MLB Injury Update 2025 Ahead of Weekend Games: Cole Ragans, Corey Seager

Throughout the entire 2025 Major League Baseball season, I’ll have you covered here at Fantasy Alarm with the fantasy baseball injury report. Each Friday, we’ll do a look around the league for notable updates regarding MLB injuries, and how they impact your fantasy baseball teams.
The fantasy baseball injury update this week features some notable names, including Cole Ragans, Corey Seager, and Blake Snell. With fantasy baseball waivers right around the corner, be sure to read on to learn more about some notable MLB injuries.
MLB Injury Report Update Ahead of This Weekend's Games
The MLB injury report update ahead features quite a few prominent fantasy baseball relievers, including Emmanuel Clase and Edwin Diaz. Other notable names you’ll find in this week’s MLB injury update include Ragans, Snell, Seager, Grayson Rodriguez, Will Smith, and more. Also, continue reading for updates on rehab assignments for the likes of Brandon Woodruff, Lucas Giolito, and Royce Lewis.
As you prepare to finalize your fantasy baseball lineups for the upcoming week, don’t forget to take a look at James Grande’s best waiver wire pickups for the week!
MLB Week 5 Injury Report Update: Pitchers
Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals - Groin
Ragans’ diminished velocity on Thursday and recent struggles may be explained by this groin issue. Consider him questionable for his next start but keep an eye out for further updates.
Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers - Shoulder
Well, we seemed to have gone from “could be activated without a rehab stint” to “shut down from throwing and possibly having more imaging done.” This isn’t very optimistic to say the least, but hold Snell for now until more information is available.
Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles - Lat
It was determined that it’s a mild lat strain for the young Baltimore right-hander. The hope is that he can resume throwing in a few weeks but given that this popped up while he was working his way back from elbow inflammation, expect the team to be rather cautious with its ace.
Edwin Diaz, New York Mets - Hip
Just some cramping for Diaz. No significant concern here.
Christopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies - Forearm
Sanchez left his most recent start early with forearm soreness, but the Phillies have said that they don’t believe it’s anything serious. Of course, that could change with time and more testing, but for now, they may have dodged a bullet. His velo was down in his last start, however…
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins - Hamstring
Barring any last-minute setbacks, Lopez should be activated today (4/25) and toe the rubber versus the Angels.
Ryan Pressly, Chicago Cubs - Knee
The Cubs hope to have Ryan Pressly available for the beginning of this weekend series with the Phillies. Porter Hodge will handle late-inning duties while Pressly is unavailable.
Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers - Shoulder
Woodruff fired 61 pitches across five scoreless innings in most recent rehab start. It’s a possibility his next start is with the big league club. He’s worthy of a stash, if you haven’t held him the entire season already.
Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers - Shoulder
Rocker has struggled in some recent starts, and maybe this shoulder impingement is the culprit. He’ll go on the 10-day IL
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians - Shoulder
In just 10.1 IP this season, Clase has already nearly allowed twice as many earned runs (9) as he did across 74.1 IP last season (5 ER). He reported some right shoulder discomfort recently so expect the team to be a bit cautious with him. Take a look at his average pitch velocity below over the last few seasons:
Lucas Giolito, Boston Red Sox - Hamstring
Fantasy managers (and Red Sox fans) awaiting Giolito’s return should be looking more at an early-May return for Giolito. It sounds like his rehab start on 4/25 will be his last before being activated, and May 1 seems to be when he could step in the Boston rotation.
MLB Week 5 Injury Report Update: Hitters
Corey Seager, Texas Rangers - Hamstring
As you’ll read below, while Seager is on the IL, his absence isn’t expected to extend much past the minimum required stay, if at all.
Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers - Wrist
Smith is day-to-day with a sore wrist, but there doesn’t seem to be much concern overall regarding this. Those hoping for Dalton Rushing’s promotion will have to keep waiting.
Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs - Wrist
Suzuki was scratched on Wednesday with soreness in his right wrist, and fantasy managers will hope that after an off day on Thursday, Suzuki will be ready to go for the team’s weekend series with the Phillies.
Royce Lewis, MInnesota Twins - Hamstring
Lewis will begin a rehab assignment on Friday, and for what it's worth, he’ll be swinging a torpedo bat. Is that relevant to his hamstring? Probably no, but the Twins could desperately use an impact bat in its lineup.
Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals - Rib
Needing to have a rib popped back into place sounds incredibly painful, but Donovan doesn’t expect to miss much time because of it. The expectation is that he’ll avoid the IL and play at some point this weekend it seems.
Want more ways to win on the diamond? Check out our daily MLB picks, DFS tools, and betting insights.
We’re breaking down every matchup all season long – join the FA Discord and subscribe on YouTube for more.
Player News
Jorge Soler left Wednesday’s game against the Mets with an apparent injury.
Soler has been dealing with some nagging issues as of late, and it appears that has something to do with the early exit for the 33-year-old. Chris Taylor has moved to right field from third base, and Kevin Newman has taken over at third. Specifics on why Soler left Wednesday’s game should be available shortly.
Andrew Vaughn is not in the lineup for Wednesday’s finale against the Mariners.
Vaughn will rest for the first time since the break. Tyler Black will get the start at first base for the finale against Seattle versus Luis Castillo.
Brenton Doyle is not in the lineup for Wednesday’s tilt against the Cardinals.
Doyle will get another day off Wednesday, as he’s not been in the starting lineup in three of the seven games since the All-Star break. Mickey Moniak will get the start in center field in Doyle’s absence.
Jose Altuve is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s bout against the Diamondbacks.
It’ll be the first time Altuve doesn’t start for the Astros since June 10. The 35-year-old gets a breather with Cooper Hummel in left field as Houston looks to complete a three-game sweep.
Michel McGreevy will start Sunday’s game against the Padres.
McGreevy will get the nod after the Cardinals designated Erick Fedde for assignment Wednesday. In his spot start Monday against the Rockies he worked seven innings while allowing just two runs, and that earns him another turn in the rotation. McGreevy does not have great swing-and-miss potential, so there’s risk in his fantasy profile, but his ability to limit weak contact and throw strikes makes him someone who is worthy of consideration against a considerable amount of lineups.
Twins released C Diego Cartaya.
Cartaya was at one point one of the top prospects in the sport, but he has seen his stock (obviously) fall precipitously. Prior to his release, Cartaya was 5-fot-69 (.085) with a .353 OPS. He’s still only 23, so someone might give him a shot as a reclamation project.