During football season, people complain about how many injuries there are, but those people don’t follow fantasy baseball. Tracking fantasy baseball injuries is a full-time task because we have players going on and off the injured list (IL) all season. It’s a frustrating aspect of fantasy baseball, but it does allow you to feast on the waiver wire and trade market to capitalize on some of these moves.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the fantasy baseball injury updates for this week.
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2024 Fantasy Baseball Injury Stashes (Week 8)
Here are fantasy baseball injury updates for ailing pitchers.
Pitchers to Stash Right Now
It’s strange to have a closer here, but Evan Phillips is potentially the best closing option in the game right now. The good news is that his injury is minor, suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain. There’s some thought he could return when first eligible on Monday, doing some mound work yesterday. If he gets in a bullpen session and some batting practice over the next few days, we could see Phillips back in action next week without a rehab assignment.
Blake Snell was unbelievable in his most recent rehab start. He threw four perfect innings a few days ago and is on tap to make one more rehab start this weekend. As long as he gets to 60-70 pitches, Snell should be ready to return to San Fran next week. This is one of the best buy-low opportunities out there because this is the reigning Cy Young winner.
Seeing Grayson Rodriguez land on the IL with a shoulder issue was terrifying, but it’s clearly a maintenance issue. The young ace got through a 30-pitch bullpen session over the weekend and is looking to get his pitch count to 50-60 in a bullpen session sometime this week. There’s even some speculation he could return this weekend, but that would be a best-case scenario. In any case, Rodriguez should be back by next weekend.
This IL stint has been a little longer than fantasy managers were hoping, with Bobby Miller out since April 10 with a shoulder issue. The good news is that he threw two simulated innings on Wednesday in Arizona. That means another sim game or a rehab assignment could be up this weekend. We’d expect him to need one or two rehab starts before returning to the Dodgers in the next two weeks.
Nick Lodolo was the most recent addition to the IL, suffering a groin strain in his most recent start. This guy started the season on the IL and only made seven starts in an injury-riddled 2023 campaign. That’s a scary trend for such a young pitcher, especially since he has a 3.34 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 11.1 K.9 rate in a breakout season. There is some optimism that this will be a minimum stint on the IL. That’s all fantasy managers could hope for.
Joe Musgrove is having the worst year of his career. San Diego was hopeful an IL stint would get him back on track. He’s steadily progressed in his rehabilitation, completing a bullpen session on Wednesday. There’s some thought he could be back with the Padres on Sunday, but that would be a matchup with Atlanta. We prefer a friendlier opposition, but getting him back is excellent, no matter who he faces. This is also a fantastic buy-low opportunity, with Musgrove maintaining a 3.05 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over the last three years.
We’re finally getting some serious progress from the Cy Young winner. Gerrit Cole had to rest for the opening month of the year due to an elbow issue, but he’s been throwing multiple times a week over the last month. He got up to 36 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday and is not far from a rehab assignment. It’ll likely take Cole at least three rehab starts to get ready for the Yanks, but a June return looks realistic.
Max Scherzer was supposed to be back by now, but a thumb issue halted his rehab. The former Cy Young winner missed the opening month due to back surgery, but some thumb inflammation has kept him immobile for the last week. He resumed some light throwing on Wednesday but will have to build up again and resume his rehab assignment. We expect Cole and Scherzer to be back around the same time.
Ryan Pepiot was having a breakout season behind his 3.68 ERA and 0.93 WHIP, but he landed on the IL after taking a liner off his leg. We’re sure that was painful, but a bruise should have Pepiot looking at a minimum stint on the IL. He threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and could throw a simulated game tomorrow or this weekend. There’s a chance he won’t need a rehab start to return to the Rays, which could have him in line to return to the rotation next week.
It’s good news that we have Kodai Senga in this section. He’s been out for the whole year with a shoulder issue but threw 32 pitches in a bullpen session over the weekend. They are working on some mechanical flaws from the injury, but we expect him to resume another bullpen session sometime over the next week. We’d guess that Senga is a month away from a return.
