This is an interesting period of the season when looking at the injury reports. We had numerous big-name players go down in the opening weeks, but many are on the brink of a return. That’s an exciting prospect for a fantasy manager, but there will surely be more injuries right around the corner. I had this article ready to go Wednesday morning, but I had to make it 11 guys at each position with two critical injured list (IL) moves during the day. With that in mind, let’s get into it.
Let’s dive into this week’s rankings and determine who is worth those precious IL spots.
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2024 Fantasy Baseball Injury Stashes
Pitchers to Stash Right Now
Walker Buehler was on the brink of a return this week, but some poor command in his most recent rehab start has earned him another start in the minors. The good news is that he’s fully healthy and will likely return next week. He allowed five runs in his “final” rehab start on Wednesday, but got his pitch count up to 86 pitches. Look for him to be back Monday or Tuesday.
Framber Valdez landed on the IL with a dreaded elbow issue but he always downplayed it. The good news is we saw him throw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday. There’s some thought he might be back after a minimum stint on the IL. There’s hope he’ll avoid a rehab assignment, but that decision has yet to be made. He’s eligible for a return next week.
Bobby Miller is on the IL because of shoulder soreness but was able to play catch earlier in the week. That means a bullpen session could be right around the corner and a return to the mound could be on deck. It’s unclear if he’ll need a rehab assignment, but Miller shouldn’t be out longer than two weeks.
Justin Steele suffered a hammy strain in his debut and is finally progressing towards a return. He threw batting practice over the weekend and got through some pitchers fielding practices (PFP) on Tuesday. That’s the most critical step because it means that hamstring is ready for action. Look for Steele to go on a rehab assignment next week.
Max Scherzer is making his first rehab start today. That’s a massive step in his rehabilitation because a veteran like this shouldn’t need more than a couple of rehab starts to be fully ready. We’d anticipate two more rehab starts and then a return to the Rangers in two weeks.
Gerrit Cole increased his throwing to 50 feet last week and progressed to 120 feet this week. It’s a slow buildup for the Cy Young winner, but he’s expected to resume throwing off a mound next week. If everything runs smoothly, Cole could be back by June.
Jhoan Duran was expected to miss the first two months of the season with an oblique injury, but the closer is ahead of schedule. He made his first rehab appearance on Tuesday and should only need a few more to be ready to return. A Monday return seems likely for Duran. He should resume his role as the Twins’ closer immediately.
Paul Sewald and Duran have eerily similar timetables. Both got injured with oblique strains during spring training and both have progressed to rehab assignments, which will start on Tuesday. We expect both to be closing for their MLB teams by the time our next article is published.
There haven’t been many updates regarding Yu Darvish’s neck issue with the IL placement being a major surprise. The good news is there’s nothing wrong with his arm because neck stiffness sounds far from a serious ailment. He’s eligible to come off the IL on May 1. We have to assume that’s his timetable until we hear more.
The Astros’ whole rotation has been on and off the IL all season, and we’re only a month into the year. Javier is the most recent addition to the IL, as he is dealing with neck discomfort. The severity of the injury is unclear at this time, but neck soreness isn’t the worst injury for a pitcher. We expect the righty to return in early May, but keep an eye on his status.
We threw Blake Snell in here as an 11th guy because he was a late addition to the IL on Wednesday. Last year’s Cy Young winner is dealing with a moderate adductor strain. That means he’ll likely need more than the minimum 15 days to be ready to return, but it’s not expected to be more than a month or so.
Hitters to Stash Right Now
A broken toe sounded like a disaster when it happened, but the updates have been encouraging. The All-Star resumed swinging a bat early in the week and there’s speculation Ozzie Albies could return to action on Friday. That would be a best-case scenario, but it doesn’t sound like he will be in this article next week, which is what fantasy managers want to hear.
Christian Yelich was placed on the IL because of a back strain, but Milwaukee tried to avoid that. They held him out of the lineup for a few days before the move, which is usually a good sign. The problem is Yelich has had back problems throughout his career, so this situation is still murky. With that said, he’s eligible to return on Tuesday and could avoid being in this article altogether if everything runs smoothly.
The Rays have kept quiet regarding Josh Lowe’s status, but they couldn’t hide a rehab assignment after a lengthy rehabilitation from an oblique injury. The outfielder has played a handful of games in Durham and is projected to return to the Rays lineup any day. Don’t expect him to be in this article next week.
Cody Bellinger is a late addition to this article, landing on the IL due to a fractured rib on Wednesday. That injury usually keeps most players out for a month. We should have more information in our next article.
Luis Robert was projected to miss three months after suffering a Grade 2 hip flexor injury, but that timetable was dropped to six weeks after a further diagnosis. That’s good news because we’re about three weeks removed from that injury. Look for Robert to be back sometime in June.
Seiya Suzuki suffered an oblique injury on April 14 and is expected to resume baseball activities this week. That’s steady progress because most oblique strains have kept players out for a month. It’s still too early to tell where things will go, but any activity this early is a great sign.
This man has been on the IL more than he’s been on the field, suffering a quad strain on Opening Day. The good news is Royce Lewis resumed light baseball activities and could resume running the bases this weekend. That’s the first significant step, with Lewis likely missing another month.
This injury was devastating. Triston Casas suffered a fractured rib over the weekend and will be out for “a while.” That’s a terrible quote from Alex Cora, but most rib fractures take about 4-6 weeks of recovery time.
Carlos Correa suffered a mild intercostal strain, but any strain in the body is far from mild. The good news is we heard he would start baseball activities sometime this week, but that has yet to happen. It’ll likely be at least two weeks before he can return because he’ll likely need a short rehab assignment.
Here we are with another oblique issue and another vague update. Miami says Jake Burger is making progress and could resume hitting drills soon. That’s the first major step. If that goes as expected, Burger could be back within two weeks.
We always hate losing a catcher because the waiver wire is thin at that position. The Mets backstop suffered a thumb injury over the weekend and will need surgery to fix it. Francisco Alvarez is expected to be out for at least 6-8 weeks and will not make any significant improvements for at least a month.
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.