Fantasy baseball owners and Dodger fans were dealt a significant blow on Sunday with the loss of Clayton Kershaw for an undetermined amount of time due to lower back tightness. The three-time Cy Young award winner felt tightness in his lower right back while throwing warmup pitches before the second inning of Sunday’s game against the Braves.
The Dodgers placed Kershaw on the 10-day disabled list and scheduled him for an immediate appointment with back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game that team doctors believe the pain Kershaw is feeling is muscular and not related to the herniated disk ailment that forced the southpaw to miss nearly three months of the 2016 season, but only tests done by Dr. Watkins will confirm the severity of the injury.
With an official unknown timetable for return, fantasy owners will need to look for other options for help fill the void left by the consensus number one pitcher. With a league-leading 15-2 record and 2.04 ERA, finding a viable replacement for Kershaw on the waiver wire or via trade will be next to impossible.
Kershaw was not the only marquee player to suffer a significant injury this past week, with Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa sustaining a thumb injury and Stephen Strasburg exiting his Sunday start early with right forearm tightness.
Here are a few other injuries we are tracking from Week 16 of the fantasy baseball season.
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A Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee forced Los Angeles Angels outfielder Cameron Maybin to the 10-day disabled list on July 19th. The leading base stealer in the American League, Maybin sustained the injury stealing second base in the bottom of the first inning against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday evening.
Although Maybin has hit only six home runs and driven in 21 runs to go along with a pedestrian .236 batting average, his 25 steals in his first season with the Angels have made him a viable fantasy option in most formats.
The team initially listed Maybin out for 2-to-4 weeks, however, the timetable is “generic,” and the speedy outfielder could miss more than a month due to the knee sprain.
Correa is the latest superstar to suffer a torn thumb ligament after sliding headfirst while stealing a base, joining perennial first-overall pick Mike Trout who sustained the same injury earlier in the season.
Like Trout, Correa required surgery on the torn ligament and will miss up to eight weeks of action. The loss of Correa will be tough for fantasy owners, as the former No. 1 pick in the
2012 MLB amateur draft leads all shortstop in home runs, runs scored, and RBI with the fifth-best batting average in baseball at .320.
Strasburg left his scheduled Sunday start after two innings due to forearm tightness in this throwing arm. The injury does not appear to be serious, and manager Dusty Baker told reporters after the game that the team believes Strasburg is fine and the removal was precautionary.
Although this does not sound like a serious injury, elbow troubles often present themselves after forearm tightness, and Strasburg owners may be in line for a DL stint as the team will likely be cautious with their star pitcher.
Right quad tightness forced Matt Carpenter to leave Sunday night’s contest against the Cubs in the second inning. Carpenter left the game after attempting to score on Jedd Gyorko’s two-out double. Luke Voit replaced Carpenter at first base.
As of now, the team is listing Carpenter as day-to-day, but more information will come on Monday when the team re-evaluates the 31-year-old infielder.
The first of two players on this list to sustain a repeat injury to their hamstring, Gregory Polanco was placed on the 10-day DL over the weekend after pulling up lame while beating out a throw to first in Friday’s 13-5 win over Colorado.
It is a disappointing injury for Polanco and the Pirates, who just recently managed to have all three starting outfielders play together after the return of Starling Marte from suspension. Also, Polanco appeared to finally be playing solid baseball after a disappointing first half of the season.
No timetable has been given, and manager Clint Hurdle told Max Gelman of MLB.com that the team is “best served sitting him down, getting him healthy again.”
Perhaps Castro was brought back too soon from his right hamstring strain, as the former Cub reinjured his leg and will miss at least 10 more days of action on the disabled list. It appears as though this time the Yankees will be more cautious with their second baseman and Castro will likely miss more than just the minimum requirement of 10 days.
Updating Previous Injuries
Garrett Richards (SP – LAA) Right Biceps Strain
The hard-throwing starting pitcher for the Angels who was placed on the 60-day DL back in May is playing catch and was cleared by team docs to begin a throwing program. It is still unclear if and when Richards will be able to return to the mound.
Adrian Gonzalez (1B – LAD) Back
The veteran first baseman has begun taking grounders but not live hitting. Gonzalez is still weeks away from returning and the amount of possible playing time is in question with the emergence of Cody Bellinger.
Mark Melancon (RP – SF) Shoulder
The closer for the Giants threw a bullpen session on July 20th, and manager Bruce Bochy is optimistic that Melancon will return to action soon. The question is will the pitiful Giants give their high-priced free agent closer any opportunities to close games.
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Andrew Swanson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FantasyProsAndy.