MASH Report (1/22/15)

• Two items to start with. First, quite a few update are in the spreadsheet at the article’s end. Information is becoming more available, but it restates a lot of old information.  I will continue to give the updated sources. Second, thanks for your support and suggestions as I got this series up and running. It got some recognition at the latest Fantasy Sports Writers Awards.

Hey! FanGraphs won an award! Or, really, the excellent @jeffwzimmerman won an @fswa award for his MASH series on health issues. Congrats!!

— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) January 17, 2015

Thanks.

• Johan Santana had some pain in his throwing shoulder while attempting a comeback. The injury doesn’t seem severe and doesn’t seem to be the reason his comeback being derailed this season …. at least not yet.

The free-agent lefthander experienced discomfort in his surgically repaired pitching shoulder after a Jan. 14 outing in Venezuela, raising concerns that his career might be in jeopardy. However, FOX Sports MLB Insider Jon Paul Morosi reported Thursday that an MRI exam revealed there is no structural damage to Santana’s shoulder. “He will be ready for spring training,” Santana’s agent told Morosi.

• Marco Scutaro’s back may have finally cost him his baseball career. Just remember to stay away form the players with back issues. The injuries never seem to really heal.

• Yu Darvish is long tossing. I am trying to decided how much faith I have in his elbow. We should know about his pitches during spring training since the Rangers home park has a Pitchf/x camera.

• Cliff Lee is throwing off a mound.

Cliff Lee missed much of last season with an injured left elbow, but Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that Lee has thrown three or four times off a mound recently without any issues. Amaro said the southpaw is expected to be ready to go when Spring Training opens next month.

Another pitcher I want to see where is velocity stands before jumping in.

• Jose Fernandez’s return time is still June 1st at the earliest.

Fernandez, coming off Tommy John surgery last May, will throw off a mound in spring training, and owner Jeffrey Loria expects him to return sometime after June 1.

“We’re still thinking June, July area” for his return to the majors, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said Monday from Jeff Conine’s annual charity golf tournament.

• Matt Moore is looking at the same time table for his return.

“Probably June,” answered Moore after being asked when he’ll be back with the team. “That’s probably the conservative date.”

• There is a chance Nick Swisher and/or Brandon Moss will by on the DL to start the season.

With Swisher and Moss making their way back from surgery, it has been made clear to them that returning to full strength is more important than breaking camp with the Major League club. If one or both of the players require an Opening Day trip to the disabled list, the Indians will find a way to adjust.

“I don’t think we know,” said Francona, when asked if the rehab for Swisher or Moss might linger into April. “My only point is that, if need be, I’d much rather do that than have a guy try to artificially make Opening Day and then not be ready.”
…..

Swisher and Moss will be in Cleveland this week to meet with the team’s medical staff.

“Their timetable is going to be their timetable,” Francona said. “The last thing we want to do is have [Swisher go through what he did and then limp around. Sometimes guys have these artificial [timetables] — like Opening Day of the season, which is meaningful, but it’s not the end all, be all. We just want to get him strong and healthy, so he can do what he does.”

Looks like we will soon know more on the pair’s injury status.

• Kevin Siegrist went into the 2014 not at 100%.

“I can tell right away that it’s definitely better, and that it’s probably 100 percent,” Siegrist said. “Just the way the ball comes out of my hand throwing long toss compared to last year where I knew that something wasn’t really right with it. It’s definitely giving me a lot of confidence moving forward into Spring Training because it feels good.”

If he is in play in your league, he may be a buy low guy.

• Adam Wainwright’s elbow is “fixed”.

Describing his elbow as “fixed now,” Wainwright was able to recover from late October surgery quickly enough to begin an offseason throwing program on the same date he did a year ago. He took the mound last week for the first time, and he expects to have no restrictions when Spring Training starts.
….
“The story [my wife] tells is I was holding a Sprite can on the plane and I went to open it and I had to kind of grab it sideways because I couldn’t support the weight of a Sprite can,” Wainwright said. “Jars were not happening either because anything that required my arm twisting wouldn’t work. I had to hand it to my wife.”

Wainwright’s injury travails began with a hyperextended right knee in April, forearm soreness shortly after that and elbow discomfort that then lingered. By the end of the year, Wainwright had particular trouble getting full extension with his arm, which explains the heavy reliance on cutters and curveballs. His plunking ofYasiel Puig in Game 1 of the National League Division Series was illustrative of how the elbow problems affected command.

I am not touching him considering where he is currently going in mocks.

• Michael Wacha’s shoulder is full healed.

The same will be the case for Wacha, who described himself as “extremely healthy” and “feeling good and strong.” He underwent an MRI Sunday morning, and it showed full healing in his right shoulder, which was compromised by a stress reaction last summer.

• Jake McGee looks to return mid-April.

After having Dec. 12 arthroscopic surgery to remove a “loose body,” McGee said he was expected to miss the first month of the season.

But McGee said this week he has full range of motion in the elbow, and with no setbacks he could be ready for a rehab assignment around the time of the Rays’ April 6 season opener, with a return to follow shortly.

Maybe. I would like to see the team’s stance.

• Manny Machado is feeling and looking good

Machado underwent surgery on Aug. 27 to repair the medial patellofemoral ligament in his right knee. Now, his rehabilitation is essentially complete. He’s hitting, running and catching grounders from his knees to work on his hand-eye coordination. The only thing left for him to do is field ground balls at third base while moving laterally.

 

Players with Injuries Going into 2015

(*) 15 Day Disabled List
(**) 60 Day Disabled List
(***) 7 Day Concussion List
(****) Free Agent
Red colored entries are updates since last report.