We are getting closer to the fantasy baseball playoffs or the end of the season if you play in a full year rotisserie league. While we have all struggled with fantasy baseball injuries all year long, they are the most devastating at this time of year as we have the championship in our sights. If you are looking for a player to fill in the blanks we have the fantasy baseball waiver wire column by Ray Kuhn here and the two-start or streaming pitcher article by Ivar Anderson here. Before you get ready to set your fantasy baseball lineups for the week, be sure to check out the MLB injury report and see where your players lie heading into the last full week of August. 

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB Injury Report August 22

George Springer, Blue Jays

The oft-injured stud has been out of the lineup since Friday after fouling a ball off his knee in Thursday’s game. However, the team has not put him on the injured list, and he did pinch hit on Sunday. The Jays are off on Monday and if Springer missed more than another day or two that would be very surprising. The team clearly takes it easy with him, but with a wild card berth in their sights, you’d think they would want Springer out there as soon as possible. 

Luke Voit, Nationals

The Nats slugger was a late scratch on both Friday and Saturday with some back tightness and wasn’t in the lineup on Sunday either and this has to be a bit of a concern. Washington is one of the worst teams in baseball so there is no reason to push anyone to play, and back injuries are notoriously easy to aggravate. However, Voit has also not been placed on the injured list as of now so you would think this would be more of a day-to-day thing than a long-term injury. He should return sometime in the middle of this week.

Braxton Garrett, Marlins

 – His win-loss record might not be good, but Garrett has had a very good season. However, that might be coming to a close as he was put on the injured list with an oblique strain. There has been no timetable for his return, and with only just over a month to go and the Marlins not challenging for a playoff spot, they may opt to shut him down for the year. 

Hunter Greene, Reds

He threw a bullpen session on Sunday and there have not been any reports of a setback as the strikeout artist is attempting to make his way back to the mound for the Reds before the season ends. He will be sent out on a rehab assignment but will likely only need a start or two before being ready to go back to the bigs. Greene has had an up and down season but his 127 strikeouts in 102.2 innings can’t be overlooked. Be ready to activate him in the next week to ten days. 

Shohei Ohtani, Angels

He didn’t have the best outing on Sunday and was removed after four innings and now we know it was because of a stomach virus. The good news is that it wasn’t any kind of serious injury, the bad news is for his intestinal tract! Hopefully he will be ready to go soon to be back at the plate at DH in the next day or two and he will surely be ready to make his next start in the coming weekend. 

Nathan Eovaldi, Red Sox

The Red Sox hurler will not make his start on Tuesday as he still has soreness in his neck and shoulder after being scratched from his start on Thursday. This news shouldn’t make or break your fantasy week as Eovaldi has been the definition of an average pitcher, but at this time of year you need every start. He definitely still could land on the injured list if he doesn’t make any progress in the next couple of days. 

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

The Dodgers hurler is going to throw a bullpen session on Monday and then will progress to a simulated game towards the end of the week. However, all reports are that he is not going to go on a rehab assignment before returning to the Dodgers so while there is no way that he returns this week, it appears that he could be back on the mound for the Dodgers at the very end of August or at worst the first week in September.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates

The Bucs keystone keeper has been on the injured list retroactive to August 13th, but it appears that he might miss the minimum amount of time and could/should be back on Tuesday which would be the minimum required stay. He went through some pre-game drills on Saturday so all signs point to him being ready so get your roster moves ready to get him back into your lineups when ready. 

Bryce Harper, Phillies

He has missed a great deal of time with the thumb injury, but Harper looks to go out on a rehab assignment this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday. The report is that he has nearly full mobility back in his thumb and he is looking to return for the Phillies on or around September 1st. This would be huge not only for Philadelphia but also for fantasy players. You just have to hope that the injury is as healed as they are saying and that he will be near his full potential upon his return.

Yasmani Grandal, White Sox

He was carted off the field on Saturday, but the White Sox have to feel like they got the best-case scenario when it came to news on their catcher. Tests came back showing no major injury and he is expected to return in the next couple of weeks. He did hyperextend his knee but right now it appears that he avoided major injury and should be back with the team in the beginning of September. 

 

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