Fantasy Baseball Injury Report - Week 25: Jacob deGrom & Max Scherzer
UPDATED 9/13 @ 8:41am ET
In this week’s MLB Injury Report, the Texas Rangers come away sizable winners, as they are expected to add Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer to the big-league rotation this week. Heading to the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays could be getting fantasy baseball bust Bo Bichette back in the fold in the later part of the week.
Meanwhile, the fantasy baseball injury report also includes bad news with the Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeffrey Springs landing on the IL. Yes, fantasy football is in full swing with all of the Week 1 action, and preparing for Week 2, but the fantasy baseball playoffs are here, and your league’s title could be in reach! Other notable names in the fantasy baseball injury report this week are Whit Merrifield, Luis Castillo, Teoscar Hernandez, and Brenton Doyle.
Fantasy Baseball Injury Report This Week
As you get ready to set your fantasy baseball lineups for the week ahead, be sure to check out the fantasy baseball injury report below. Later this week, Matt Selz and I will break down some more waiver wire pickups and weekend streamers on Caught Stealing, likely touching on the MLB injury report, so tune in there, too!
Continue reading for everything you need to know about the biggest injuries affecting the fantasy baseball landscape!
MLB Injury Report - Starting Pitchers
Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers - Elbow
deGrom is expected to make his season and team debut on Friday against the Mariners.
Max Scherzer, Texas Rangers - Shoulder
The expectation is that Scherzer will be activated from the IL and start on Saturday against Seattle.
Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners - Hamstring
UPDATED 9/13: Castillo was placed on the IL with a hamstring strain earlier in the week.
Castillo was removed early from his start on Sunday with a hamstring issue.
Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers - Shoulder
Stone was placed on the IL with inflammation in his right shoulder. He had a solid month of August, going 2- with a 4.13 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 34:7 K/BB ratio over 32.2 IP.
Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay Rays - Elbow
Springs worked his way back from Tommy John surgery, and was able to make seven starts for the Rays, but he was recently placed on the IL with what is being called “elbow fatigue.”
Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals - Knee
Lynn will be activated from the IL and start on Wednesday for the Cardinals. This will be his first start since July 30th, and in his lone rehab start, he allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out eight in 3.2 IP.
Reynaldo Lopez, Atlanta Braves - Shoulder
ADDED 9/13: Lopez was removed early from his most recent start, and was subsequently placed on the injured list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks - Hamstring
ADDED 9/13: Kelly was pulled from his last start due to a hamstring cramp. Since it's just a cramp, I wouldn't expect his next start to be in jeopardy.
Alex Cobb, Cleveland Guardians - Finger/Hand
ADDED 9/13: Cobb was placed on the IL with a blister on his pitching hand. He's made just three starts for the Guardians this year, posting a 2.76 ERA and 1.04 WHIP across 16.1 IP.
Want your fantasy baseball questions answered by the team here at FantasyAlarm? Sign up for an All-Pro subscription and chat with us in our Discord!
MLB Injury Report - Hitters
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers - Hernia
ADDED 9/13: Seager will the rest of the season with a sports hernia.
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros - Side
ADDED 9/13: Altuve has not played since exiting Wednesday's game early with discomfort on his right side.
Whit Merrifield, Atlanta Braves - Foot
Merrifield has a fracture in his foot, but the hope is that he won’t miss too much time, despite an initial report of it being a multi-week absence.
Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds - Elbow
UPDATED 9/13: India has returned to action.
India was removed from Sunday’s game with left elbow discomfort, and the below clip was his last swing before being removed from action.
Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays - Calf
UPDATED 9/13: Toronto believes they should get Bichette back at some point during next week's series against the Rangers.
Bichette is expected to head out on a rehab assignment early this week. The Toronto shortstop has been one of the more notable fantasy baseball busts this season.
Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies - Hand
UPDATED 9/13: The hope is that Bohm can return at some point over the weekend.
Bohm hit the IL a couple of days ago with a hand strain.
