At this point, we may not get a single day during this MLB season in which a big name isn’t caught up in some injury scare or another. On Tuesday it was Yordan Alvarez’s turn — we’ve got more on that plus plenty of other updates on Jacob deGrom, Corbin Burnes and others from around baseball in this morning’s injury report.
MLB injury report: Wednesday, April 19
Yordan Alvarez (ankle), Houston Astros — The entire city of Houston held its breath late in the Astros’ loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, as Alvarez limped out of the batter’s box after smacking an RBI single. He initially stayed in the game but was eventually removed for a pinch-runner, with Dusty Baker saying after the game that the team wanted Alvarez to get ice on his left ankle as quickly as possible. No word yet on a timetable for his return, but hopefully the slugger can avoid an IL stint and just miss a game or two.
Jacob deGrom (wrist), Texas Rangers — Speaking of fans in Texas holding their breath. deGrom was pulled after four no-hit innings against the Kansas City Royals on Monday with what was described as wrist soreness, and a day later it sounds like the oft-injured ace avoided anything too serious.
Of course, as any New York Mets fan will tell you, we’ve heard this before with deGrom — a slight injury, assurances that everything’s fine and then, out of nowhere, months or weeks on the IL. Fingers crossed that this time is different, as it seems Texas is planning on deGrom making his next start on schedule.
Corbin Burnes (chest), Milwaukee Brewers — Burnes also left his start early on Monday, calling for a trainer immediately after throwing a pitch in the sixth inning before leaving while holding his chest. He’s been diagnosed with a pectoral strain, but the ace doesn’t seem too worried:
The fact that he’s already set to resume throwing tomorrow is undoubtedly good news and points toward Burnes being able to make his next start with minimal delay.
Jeffrey Springs (elbow), Tampa Bay Rays — The news was not so good for Springs, whose diagnosis went from nerve inflammation to a flexor tendon strain to, finally, word that the lefty would need Tommy John surgery. It’s brutal blow for both the Rays and Springs, who was in the midst of a true breakout season. After another impressive start on Tuesday night, Taj Bradley is in the rotation to stay and is a must-add in all fantasy formats.
Joe Musgrove (toe/shoulder), San Diego Padres — Musgrove’s fits-and-starts rehab from both a fractured toe and then a tweak to his shoulder appears to finally have come to an end:
He should immediately resume being a very solid SP2 for your fantasy teams.
Will Smith (concussion), Los Angeles Dodgers — There was some thought that L.A.’s star catcher could return on Thursday, but it seems like that was a bit optimistic:
At this point it seems like Smith could be out until next week, although it all depends on how he respond to the protocol. Austin Barnes and Austin Wynns will handle catching duties while he’s out, which is a real blow to L.A.’s already surprisingly spotty offense.
Alex Wood (hamstring), San Francisco Giants — Wood has struggled to stay healthy at times during his career, and it seems like 2023 will be no exception: The lefty was pulled from his start against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday after coming up lame while attempting to field a bunt:
Per Susan Slusser, Wood is likely to land on the IL with what the team thinks is a hamstring strain. The lefty was looking awfully good to start the year, so this one will hurt an already banged-up Giants team. Jakob Junis is the most likely candidate to fill Wood’s spot in the rotation.
Josh Donaldson (hamstring)/Harrison Bader (oblique), New York Yankees — Some good news and bad news on the rehab front for New York. The good: Harrison Bader continues to test out well and will begin his Minor League stint at some point this week. The bad: Donaldson, expected to come off the IL on Wednesday, is still experiencing some tightness in his hamstring and will need to be evaluated before first pitch to see if he’ll need more time to recover.
Carlos Carrasco (elbow), New York Mets — As if New York’s rotation wasn’t thin enough already, now Carrasco has landed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation he started experiencing after his start against the A’s over the weekend. There’s no definitive timetable for the righty’s return yet, but elbows are obviously always scary — especially with Jose Quintana and Justin Verlander still yet to make their season debuts. Jose Butto, who started in place of Max Scherzer this weekend, could get called back up, or the team could opt for Joey Lucchesi from Triple-A.
Andres Munoz (shoulder)/Robbie Ray (forearm), Seattle Mariners — Munoz, who recently said that his shoulder is officially pain-free, threw off a mound for the first time on Tuesday and could be back in Seattle’s bullpen by the end of the month. Ray, meanwhile, said he’s feeling much better but won’t start throwing again until he undergoes another MRI this weekend.
Tim Anderson (knee)/Yoan Moncada (back), Chicago White Sox — Anderson has worked his way up to light jogging, which doesn’t sound like much, but any news is good news — the shortstop should still be on track for a return in early May. Moncada, meanwhile, is “feeling better” according to manager Pedro Grifol but the team might not activate him when he’s first eligible this weekend in order to ensure that he puts his back issues behind him.
Joey Gallo (intercostal), Minnesota Twins — Gallo is set to be activated off the IL for Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. The outfielder was hitting the cover off the ball when he went on the shelf, and he should be scooped up where available in 12-team leagues and deeper — it wasn’t too long ago that this man was an offensive force, and the banning of the shift will only help.
Michael Brantley (shoulder)/Chas McCormick (vision issues), Houston Astros —
McCormick was originally put on the shelf with what was described as vision issues he began experiencing over the weekend, but on Tuesday the Astros placed him on the injured list with lower back pain. Whatever the case may be, the team hopes he can return as soon as he’s eligible next week.
As for Brantley, he could start a rehab assignment at Triple-A in the coming days:
James Paxton (hamstring), Boston Red Sox — The Big Maple could be coming to Fenway Park very soon: Paxton is set to make a rehab appearance on Wednesday at Triple-A Worcester, after which he could be ready to return to the big-league club. The oft-injured lefty has looked good in the Minors, sitting at 95-96 with his fastball, and could be a sneaky add in deeper fantasy leagues — the stuff has never been Paxton’s issue.
Chris Taylor (side), Los Angeles Dodgers — After being pulled from Monday’s loss to the Mets, Taylor was out of the lineup on Tuesday, but the team doesn’t think his side soreness is anything that will cost him more than a game or two. It does open up even more opportunity for guys like Miguel Vargas and Miguel Rojas.
Joe Mantiply (shoulder), Arizona Diamondbacks — Mantiply came off the IL and made his season debut during Tuesday’s win over the St. Louis Cardinals, entering in the sixth inning and allowing one run with one strikeout in 1.1 innings of work. He coughed up a homer to Willson Contreras but generally looked as he did pre-injury. More significantly, Andrew Chafin got roughed up attempting to close the game out in the ninth — Arizona’s closer situation has been in flux all year, and Mantiply could be the one to benefit.
Dany Jimenez, Oakland Athletics — Jimenez was placed on the IL with a strained shoulder he suffered over the weekend against the Mets. This would ostensibly clear the way for Trevor May to be the A’s no-doubt closer, but we’ve seen how that worked out earlier this year — there’s nothing worth chasing in this bullpen right now.
Ranger Suarez (elbow), Philadelphia Phillies — Suarez faced live hitters for the first time in weeks on Tuesday, and look who made a cameo:
Suarez’s elbow is reportedly feeling just fine, meaning he’s on track to return at some point in early May and could be a recommended streaming option depending on the matchup.
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