If you have one or more of these injured hitters in fantasy baseball than you need to read this. Here is a breakdown of their injury reports along with what you should do in each player’s case.
Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays – Reports are saying that Longoria will be out 6-8 weeks with a partially torn hamstring. He was on a tear before suffering the crucial injury, which really hurts the Rays and also your fantasy team if you own him. Replacing a guy like Longoria will be impossible because he can hit for average and power while being one of the game’s top run producers. He’s definitely worth a roster spot and owners can only hope he can return to 100 percent in a couple months.
Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury, OFs, Boston Red Sox – The news isn’t good for Crawford’s throwing elbow which is scheduled for three-months of rehab, meaning he could miss more than half the season. The injury often times requires Tommy John surgery, but instead will be treated with a relatively new type of treatment performed by Dr. James Andrews, who is the arm doctor of choice in the Big Leagues. The treatment has been successful in helping players recover without requiring surgery in the past. Crawford injured his elbow during extended spring training while rehabbing his wrist that required surgery in January.
The Crawford injury comes after Ellsbury went down earlier this month with a partially dislocated shoulder and is expected to miss at least another month. Owners will want to stash Ellsbury without a doubt, but may want to consider dropping Crawford if they desperately need the roster space because of other injuries. It’s still not a sure thing that Crawford will come back full strength and there is the possibility that he could suffer a setback and miss the entire season.
Outfielders Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney will be expected to fill the void and both should be useful in fantasy leagues. Ross will be available only in shallow leagues while Sweeney in deeper leagues. The Red Sox also acquired Marlon Byrd but he hasn’t produced very much at all this season and won’t be fantasy relevant.
Kevin Youkilis, 3B, Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox third baseman has an irritated joint in his lower back which could turn out to be a nagging injury over the course of the season. Youkilis can come back as early as the second weekend of May, but it’s too early to tell if he will be healthy enough. The 33-year-old has gotten off to a slow start with a .219 batting average and only two home runs in April. Owners need to keep a close eye to this situation to see how it progresses in the next week.
Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals – It’s not clear as to when Berkman will return to the Cardinals’ lineup after injuring his calf earlier this season. He is eligible to come off the DL this Friday but may need some rehab which hasn’t been decided by the organization. It would be safe to assume that he will be back in action by the middle of next week at the latest. The switch-hitting slugger was off to a hot start and should be a great source of batting average and runs batted in when healthy. Calf injuries can be tricky and can nag a player all season.
Ryan Howard, 1B, and Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies – Both Howard and Utley were key contributors to the Phillies’ success the past few seasons, but are now on the shelf with injuries. Howard is recovering from a torn Achilles that he had surgery on during the offseason and there is no timetable for his return. The organization is hopeful he will be able to return at some point this season as long as there are no more setbacks to the wound itself. Howard had surgery performed on February 27th to clean an infection from the original operation area. Keep him stashed on your bench if you can afford to and wait to hear any additional updates on the situation.
There is also no set timetable for Ultey’s return from a knee injury that is still experiencing pain. Manager Charlie Manuel reportedly said that Chase Utley could play some first base upon his return in place of Howard, to limit the ‘wear and tear’ on the knee. For now, owners should stash Utley on their roster (hopefully in a DL spot) until further notice.
Chris Young, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks – Before suffering a shoulder injury, Young was hitting over .400 with five homeruns and 13 RBIs in 39 at-bats. He won’t be ready when eligible to return from the DL in early May and will likely require an extended period of time to recover. It’s a tough break for the D-backs and Young’s owners because of his potential to have an outstanding year. At age 28, the center fielder’s ‘breakout’ year could be in jeopardy of being another average season in terms of his potential.
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, and Michael Morse, Washington Nationals – Zimmerman was recently placed on the DL with a bum shoulder with the world’s top prospect, Bryce Harper being called up to fill the roster spot. The Nationals are optimistic that Zimmerman will be ready to return when eligible on May 6th. It’s a big loss for Washington but the good news is he will only be out for a short amount of time.
Morse hasn’t played yet this season and will be fully shutdown from baseball activities for at least another month. He was on track to return to the Majors in mid-April, but felt soreness in his throwing shoulder that has dramatically set him back. He has been examined by Dr. Andrews already and won’t likely see action in a Nationals’ jersey until June. Fantasy owners who need to clear roster space should drop Morse and look for another option to get production and Harper could be an easy fix temporarily if he’s available in your league.
Brett Gardner, OF, New York Yankees – Elbow soreness landed Gardner on the DL in mid-April and is on track to be activated by next week after playing a couple minor league rehab games. Gardner was hitting .321 when the injury happened and he should be a good spark for his fantasy owners with lots of stolen bases and runs scored.
Waiver Pickups for Injured Hitters
- Chris Davis, 1B/3B, Baltimore Orioles
- Jed Lowrie, SS/3B, Houston Astros
- Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Allen Craig, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
- Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies
- Vernon Wells, OF, Los Angels Angels
- Josh Reddick, OF, Oakland Athletics
- Chris Johnson, 3B, Houston Astros
