MLB Opening Day is this week! Yes, I know we had the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the Seoul Series, but all Major League Baseball teams are slated to play later this week, and we couldn’t be more excited! 

From MLB DFS contests and getting back in the groove of setting your seasonal lineups, baseball is back, ladies and gentlemen! There was plenty of MLB injury news in Spring Training, and we are going to keep an eye on all the relevant fantasy baseball injuries each week here at Fantasy Alarm! 

 

 

 

Fantasy baseball managers had to hold their breath with Nolan Jones last week, but there doesn’t seem to be much concern about him missing Opening Day. On the other hand, the same can’t be said for Sonny Gray, Taijuan Walker, and Justin Verlander, all of whom will open the year on the injured list. 

While figuring out who to start in your fantasy baseball lineups for this week, here are the latest MLB injury report updates to know.

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Starting Pitchers

Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs

Added 3/29: Steele was sharp through the first few innings on Opening Day, including six strikeouts in just 4.1 innings of work. However, he appears to have hurt his hamstring a bit after a sac bunt attempt from the Rangers. He left the game, and we will await further news.

Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

Update 3/29: There's a potential schedule that has Cole resuming throwing sometime in the latter parts of next week!

No real substantial updates on Cole recently. No structural damage to his UCL is good news, and a return to the Yankee rotation in June still seems likely, so long as there are no setbacks. 

Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies

A shoulder impingement will send Walker to the injured list to begin the 2024 season. Upon his return, he’ll need to get his stamina built up, as he logged just 4.2 IP in spring prior to the injury. 

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays

Update 3/29: Not only did Gausman come out of his March 25th start feeling good, but he carved up the Pirates. He fired 52 pitches across 3 IP, resulting in seven strikeouts and a 31 percent whiff rate overall. There's no update at this time on when he'll make his regular season debut, but it seems very, very close.

March 25. That’s the date to know here. As it was reported Gausman was dealing with shoulder fatigue, the veteran right-hander will toe the rubber next on March 25th. If he comes out of that outing unscathed, there’s a chance he starts for the Blue Jays during the opening week, likely with a pitch count.

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs

Back tightness has altered the plans for Taillon and likely keeps him out of the team’s rotation until mid-April at the earliest. His last bullpen was described as a light “touch and feel” session, which ultimately means low effort, and solely to move. The veteran right-hander had not yet made an appearance in a spring training game, and his back has been a problem on more than one occasion this spring.

Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals

Update 3/29: Assuming Gray comes out of his last rehab start in Triple-A unscathed, the tentative plan is to have him making his debut at home against the Philadelphia Phillies at some point during the three-game series beginning on April 8.

Gray will begin the year on the injured list but was able to throw just under 40 pitches on March 23rd, and most importantly of all, there were no reported issues from that outing. The Cardinals and fantasy baseball managers alike are hoping to have Gray on the mound in mid-April, if all goes well.

 

 

 

Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks

Rodriguez will begin the year on the IL, though in recent days, he said that he’s “95% close to normal” and is considered day-to-day.

Arizona has no real incentive to push Rodriguez, and it would behoove them to slow play his return. Manager Torey Lovullo said that Rodriguez won’t throw until he’s asymptomatic, but if Rodriguez is close to normal, the beginning of a throwing program may not be too far away.

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

Updated 3/29: Verlander fired 30+ pitches in a live batting practice on Tuesday and there were no reported setbacks.

It will be a bit until the Astros get Verlander in its rotation, but if he makes it through a live BP session early this week, he could begin a minor league rehab assignment to start building up to a starter’s workload.

Jose Urquidy, Houston Astros

Urquidy has a forearm strain and back on March 19th, the plan was to shut him down from throwing for 10-15 days, which puts us at later this week or early next. There’s no structural damage to the UCL, so hopefully a multi-week break will allow his injured arm to heal. Forearm injuries can be a bit tricky, so it’s imperative Houston doesn’t try to rush him back.

Kodai Senga, New York Mets

Update 3/29: Senga threw a flat ground session on Wednesday, which marked the second day of a throwing program for the right-hander. However, the Mets will take it slow with the ace of their rotation, so I think we are still looking at mid-May as the best case scenario in terms of Senga's return.

Senga remains “on path” to begin a throwing program at some point this week! This is potentially massive news as fantasy baseball managers are hoping that Senga can progress through his rehab without experiencing any setbacks with his posterior capsule strain.

This update comes after the team states that the results of a recent MRI on Senga’s shoulder to be “very, very encouraging.”

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays

It’s just been one thing after another for Baz unfortunately. However, the oblique issue he suffered in the weight room earlier in March doesn’t appear to be of major concern to anyone in the Tampa Bay building. Given his lengthy injury history and lack of substantial work this spring, the Rays would be wise to take things slow with the young right-hander. Late April or Early May could be a potential regular season debut for Baz.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles

Slowly but surely, Bradish is working his way back and the team is confident on a return “early in the first half of the season,” per GM Mike Elias.

Barring any setbacks, fantasy baseball managers may get to enjoy the value they got on Bradish in drafts when he started to slide due to the UCL sprain.

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

Perez played catch yesterday, and again, there was no structural damage in his elbow upon testing. There has been no information regarding a potential return for Perez, so fantasy baseball managers will have to wait for Perez as he deals with mild inflammation in his right elbow.