On the Border Fantasy Baseball Injury Pitcher Stashes
Nathan Eovaldi, Merrill Kelly, Garrett Whitlock, Jacob deGrom, Tylor Megill, Devin Williams, Clayton Kershaw
Hitters to Stash Right Now
Here are fantasy baseball injury updates for hitters on the mend.
Luis Robert suffered a nasty hip injury in the opening week, but he’s getting close to a return. He’s resumed all baseball activities and could go out on a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend. This guy was a top-50 pick in drafts and should be back in action before the end of May.
Trea Turner was the most debilitating injury for yours truly because I have him spread across many of my season-long leagues. The All-Star will be sidelined for the next month with a hamstring strain and has yet to resume any baseball activities. We didn’t even mention that it could also limit his base running when he returns.
Wyatt Langford was the best player in spring training, but the rookie didn’t show that same form once the regular season started. That slow start is even more frustrating since he just landed on the IL with a hammy issue. The good news is that it wasn’t severe, with Langford running at 80-90% this week. It’s always strange to see players say they’re running at a particular percentage like it’s a statistical fact, but it’s good news for his rehabilitation. He should do some rehab games in the next two weeks and could be back in the Rangers’ lineup around June 1, which matches his 3-4-week timetable from the initial diagnosis.
Royce Lewis has been off the field more than he’s been on it over the last three years, but he’s a stud when he’s healthy. The Twins’ third baseman suffered a severe quad strain on Opening Day and is finally doing some rehab work. He did some light running on Tuesday and still has numerous steps in his rehab before a lengthy rehab assignment. He definitely won’t be back until June at the earliest. A July return is not out of the question.
Nolan Jones has been one of the biggest busts in fantasy, but a back issue was clearly killing his numbers. In any case, Colorado put him on the IL so he could get right, and that’s just what’s happening. He’s already joined Triple-A to kickstart a rehab assignment, which could start as soon as today. He’ll need at least 10-20 at-bats before returning to the Rockies, but he could be back next week.
Mike Trout has had trouble staying on the field the last few years. A torn meniscus will sideline him for at least the next month or two. It’s sad because he was in the middle of a renaissance season, recording 10 homers and six steals through 29 games. Those six steals surprised us, but knee surgery will surely slow that down when he returns later in the season. Something tells me this injury will last longer than fantasy managers hope for, but we don’t want to speculate until we hear more.
Dansby Swanson has been struggling with a knee issue all season. Chicago decided to put him on the 10-Day IL to get him out of that slump. That was on May 8. There’s some thought that he might be ready to return on May 18 when he’s first eligible.
Rhys Hoskins suffered a hamstring injury early this week and is now on the 10-day IL. We haven’t heard too much regarding the issue, but most hammy issues sideline a player for 3-4 weeks. It’s slightly encouraging that this guy doesn’t rely on his speed, so he could return to action sooner than a player like Turner. We’d expect Hoskins to be back in action early in June.
This has been one of the most frustrating IL stints of the season. It sounded like a Grade 1 oblique strain would only keep Sean Murphy out a few weeks, but he’s now been out since March 29. He did resume hitting in a cage this week and is back doing all baseball activities. There’s some thought he’ll start a rehab assignment sometime over the next week, but he’ll need at least a week or two of minor league games before he can return. This is one of the best catchers in baseball, though, and he’s a worthy add if you have an IL slot available.
It was challenging to pick a 10th guy because we have many fringe players on the IL right now. However, Josh Jung is the best of the bunch, generating a 1.415 OPS in the opening week before fracturing his wrist on April 2. That’s a brutal injury to overcome, but we saw Jung play catch on Wednesday. That means he needs to do some hitting before taking his next step into rehabilitation. He was given an 8-to-10-week timetable initially. We’re a little over halfway through that.
On the Border Fantasy Baseball Injury Hitter Stashes
Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas, Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas, Byron Buxton, Jorge Soler, Francisco Alvarez, Matt McLain, Willson Contreras, Tommy Edman, Brandon Lowe, JP Crawford, TJ Friedl, Jasson Dominguez, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jung-Hoo Lee, Michael Conforto
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.
