Hurt file, March 27 - April 1

NOTE: This column focuses on injury analysis, so we don't cover the progress of every injured player. We try to highlight the key fantasy contributors, unusual injuries, or situations where the official projected return is variable or not given. Players whose progress is proceeding as expected are very well covered by fantasy news sources; we'll tend to leave those players alone unless we have something we want to add to the news coverage. This column is updated on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays.

Credit for the Worry-O-Meter goes to Dr. Jim Ferretti (Twitter: @TFSDoc):

     1 – “No problemo”
     2 – “I’ll be back”
     3 – “I (might) be back”
     4 – “I (probably won’t) be back”
     5 – “Hasta la vista, baby”

 

April 1, 2024

Kenley Jansen (RHP, BOS) – Back tightness (3/30/24)
It may just be a bit of tightness from overuse, but it could also be a muscle strain. There’s no telling without an exam and/or seeing how he responds to rest. He didn’t pitch Sunday, but there was no save situation. We’re projecting a quick return, but this bears watching.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent
Est. Return: 3-7 days (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 2

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Sean Murphy (C, ATL) – L oblique strain (3/30/24)
It’s not the end of the world, but he’s going to miss some time, and more than the minimum. There’s also some risk of recurrence when he first returns.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Late April/early May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Justin Steele (LHP, CHC) – L hamstring strain (3/29/24)
It looked pretty bad, but it’s a Grade 1 strain, which is good news. The expected return time is 3-4 weeks, but the team saying early May. So that’s what we’ll say, too.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Early May (probably very early)
Worry-O-Meter: 2

DJ LeMahieu (3B, NYY) – R foot fracture (3/17/24)
After a couple of weeks of wondering why his foot wasn’t improving, he had an MRI, which revealed a non-displaced fracture. It appears to be a minor fracture, but it will still likely cost him 4-6 weeks. There’s a chance it goes longer, but that’s a low risk.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk
Est. Return: Late April/early May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Royce Lewis (3B, MIN) – R quad strain (3/28/24)
They haven’t said officially that it’s a Grade 2 strain, but it is. A typical recovery is 6-12 weeks, as there’s a wide range of tears that fit with a Grade 2 strain. He’ll be out at least a month, at which point they’ll see how he’s doing. That’s obviously not good.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent; Risk of extended absence; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Mid-/late May, most likely
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Emmet Sheehan (RHP, LA) – R forearm injury (3/14/24)
This one caught us by surprise. He was shelved in mid-May with shoulder soreness, then developed forearm inflammation. While it didn’t sound serious, he’s now on the 60-day IL, which suggests it’s something quite serious. At this point, we figure there’s close to a 50% chance of surgery being needed, as his injury is clearly more than just inflammation.
2024 Impact: Just tell us what’s wrong, please
Est. Return: June/July at the earliest
Worry-O-Meter: 4

Eloy Jiménez (DH, CHW) – Groin strain (3/31/24)
“Adductor tightness” is a fancy way of saying he has a groin strain. It may not require an IL move, but they probably won’t know for a couple of days. We’ll start low and add time if additional clarification indicates something more serious.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent
Est. Return: 3-7 days (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 2

 

March 30, 2024

Gavin Williams (RHP, CLE) – R elbow inflammation (3/8/24)
He should be mostly over the inflammation, but he needs more time to get ready. Barring a setback his IL stay should be a short one.
2024 Impact: Likely minimal
Est. Return: Mid-April
Worry-O-Meter: 2

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Nick Senzel (3B/OF, WAS) – R thumb fracture (Opening Day)
This guy just can’t catch a break. Well, actually he just got a break, but you know what we mean. This will keep him on the shelf for most of April, and there could be an affect on his power for a few weeks thereafter.
2024 Impact: Potential for reduced production when he first returns
Est. Return: Late April/early May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Justin Steele (LHP, CHC) – L hamstring strain (Opening Day)
He’ll have an MRI Friday, so we may know more by the time you read this, but a Grade 1 strain (our best estimate) is 3-4 weeks, with a chance of recurrence.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence; Unknown extent
Est. Return: Late April/early May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Wade Miley (LHP, MIL) – L shoulder impingement (3/1/24-ish)
He’s also someone who is mostly over the injury and is working his way back. He could be back soon.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk
Est. Return: Mid-April
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Royce Lewis (3B, MIN) – R quad strain (Opening Day)
This looks and sounds like a mild strain; he had an MRI during the game, so we’ll hopefully have that confirmed soon. With a mild strain, he could be okay in 10-14 days, but we’d bet that they play it safe and put him on the IL for a few weeks.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Mid-/late April
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Matt McLain (2B/SS, CIN) – L shoulder injury (March 2024) UPDATE
Well, the mystery has been solved. He had surgery for a torn labrum and cartilage damage in his left shoulder. They don’t have a timetable yet for his recovery, but we can’t envision him returning much before August. We don’t anticipate any long-term impacts, but this could easily cost him the entirety of 2024.
2024 Impact: Long recovery; Unknown return time
Est. Return: August, at the earliest (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 4.25

