This week’s MLB injury report sees two of the biggest names in baseball on the list. Shohei Ohtani is nursing a hamstring contusion, and Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna is out for the rest of the 2024 season with a torn ACL. That’s a major blow to the Braves and fantasy managers alike, to say the least. 

Additionally, Kodai Senga and Jeffrey Springs are being shut down for the next few days for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively. On the other hand, guys like Lane Thomas and Sean Murphy should be activated from the injured list here in the coming days. 

As you prepare to set your fantasy baseball lineups for the week ahead, be sure to check out the latest MLB injuries below, along with Howard Bender’s article on the top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups. Later this week, Matt Selz and I will break down some more waiver wire pickups and weekend streamers on Caught Stealing, so tune in there, too!

Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s fantasy baseball injury report!

 

 

 

MLB Injury Report: Starting Pitchers

Bobby Miller, Los Angeles Dodgers - Elbow/Shoulder

Miller logged 55 pitches in his rehab start on Sunday. He allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts across three innings of work in that outing.

Cristian Javier, Houston Astros - Forearm

UPDATED 5/30: Javier, as well as Jose Urquidy, are both getting additional opinions regarding their ailments. Javier experienced a significant drop in his velocity in his last outing back on May 21, and he was placed on the IL earlier this week.

Kodai Senga, New York Mets - Shoulder

Senga was shut down for a few days after an MRI revealed nerve inflammation in/around his right triceps.

Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox - Elbow

Whitlock’s 2024 season is over, as he’ll likely go under the knife to repair his damaged UCL. He can be dropped in all redraft formats.

Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers - Groin

UPDATED 5/30: Eovaldi returned to the Texas rotation and logged 3 IP on May 28.

Eovaldi continues to work his way back from a groin strain, and the team is determining whether or not the veteran right-hander will require any sort of rehab assignment. His last start for Texas came on May 2.

Jose Urquidy, Houston Astros - Forearm

UPDATED 5/30: The team is still getting opinions on Urquidy's forearm. No substantial information has been made available.

Urquidy left his most recent rehab start with forearm tightness. In the video below, you’ll see him flexing and stretching his arm, clearly showing signs of discomfort. The team will likely have him undergo more testing to determine the severity and how it will impact his return to the big-league rotation.

Jon Gray, Texas Rangers - Groin

Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list with a mild right groin strain. The veteran righty had been excellent for Texas thus far, posting a 2.21 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 11 games (10 starts).

Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays - Lat/Elbow

Springs is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but he was removed from his most recent appearance (5/25) after just one batter. It sounds like the issue is with his lat area.

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians - Elbow

Williams should head out on a rehab assignment before the end of May. Seeing as he logged just 4.2 IP across two spring starts, expect a relatively lengthy rehab assignment for the young righty, as the team looks to secure confidence in the health of his elbow, as well as building up his workload.

Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays - Elbow

UPDATED 5/30: Manoah left his most recent start early with elbow soreness. The team will have him undergo additional testing to determine the severity of the issue.

Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres - Hamstring

UPDATED 5/30: Darvish's hamstring issue is apparently not “overly significant,” according to manager Mike Shildt. I guess that's somewhat positive? More information should be made available in the coming days.

MLB Injury Report: Relief Pitchers

Edwin Diaz, New York Mets - Shoulder

UPDATED 5/30: Diaz was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement. He's had a rough go of things to open the 2024 campaign, and maybe this shoulder issue has been nagging him a bit longer than we all may think.

Evan Phillips, Los Angeles Dodgers - Hamstring

UPDATED 5/30: Phillips is expected to be activated before week's end, with the likely date being on Friday, May 31. He last pitched for the Dodgers on May 3, and he's logged two scoreless appearances during his rehab assignment.

Justin Lawrence, Colorado Rockies - Shoulder

UPDATED 5/30: Lawrence was placed on the IL earlier this week due to a shoulder strain. The right-hander had posted a 5.91 ERA and 1.83 WHIP with two saves on the season across 20 appearances.

MLB Injury Report: Hitters

Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves - Knee

Acuna’s knee buckled and he collapsed right away. It didn’t take long until the news broke that Acuna suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. Acuna is out for the rest of the season.

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers, Hamstring

While it’s not expected to be serious, Ohtani’s hamstring contusion – or so it’s being called – will be something the team will have to manage moving forward.

Pete Alonso, New York Mets - Hand

UPDATED 5/30: Alonso took a fastball to his right hand on Wednesday, but there was no break or fracture. The team is calling it a bone bruise, and he is considered day-to-day at this juncture.

Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets - Thumb

UPDATED 5/30: Alvarez has begun a rehab assignment as he continues to work his way back from left thumb surgery.

Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins - Quad

Lewis began a rehab assignment, and he even stole a base in his first game action since injuring his quad (albeit to the team’s dismay). There’s a chance Lewis is back with the big-league club by week’s end, but there’s no activation timetable at this juncture.

 

 

 

Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves - Oblique

UPDATED 5/30: Riley returned to the lineup!

The team expects to have Riley in the lineup on Monday, so fantasy managers in weekly formats should feel a bit more comfortable in deploying the star third baseman.

Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves - Oblique

UPDATED 5/30: Murphy returned to the Atlanta lineup on May 27.

Murphy’s activation should be coming in the near future, as he’s logged four full games on his rehab assignment, and the numbers have been quite good, posting a .667 SLG across 18 ABs. If the team is confident in his health, an activation appears imminent.

Tyler O’Neill, Boston Red Sox - Knee

UPDATED 5/30: Further testing showed no structural damage, but the pain is still lingering, which is the predominant reason Boston placed him on the injured list.

O’Neill left in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game with what is being called right knee soreness. Consider him day-to-day at this juncture.

Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox - Hamstring

Jimenez is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with his hamstring strain.

DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees - Foot

UPDATED 5/30: LeMahieu has returned to the New York lineup and should be a stalwart in the lineup moving forward.

LeMahieu should return at some point in the team’s series against the Angeles in the early part of this week.

Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals - Knee

UPDATED 5/30: Thomas returned to the Nationals on May 27.

Thomas should be back in the big-league lineup on Monday, or at the very least, early on this week. Thomas’ knee sprain has kept him out of the lineup since April 23.

 

 

 

Michael Massey, Kansas City Royals - Back

It’s a sprain to a ligament in Massey’s lower back that will send him to the IL. This issue popped up in spring as well, leading to a delayed start to the 2024 season for the Kansas City infielder.

Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers - Hamstring

The talented rookie began a rehab assignment on Friday of last week. Given his struggles to begin the season, Texas should slow play his return, and let him establish health and some rhythm on this rehab assignment before bringing him back up. In other words, I don’t expect this to be just a couple of games and then Texas brings him back to the big-league club.

Evan Carter, Texas Rangers - Back

UPDATED 5/30: Carter was placed on the injured list earlier this week due to back soreness.

Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays - Hamstring

UPDATED 5/30: Caminero is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with a Grade 2 left quad strain. Just when we thought we might see him up with the Rays…

Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals - Side

UPDATED 5/30: Nootbaar has been rather banged up this year to say the least. He injured his side on a swing in Wednesday's contest, and we know how finicky side/oblique issues can be for hitters. There's a real chance Nootbaar hits the IL due to this. 

Jorge Polanco, Seattle Mariners - Hamstring

UPDATED 5/30: Rather than try to wait it out, the Mariners are going to place Polanco on the IL and let him get fully healthy. Well, that's the hope at least!