MLB Injury Report April 18: Mike Trout Avoids Injured List
Published: Apr 18, 2022
We enter a new week in fantasy baseball, and of course there are more trips to the injured list coming, and more injuries starting to mount. As always, there is some good news of players returning or injuries not as bad as we thought, so this column is not all doom and gloom. Keeping up with injuries is one of the most important aspects of winning the marathon that is a fantasy baseball championship, so let’s take a look at the infirmary heading into the new week!
He usually misses games for different kinds of injuries, but Mike Trout was hit on the hand Sunday, and while it looks like he avoided anything serious, he isn’t going to play on Monday. He had an x-ray, and they did come back negative, but I won’t be surprised if he misses more than just the one day here. Given his history, you have a very risky decision if you are in a league with weekly lineup moves of playing Trout or not this week. Everyone has to make their own decisions, but I bet it is mid-to-late week before we see him and if you have anything that resembles a decent player on your bench, I would probably play it safe and stay away from Trout this week.
He was off to an awful start, but things just got worse for Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu. The MRI confirmed the left forearm inflammation, and while there hasn’t been a timetable set for his return, a pitcher with a forearm problem is usually bad news. Expect an extended absence here, likely a month or more and if you have limited roster spots you might have to cut bait, but hopefully you don’t have that many injured players on your roster after ten days and you can stash him.
The Astros closer Thomas “Ryan” Pressly has hit the shelf with right knee inflammation. I don’t get the feeling that this is going to be a long-term issue. In fact, the team made the move retroactive to April 14th, so that is telling me that Houston is trying to make this stay on the injured list as short as possible. Héctor Neris is the next guy in line with closing experience, but don’t be shocked if there’s some committee work and Ryne Stanek gets the ball in the ninth if a lot of save chances come up in the next week.
In a good news move for the Houston Astros, masher Yordan Alvarez will be rejoining the team on Monday after being on the Covid-19 injured list for the past week. Even in leagues with weekly roster moves, you should feel solid about sliding Alvarez back into your starting lineups for the coming period.
He might not be anchoring your fantasy pitching staffs, but the injury to John Means definitely isn’t good. The team put their ace on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow sprain. This means it will be nearly July before he is eligible to return. However, manager Brandon Hyde was asked by the press if this was a season-ending injury and he said he didn’t know. That’s a huge red flag. Unless you have empty injured list spots, it could be time to cut bait with Means.
The Twins pitcher left the game Saturday after just over an inning and looks like he is headed to the injured list with a hamstring problem. Manager Rocco Baldelli initially said that the injury didn’t seem severe and wasn’t even sure that he would go on the injured list although that looks like what is going to happen. He isn’t going to help you win any league championships this year, but he is at least worth stashing if he is only going to miss two starts.
Ednel Javier Báez, the Detroit Tigers prized offseason acquisition, injured his thumb on Opening Day and hasn’t been able to get healthy. He has had x-rays that came back negative, but the Tigers have elected to put him on the 10-day injured list to give him more time. The move was made retroactive to April 13th, so as of today he could already have spent half of the time he is required to take off on the bench already. This shouldn’t be a long-term absence and Baez could easily be back when eligible on the 23rd.
Mitch Haniger, OF SEA – The Seattle Mariners slugging outfielder has been off to a slow start, but now he will be off the field after a positive test for Covid-19. Manager Scott Servais has just said that he is out indefinitely but it likely won’t be more than a couple of weeks unless Haniger has complications. I am not aware of his vaccination status, but we will give you updates as they come in until his return.
The Rays 22-year-old exciting starting pitcher Shane Baz, has been moved from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. Nothing has really changed about his status, but the team needed to free up a spot for Javy Guerra who the Rays just traded for. He still can return in early June and is definitely worth a stash if your roster allows it because he not only is a very good pitcher, but he also can rack up a lot of strikeouts.
Related Links:
- Previous MLB Injury Reports
- Howard Bender's Daily Fantasy Baseball Round Up
- Fantasy Baseball Weekly Waiver Wire Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report Week 1
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.