As we head into the new scoring week, fantasy baseball managers will be tasked with many tough decisions when heading into the new scoring week, especially if your league doesn’t allow for daily lineup moves. 

Will Boston get Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill back early this week like they are hoping? Will Frankie Montas and Merrill Kelly make their next scheduled starts? Is J.D. Martinez able to return by the end of the week? There were many key injuries since we last updated the injury report, including Francisco Alvarez, Cristian Javier, Anthony Rendon, and Triston Casas all heading to the injured list. 

As you get ready to set your fantasy baseball lineups for the week ahead, be sure to check out the latest MLB injury report below, as well as Howard Bender’s article on the top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Starting Pitchers

Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks - Arm

UPDATE 4/26: Kelly was placed on the injured list with the strain to his teres major muscle. I don't believe a timetable has been given, but I'd assume about a month.

The team reported that Kelly is dealing with a teres major injury in his throwing arm, and the team is still deciding the severity of the injury. He was scratched from his weekend start against the Giants with the issue, and more information should be made available early this week. Fantasy managers should prepare to be without the Arizona right-hander for this scoring period.

Cristian Javier, Houston Astros - Neck

This all happened pretty quickly on Sunday, in that it felt like within a matter of hours, Javier was scratched from his start and placed on the injured list with neck discomfort. The move was made retroactive to Thursday, meaning he shouldn’t be able to be reinstated from the injured list until Friday, May 3rd at the earliest.

Max Scherzer, Texas Rangers - Back

The Rangers are hoping to add Scherzer to its rotation early next month, but that timeline seems a bit aggressive, given the nature of his injury and his lack of spring training appearances. If he heads out on a rehab assignment in the middle of the week, which is what the club anticipates, one would figure he would need at least three outings. 

And if we assume he would pitch every fifth day, with his first outing being on Wednesday the 24th, two starts later (15 days) would be May 4th (3 rehab starts total), meaning his next start would be in the bigs five days later, which comes in around May 9th. I think it ends up being closer to mid-May than early May, but maybe I’m being a pessimist.

Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox - Oblique

Whitlock is eligible to come off the injured list on May 1st, and the optimism remains high that Whitlock won’t need to stay on the injured list beyond the minimum time requirement. His last start came on April 16th against the Cleveland Guardians, and the Boston right-hander has a 1.96 ERa and 1.15 WHIP through four starts this season.

Framber Valdez, Houston Astros - Elbow

UPDATE 4/26: Valdez will start on Sunday for the Astros.

There is still optimism that Valdez can return to the Astros without needing a rehab start, and his most recent bullpen session was reportedly around 30 pitches at 60-70% effort.

 

 

 

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians - Elbow

UPDATE 4/26: Williams will be shut down for a week after reporting some soreness in his elbow after his last rehab appearance. Not ideal to say the least.

Williams could soon head out on a rehab assignment, as there were no reported issues after he threw a couple of innings in a simulated game. The team will likely continue to take it slow with the talented right-hander, but he continues to progress in a positive direction.

Frankie Montas, Cincinnati Reds - Elbow

UPDATE 4/26: Montas was placed on the injured list due to the line drive that him on the elbow/forearm.

Montas left his latest start early after he was hit by a line drive on his pitching elbow. He should be considered day-to-day until more information is made available.

DL Hall, Milwaukee Brewers - Knee

Hall sprained his knee while fielding a bunt in his last start. He was able to finish the inning but has since been placed on the injured list. Hall’s next turn in the rotation would have been April 25th, so Milwaukee has a few days to decide who gets the ball that day against the Pirates.

Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers - Elbow

Buehler’s return to the Los Angeles rotation appears to be on the precipice, after he logged just under 70 pitches in his most recent rehab outing. If the team determines that he needs one more rehab appearance, that should happen early this week, and a potential return to the big-league club could come at the end of this week or beginning of next.

A.J. Puk, Miami Marlins - Shoulder

Those walks surely add up! After a dominant spring, Puk hasn’t been able to replicate that success during the regular season, and after serving up a 9.22 ERA across 13.2 IP, he heads to the injured list with shoulder fatigue. Across his four starts, he’s walked 17 batters, resulting in a 2.63 WHIP.

Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox - Lat

ADDED 4/26: The Red Sox continue to be ravaged by injuries, and Bello hits the injured list with tightness in his lat. Bello had been enjoying a nice start to the 2024 season, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.04 ERA and 1.05 WHIP through his first five starts.

Blake Snell, San Francisco Giants - Adductor

ADDED 4/26: Prior to his scheduled start Wednesday, the veteran southpaw was placed on the injured list with a left adductor strain. This certainly isn't ideal for the Giants, as Snell got a late start to the year, didn't pitch well when he was on the mound, and now hits the injured list.

Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks - Hamstring

ADDED 4/27: Gallen was removed from his start on Friday with hamstring tightness. It's never good when a pitcher is removed in the middle of an at-bat due to injury, but the hope is that the injury isn't overly serious.

Jesus Luzardo,  Miami Marlins - Elbow

ADDED 4/27: Luzardo was scratched from his start and placed on the IL with tightness in his left elbow. The injuries just continue to stack up for Miami starters. Does Miami recall Max Meyer? Fantasy managers sure hope so.

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Relief Pitchers

Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins - Oblique

Duran will head out for a rehab assignment beginning on Tuesday, and he’ll likely require a couple of appearances before his return to the big-league bullpen. One would figure that he’ll make an outing or two, and the team will likely want him to pitch back-to-back days before rejoining the team. They may not go that route, but we often see that with relievers returning from injury.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Hitters

Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets - Thumb

Alvarez injured his thumb while rounding the bases, and the medical diagnosis turned out to be a torn ligament that will cost him 6-8 weeks. This is a big blow to fantasy managers, as Alvarez was one of the premiere power hitters at the position, and thumb injuries tend to sap some power for a bit even upon a player’s return.

Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels - Hamstring

UPDATE 4/27: It's a high-grade partial tear of Rendon's left hamstring, and he will be out for an extended period of time.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before… Rendon is heading to the injured list. He came up lame while running to first base and will now head to the injured list. After playing 130+ games every season between 2016-2019, he’s played in 60 or fewer games each of the past three seasons.

J.D. Martinez, New York Mets - Back

There’s a lot of doom and gloom with the Mets right now, especially in the wake of the Francisco Alvarez injury, but they could have free agent acquisition J.D. Martinez back by week’s end. Those in weekly leagues should be able to deploy Martinez next scoring week.

DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees - Foot

UPDATE 4/26: LeMahieu was removed from action during his rehab assignment and is now considered on more of a “week-to-week” timeframe.

A small setback pushed back his rehab assignment a couple of days, but the expectation is that his rehab assignment will begin early this week, with Tuesday being the tentative date. LeMahieu has been sidelined with a fracture in his right foot since Mid-March.

Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox - Oblique/Rib

Casas has a rib/oblique issue and will head to the injured list. He even stated that he’s in a lot of pain, which could push his absence at or around one month.

Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox - Knee

Those in weekly leagues are in quite the conundrum. Boston doesn’t play Monday, and the team is “hopeful” to have Devers back on Tuesday, meaning fantasy managers will have to make a decision on Devers when setting their lineups for the week. Devers last appeared in a game on April 17th.

Tyler O'Neill, Boston Red Sox - Concussion

Much like Devers, the hope is that O’Neill can return to action on Tuesday, which is the first game of the week for the Red Sox. Reportedly, this could occur if his symptoms subside, which seems a bit dicey with a concussion. While Boston hopes that O’Neill can return on Tuesday, fantasy managers will be hoping for a definitive update before the scoring week kicks off on Monday.

Max Kepler, Minnesota Twins - Knee

Kepler should return to the Twins at some point this week, likely during the early part of it. Kepler hasn’t played since April 6, and he opened the year with just one hit in his first 20 ABs.

Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs - Ribs

ADDED 4/26: Bellinger was paced on the injured list with two fractured ribs that he sustained after trying to make a play on the ball at the fence.

J.P. Crawford, Seattle Mariners - Oblique

ADDED 4/26: It's a grade 1 oblique strain for Crawford, who hits the injured list. Expect Crawford to be out of action for a couple of weeks with this issue.

Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres - Groin

ADDED 4/26: Merrill was scratched from Thursday's game due to right groin tightness, and should be considered day-to-day until more information is made available. I'd expect the Padres to play it a bit conservative with him, in the hopes that he can avoid any kind of trip to the IL.

Zack Gelof, Oakland Athletics - Oblique

ADDED 4/26: Oblique injuries are running rampant in 2024, and Gelof is the latest to hit the injured list with an oblique injury. The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, but I'd expect a multi-week absence for the talented youngster.

Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves - Toe

ADDED 4/26: There seems to be a lot of optimism with Albies that his return could be coming very, very soon. He returned to taking BP earlier in the week, and some corresponding roster moves seem to point to the Braves having Albies back very soon, perhaps as early as today or this weekend at some point.

Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals - Knee

ADDED 4/26: Thomas tweaked his knee sliding into second base and was placed on the 10-day injured list. While everyone in the fantasy community was pounding the table for a James Wood promotion, that doesn't seem to be in the cards right now.