It is hard to believe but we are more than half-way done with Week 10 of the fantasy baseball season. Several injured players are heading on their way back which is good news. But of course we can’t go a few days without seeing some new or re-occurring injuries pop up here in this edition of the walking wounded.
Edwin Encarnacion (1B-TOR)
Fantasy GM’s held their collective breaths on Wednesday when Edwin Encarnacion was taken out of the game with back spasms. He was given another day off but the injury does not seem to be serious. He should be back in the lineup within a day or two, so fear not. Honestly, can you blame him for having back spasms after carrying the Blue Jays into first place over the past month?
Carlos Gonzalez (OF-COL)
I could go on a Jeff Mans-like rant about Carlos Gonzalez. This guy has all the talent in the world and is consistently regarded as a legitimate first round pick in any fantasy baseball league format. But let’s face the facts – he is a complete injury risk and an utter disappointment. He is now on the disabled list with a finger injury which could potentially require surgery. Even when he has been playing, his numbers have been pedestrian with a .265 batting average with only eight homeruns and 31 RBI. All I know is that I would never draft him unless he slipped to me in the third round.
Wil Myers (OF-TB)
We previously reported that Wil Myers was placed on the disabled list with a wrist injury. But now we have subsequently learned that he has a stress fracture and will be in a cast for over a month. This means we can expect Myers to be sidelined at least two months depending on whether he has any setbacks and is able to fully rehab. Myers had been disappointing fantasy GM’s anyway, but this essentially makes it a lost season for him and the GM’s who spent high draft picks or auction dollars on the 2013 American League Rookie of the Year.
Michael Pineda (SP-NYY)
The Yankees transferred Michael Pineda to the 60-day disabled list, but the reason for doing so was to open roster space for Wade LeBlanc. Pineda had suffered a setback during his rehab, so he is being shut down for another week or so. It is expected that he will be back at some point in July, so keep him stashed on your DL if you have available slots. Pineda had pitched well during his first few starts. Now we can only hope he is just as effective without pine tar when he returns.
Johan Santana (SP-BAL)
Talk about a feel good story, Johan Santana is currently on track to make his return to the big leagues in a few weeks. He will pitch in extended spring training games and then have some minor league starts before joining the Orioles in their proposed sic-man starting rotation. I am not saying that you should run out and add Santana off the waiver wire just yet. It is highly questionable how effective he will be and whether he can remain healthy. But the fact is that Santana was once one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball and he has proven he can come back from this shoulder injury before.
Michael A. Stein, Esq. is the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, the industry's premier dispute resolution service. You can contact him at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com or on Facebook and Twitter (@FantasyJudgment),
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.