Dylan Carlson (OF, STL) – L shoulder sprain (3/27/24)
The acromioclavicular (AC) joint is where the collarbone attaches to the scapula. It’s not unusual to see a sprain as the result of a fall or collision. He just had a cortisone injections, which suggests he had more than minimal pain and/or swelling. A return of 3-4 weeks is the median, but he could be out as much as six. There shouldn’t be any lingering concerns.
2024 Impact: Likely minimal
Est. Return: Late April/Early May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

 

March 27, 2024

TJ Friedl (OF, CIN) – R wrist fracture (3/16/24) UPDATE
More like confirmation than an update. We estimated mid to late May, and that’s the same projection the Reds recently came out with.
2024 Impact: Possibility of reduced output
Est. Return: Early/mid-May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

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Nolan Jones (OF, COL) – R knee bruise (3/23/24)
He fouled a ball off his knee and couldn’t put any weight on it. However, it’s a minor contusion, and he should be ready to go by Opening Day. He may be a touch limited, speed-wise, the first week or so.
2024 Impact: Minimal
Est. Return: Opening Day
Worry-O-Meter: 1

Miguel Andujar (OF, OAK) – R knee surgery (3/27/24)
He tore his meniscus, but from the team’s return projection (4-6 weeks), it sounds like the surgery will be a debridement (cleaning up frayed tissue) and not a repair. The latter would likely cost him the season. Hey, someone reading this will care.
2024 Impact: Potential for longer recovery than projected
Est. Return: Early/mid-May
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Michael Massey (2B, KC) – Lower back strain (3/19/24)
This is bad enough for a likely IL stint. Lower back issues often recur and can affect hitting even when the player is healthy enough to play. His IL stint shouldn’t be long but bump up his risk level.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Mid-/late April
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Corey Seager (SS, TEX) – Sports hernia (January 2024) UPDATE
He could be back by Opening Day. Aside from possible rust, the risk is pretty low. He may get some extra rest early on, but otherwise there’s not much to worry about.
2024 Impact: Uncertain return time; Possibility of reduced PT early on
Est. Return: Early April, possibly Opening Day
Worry-O-Meter: 1.5

Jordan Romano (RHP, TOR) – R elbow inflammation (3/18/24)
The team is trying to ease him back in with the hope that he’ll be ready to go by Opening Day. We’re not so optimistic—inflammation of any kind around the elbow is a major concern, even though the MRI showed nothing. He may rest for a bit and feel fine, but this is something to keep a close eye on.
2024 Impact: High risk; Risk of undiagnosed injury
Est. Return: Mid-April (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 2.5

John Means (LHP, BAL) – L elbow, recovery from TJS (2023)
Kyle Bradish (RHP, BAL) – R elbow, UCL tear (January 2024?)
Similar issues, though very different resolutions and recoveries. Bottom line, though, they both experienced soreness in the spring and have been resting/recovering since. The team recently said both should be able to return “early in the first half,” which is good news for Means and a huge relief for Bradish. Both remain high risk for the next year or so, with Bradish especially risky.
2024 Impact: High risk; Inexact return date
Est. Return: May 1, maybe?
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Eduardo Rodriguez (LHP, ARI) – L lat strain (3/19/24) UPDATE
We hate to say we told you so (actually, no, we quite enjoy it, aside from the resultant injury misery), but what we said was a lat strain is indeed a lat strain. He’ll start the season on the IL, and maybe take a week or two longer than we originally projected.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence.
Est. Return: Mid-/late April
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Eury Pérez (RHP, MIA) – R elbow inflammation (3/16/24) UPDATE
The MRI was negative for damaged tissues, which is better than showing damage, but still not entirely comforting. Occam’s Razor and all, we expect this is just overuse as he got more intense with his pitches, but there’s obvious risk here of something undiagnosed.
2024 Impact: High risk; Risk of undiagnosed injury
Est. Return: Mid-/late April (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Bryan Woo (RHP, MIA) – R elbow inflammation (3/25/24)
Everything we just said about Eury applies here, except he’s 9 days later.
2024 Impact: High risk; Risk of undiagnosed injury
Est. Return: Late April (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Paul Sewald (RHP, ARI) – L oblique strain (3/25/24)
It’s a Grade 2 strain. As Dr. Jim Ferretti explained at First Pitch Florida, a Grade 2 strain can be anywhere from a bit worse than Grade 1 to attached by a few muscle fibers. For pitchers, a Grade 2 oblique strain can mean a 2-3 month recovery time, or worse (and possibly a bit shorter, but not much). He’s gonna miss some time.
2024 Impact: Unknown severity
Est. Return: June-ish?
Worry-O-Meter: 3.5

Garrett Mitchell (OF, MIL) – L hand fracture (3/25/24)
We don’t have a definitive timeline, but this is likely to keep him out a while. He may also have some issues with power for a while after he returns.
2024 Impact: Potential for reduced production after he returns
Est. Return: May (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 3

 

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