Braxton Garrett & Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins

The Miami starting rotation has been ravaged by injuries this spring, but Garrett and Cabrera are both scheduled to throw again this week on the 26th. Barring any setbacks, sounds like Garrett’s next appearance would come on the 28th.

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians 

Williams has resumed throwing, and the hope is that he may not have to miss more than a couple of starts in the beginning of the season. The elbow discomfort came at a rather inopportune time, as Williams was excellent through his first two starts in spring, posting a 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 9:1 K/BB ratio.

Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners

Added 3/29: This one hurt fantasy managers and the Seattle Mariners alike. Elbow inflammation will send Woo to the injured list, but fortunately, MRI results came back clean on his right elbow! The plan was to shut him down from throwing for seven days, so if that timetable holds true, he could potentially resume throwing as early as the beginning of next week. The team doesn't seem to be overly concerned, but he did endure a massive workload jump between the 20222 and 2023 seasons. Something to monitor…

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Relief Pitchers

Jordan Romano, Toronto Blue Jays

While an MRI showed no structural damage, Romano’s elbow has been a bit of a problem here in spring. The plan was for him to resume throwing on Saturday the 23rd, but there hasn’t been much reported on that. The hope is that he doesn’t miss much in the season’s opening month, but there are more questions than answers at this juncture.

Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins

Duran will begin the season on the injured list with his oblique strain. When reading between the lines in the below video, it sounds like the plan for Duran is to hold him back until he’s no longer experiencing any issues with his oblique, and then start to ramp him back up for ninth inning work.

Paul Sewald, Arizona Diamondbacks

Added 3/29: What is it with fantasy closers and obliques!? The team has stated it is a Grade 2 oblique strain for Sewald, and the team's manager Torey Loullo already said Sewald is looking at an absence of “weeks, not days.” Kevin Ginkel should get the first crack at saves in Arizona while Sewald is out, with Scott McGough potentially also being in the mix.

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Hitters

Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins

Added 3/29: Lewis homered earlier in the game, but in the third inning, he exited the game with what the team is calling a right quad injury. Reports are he's already had an MRI, but an update likely won't be coming until later today or tomorrow at the earliest. Fantasy manager should likely prepare to be without Lewis at least for the rest of this scoring week, and potentially longer.

Matt McLain, Cincinnati Reds

Update 3/29: Well, we got an update, that somehow still left us wanting more information. In a post by the Reds, they effectively stated that McLain had surgery on his left shoulder, and an exact timeline is still TBD. I'm not a doctor, but I think we are looking more at McLain being out for months compared to weeks.

There are more questions than answers with McLain right now, and there has been no information from the second opinion he was going to get on his shoulder. This isn’t an ideal situation for fantasy baseball managers who drafted McLain in the earlier rounds to provide some power and speed from the middle infield spots.

DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees

Added 3/29: Retroactive to March 29th, LeMahieu was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a bruised right foot. Another MRI is scheduled for Friday for the veteran infielder.

Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees

Update 3/29: Rizzo was in the lineup on Opening Day, so we should be in the clear here!

Despite continuing to miss spring training games, Rizzo is adamant that he’ll be out there for the Bronx Bombers on Opening Day. After the concussion and related symptoms/issues last season, Rizzo was hitting .412 with a 1.188 OPS through 34 spring training ABs prior to the injury. He could be in line for a nice bounce back 2024 campaign, though oblique issues can be quite finicky and persistent.

Nolan Jones, Colorado Rockies

Fantasy managers and the Rockies seemed to have survived quite a scare with Jones. Despite not being able to put any weight on his leg when leaving the field and Jones saying that his foot went numb, he may have come away with just a nasty bruise. Opening Day is still on the table, and long-term risk should be considered very, very low.

Corey Seager & Josh Jung, Texas Rangers

Despite Seager and Jung missing time in spring due to a sports hernia surgery and calf strain respectively, they both made their first appearances in Texas’ last Cactus League game. Despite the limited ABs, optimism should be relatively high that the Rangers will have their left side of the infield ready to go for Opening Day. Seager and Jung may have to shake off some rust and get into game shape, so don’t be surprised if the two have a bit of a slow start to the season.

Nathaniel Lowe, Texas Rangers

Unlike Seager and Jung, optimism isn’t as high for Lowe, who seems likely to begin the year on the injured list with an oblique strain. His timetable to return is a mystery at the moment, so if I had to guess, I’m not sure we will see the Texas first baseman until early-to-mid April.

Nick Senzel, Washington Nationals

Added 3/29: Senzel was one of my favorite late-round value guys this year, but injuries have always seemed to get in the way for the talented player. Prior to the team's season opener, Senzel fractured his right thumb in pregame warmups. Thumb injuries can sap a hitter's power upon their return, so this will significantly impact Senzel's 2024 campaign. Senzel was hitting just .231 through 15 spring games.

Dylan Carlson, St. Louis Cardinals

Added 3/29: An AC join sprain in his left shoulder will send Carlson to the injured list to begin the 2024 campaign. The injury occurred when colliding with Jordan Walker in Monday's contest. He will miss several weeks with this injury, paving the way for Victor Scott to cement himself at the big league level.

Garrett Mitchell, Milwaukee Brewers

Added 3/29: The toolsy outfielder has a loose timetable of 6-8 weeks with his fractured left index finger. The injury comes at a rough time, as Mitchell was having a great spring, posting a .319/.385/.426 slash line across 14 games.