J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies - Knee
UPDATED 9/13: The Phillies are hoping to have Realmuto back in the lineup at some point over the weekend.
Realmuto banged up his knee on Friday, and was not in the lineup on Saturday and Sunday. He’s considered day-to-day at this juncture.
Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels - Oblique
Adell’s season is likely done, as he was placed on the IL with an oblique strain. He hit just .207 with an 89 wRC+, but he hit 20 home runs and stole 15 bases (10 CS) across 130 games in 2024.
Jeff McNeil, New York Mets - Wrist
McNeil will miss the remainder of the regular season with a wrist fracture. His regular season comes to an end with a .238/.308/.692 slash line, 12 home runs, and 44 RBI across 129 games.
Has your fantasy baseball season come to an end? Check out all of our MLB DFS content down the stretch of the MLB regular season!
Player News
Wyatt Langford (oblique) will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco on Thursday.
The 23-year-old budding superstar will serve as the designated hitter on Thursday night before easing his way back into the outfield. Langford wanted to skip the rehab assignment altogether, so as long as he shows that he’s ready to go, there’s a chance that the Rangers could bring him back at some point during their weekend series against the Dodgers.
Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on Thursday afternoon, propelling the Phillies to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Giants.
Schwarber got the Phillies on the board with a go-ahead two-run single off of Jordan Hicks and then scored on a wild pitch as part of a five-run opening inning. He also reached on an infield single in the fifth inning but was left stranded there. The 32-year-old slugger is off to a strong start to the 2025 campaign, slashing .284/.435/.597 with six homers, 14 RBI and a stolen base in his first 85 plate appearances.
José Alvarado notched his fourth save of the season on Thursday, protecting a two-run advantage in the ninth inning against the Giants.
The 29-year-old left-hander came on with a three-run lead to protect, but things got a bit closer as he served up a one-out solo homer to Tyler Fitzgerald. After getting Wilmer Flores on a ground ball to shortstop, Alvarado walked Jung Hoo Lee to bring the tying run to the plate before retiring Christian Koss on a fielder’s choice to end it. He appears to be locked in as the preferred ninth inning option for manager Rob Thomson and should continue to provide plenty of fantasy value for as long as he remains healthy and stationed there.
Cristopher Sanchez picked up his second victory of the season on Thursday, racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts over seven innings against the Giants.
The 28-year-old southpaw allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk. The Giants scratched out a run against him in the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Matt Chapman. Sanchez then served up a two-run homer to Chapman in the sixth after Heliot Ramos had reached on an error. He got a whopping 24 swings and misses on 97 pitches in the ballgame — 22 of those on his changeup alone — while posting an elite CSW of 40 percent. Now 2-0 on the season, Sanchez will carry a 2.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 31/6 K/BB ratio (24 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s showdown against the Mets in New York.
Matt Chapman went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI on Thursday, accounting for most of the Giants’ offense in a losing effort against the Phillies.
Chapman got the Giants on the board first with an RBI single off of Cristopher Sanchez in the opening inning. He then tagged him for a 372-foot (100.6 mph EV) two-run shot in the sixth inning that pulled the Giants to within two runs at 5-3. That would be as close as they would get. With his two-hit attack, the 31-year-old third baseman is now hitting .239/.386/.418 with three homers, 12 RBI and two stolen bases through his first 19 games.
Jordan Hicks wasn’t at his best in Thursday’s loss to the Phillies, giving up five runs on six hits over his seven innings of work.
The hard-throwing right-hander also issued four walks while striking out five opposing hitters in the ballgame. The Phillies jumped on him right out of the gate in this one, using five hits and a walk to push five runs across in the opening inning. Hicks settled in nicely afterwards, giving fantasy managers some ratio relief by working six scoreless innings afterwards to keep his team in the game. He got 13 swings and misses on 105 pitches on the day — eight of those on his sweeper — while registering a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll look to improve upon his 6.04 ERA and 1.39 WHIP when he takes the mound against the Brewers his next time out on Tuesday.