MASH Report (11/12/15)

Lance Lynn will miss all of the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery.

General manager John Mozeliak, who detailed the team’s list of injuries and player surgeries two days after the Cards were eliminated from the postseason, did not disclose any concerns about Lynn’s health at that time. As it turns out, Lynn alerted the club to elbow discomfort more recently, saying he had pitched with it through much of the season.

The Cardinals sent him to Dr. David Altcheck, who confirmed the ligament tear. George Paletta, the Cards’ former medical director, then performed the surgery.

It is tough to determine when the injury happened, but he may have started the season with it. His injury indicators are all over the place. He started the season with a 1.5 mph drop in velocity, but also his best Zone% of the season.

Well, the 2016 season is already over for him and hopefully he will 100% ready for the 2017 season.

Michael Brantley will likely not be ready to play until late April at the earliest because of shoulder surgery.

The Indians were optimistic that Michael Brantley would avoid an operation this offseason. During his sit-down with reporters at the end of last season, the outfielder also expressed confidence in his ability to rehab his ailing right shoulder in order to circumvent surgery.

Reality caught up to Cleveland on Monday morning, when Brantley underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his non-throwing shoulder that will cost him 5-6 months of recovery time. The hope was to sidestep this day, but now the Indians need to adjust their offseason plans accordingly and be ready for the possibility that their star left fielder might not be available until late April or early May.

Eno Sarris looked into Brantley’s injury and his recovery chances right after the news went public

• There is a good chance Albert Pujols will not be ready for opening day after having foot surgery.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols recently underwent surgery to alleviate pain near the arch of his right foot and may not be ready by Opening Day.

The procedure took place last week, and Angels general manager Billy Eppler said in a statement Monday that Pujols “is expected to resume full baseball activities in four-and-a-half months.” That would have Pujols back around mid to late March, with no more than two weeks to get ready for the April 4 opener against the Cubs.

A source close to Pujols, however, believes it’s realistic that he can be back by early March and is indeed ready by Opening Day.

I want nothing to do with Pujols unless he is bench option. I would not want to count on him with his injury history and I want production from my 1B and CI spots.

Michael Cuddyer had core muscle surgery and no details of a return time has been released yet.

• Scott Boras has declared Desmond Jennings 100% ready go in 2016.

Agent Scott Boras said Wednesday that Jennings is healthy and ready for the oppor-tunity at what will be a critical juncture in his career.

“He’s fine,” Boras said during a one-hour-plus media session at the GM meetings. “The doctors have cleared him, and he should be ready to go and be set for the whole season.”

Jennings, projected to make around $3.5 million via arbitration despite his abbreviated season, was set to return late last season from the latest knee issue but needed oral surgery due to a severe tooth infection.

Here is the order I in the information about a player’s heath:

1. Team
2. Player
.
.
.
.
100. Weekly World News
.
.
.
999. The player’s agent

• In more Boras-fueled medical details, it seems Stephen Strasburg had a growth removed from his back.

Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg had a small non-cancerous growth removed from his back about a month ago in a minor medical procedure, according to his agent Scott Boras. The growth, which Boras described as mostly muscular, bothered the pitcher throughout the season and may have been the cause of the recurring neck and back issues that undermined part of his season.

“It was bothering him when he pitched,” Boras said, in an unprompted admission, on Wednesday at the General Managers Meeting at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. “He’s fine now.”

This report makes it sound like Strasburg’s 2015 injury issues were related to this growth. The team responded.

Later on Wednesday, a Nationals official clarified that Strasburg had a lesion removed from his right upper back and he is on a normal offseason schedule.

In my opinion, Boras is putting excuses in place for Strasburg’s 2015 struggles now for a huge 2016 free agent pay day.

Mike Stanton has yet to swing a bat, but should by December 1st.

“It was unfortunate because we were hopeful it was going to be on the low end of the window, but we knew there was a possibility it could take longer, and it did take longer,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said at the General Managers Meetings on Tuesday. “But he should be fine reporting for Spring Training.”

Stanton is currently training, lifting weights and running. He’s expected to start swinging the bat around Dec. 1.

I see him being one of the first round talents with a huge variation on his perceived value.

Matt Harvey’s heavy usage after coming back from Tommy John Surgery has been done before. Tom Tango noted he was on the same usage pattern as John Lackey when he returned.

Dylan Bundy got his last start scratched and is done pitching in the AFL.

Travis Shaw and Yoan Moncada both won’t play winter ball because of injuries. The key point I found from this report was Shaw was playing winter ball to hone his 3B skills. I am not sure how much he would play there with Sandoval in Boston, but it is a development worth tracking.

Casey Sadler will miss all of the 2016 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Brandon Belt is still dealing with damage-to-the-brain symptoms.

 

Players on the DL in 2015

The Red players have had updates since the last report. Click on the “Date” for a link to go to the latest article on the player.





Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

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Ryan Brockmember
8 years ago

Should we read into Lynn’s uptick in velo toward the end of the season? Given that we expect velo loss over the course of a season, isn’t an uptick even more significant? I’m thinking of guys like Brandon McCarthy, where they start throwing harder and their arm can’t hold up…