-bats this spring, so it’s a bad start for Trevino to be behind the eight ball.
First Base Injuries
Nathaniel Lowe, Texas Rangers - Oblique
Update: 3/15 - There's a chance that Rangers first baseman, Nathaniel Lowe, will start the year on the injured list with an oblique strain. The initial timetable that came in for the injury was three to four weeks and it was announced on March 8th.
Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals - Shoulder
He’s healthy. He’s entering the season 100% healthy and is ready to produce at an elite level hitting behind Bobby Witt and company.
Second Base Injuries
Matt McLain, Cincinnati Reds - Oblique
It looks as if the same oblique injury was aggravated here as Matt McLain was taking swings. The MRI came back clean, but he’ll be shut down completely for the next 5-to-7 days, according to manager David Bell. The Reds will definitely need to be cautious with him considering this is something that he’s re-aggravated.
Third Base Injuries
Manny Machado, San Diego Padres - Elbow
After undergoing surgery on his elbow in October, Manny Machado is likely going to be ready for the season opener, but it’s obviously going to matter what happens throughout camp and if there are any setbacks. Machado is back hitting and below is a clip from a week ago in which he is making throws from third base.
Josh Jung, Texas Rangers - Calf
Update: 3/15 - As of six days ago, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was not ready to ramp up his running program just yet. There is an increasing chance at Jung starting the season on the injured list at this point.
The Rangers young star third baseman was diagnosed with a low-grade calf strain and will be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks. Jung and manager Bruce Bochy both believe that Jung will be ready to go for the season opener. It’s a situation to monitor but his draft stock shouldn’t take much of a hit.
Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets - Knee
Mauricio was injured during the Dominican Winter League, and he wasn’t the only player that can say that this year. He also won’t be the last, so let’s not start the stop playing baseball outside of your professional team narrative, OK? Anyways, Mauricio is out for the year after tearing his ACL.
Shortstop Injuries
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers - Hernia
In January, Corey Seager underwent a sports hernia surgery that had been impacting him during the regular season. Seager’s timeline isn’t definitive, but he very well could be ready for Opening Day. We haven’t received any timeline on when he can start swinging a bat just yet, however.
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles - Oblique
Orioles general manager, Mike Elias, says Henderson suffered a mild oblique aggravation, but it’s nothing that’s going to impact the start of the regular season. His spring training work will be delayed, however.
Outfield Injuries
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees - Toe/Abdomen
Update: 3/15 - Judge has been dealing with an abdomen issue that the Yankees are downplaying. That said, it's interesting it has been downplayed because it was bad enough to where Judge got an MRI. This is a situation that has to be monitored as Judge is scheduled to return to their spring lineup on Saturday.
This is interesting and something to monitor. We all saw what happened to Aaron Judge when he smashed his toe into the Dodger Stadium wall last season, and it was seemingly behind him – until it wasn’t. Judge said it would require “constant maintenance” for the REMAINDER of his career. Something to watch and possibly factor into our drafts.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves - Right Meniscus
Update: 3/15 - it's worth mentioning that earlier this month, Acuna Jr. had an MRI on his knee and it revealed right meniscus irritation, but everything is tracking for Acuna to be ready for Opening Day. Here's a video of him swinging the bat on March 10th and he was looking comfortable.
Cedric Mullins, Baltimore Orioles - Hamstring
Update: 3/15 - After tweaking his hamstring, we hadn't seen Mullins for around 10 days but he returned to the Orioles lineup on Thursday, so everything seems better on the Mullins front moving forward.
Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals - Wrist
Update: 3/15 - Edman has been placed on the injured list and has been shut down due to lingering pain that he's feeling in his surgically repaired wrist. This is a tough blow due to his versatility and there's no telling when he'll be back with what the injury is.
Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals - Ribs
Update: 3/15 - Nootbaar fractured two ribs on the left side of his body making a catch during a Spring Training game. His status for Opening Day hasn't been shut down, but it's definitely in doubt. He's in the midst of a 10-to-14-day stretch in which he can swing the bat but nothing else.
Dylan Carlson, St. Louis Cardinals - Ankle
After having season-ending ankle surgery last September, Carlson has been cleared to take the field, but has been limited despite that fact. It’s seemingly something the Cardinals and Carlson are approaching slowly, but we’ll continue to monitor this situation.
Brandon Marsh, Philadelphia Phillies - Knee
Marsh is recovering from offseason knee surgery, but as Marsh put it, it was a minor surgery just cleaning a few things up. The plan is to be ready by Opening Day as he ramps up his workload. He was throwing on Tuesday and said he’s getting better day by day, according to Spencer McKercher of NBCS Philly.
Randal Grichuk, Arizona Diamondbacks - Ankle
Despite just signing to his new team, Randal Grichuk may not be able to get right out onto the field with the guys just yet. He had surgery in January to remove bone spurs from his ankle. Grichuk himself said if it’s not opening day, the longest it’ll be is a week after.