Mining Injuries & Roster Moves (10/4/24)

MLB.com has a unique news section where each team updates their injuries and transactions. I’ve found this information useful but it’s unique. Each team’s webpage (not an article) is in flux with information constantly appearing and disappearing. I plan to check for updates (each blurb is dated) and report any information. I’ll quote the page to preserve the information. The information disappears into the abyss so quoting the source is the only way to keep it.

I won’t report headline news but will try to dig a little deeper. Additionally, I want this article to be a quick reference so don’t expect a certain word count. I’ll provide the useful info and then fantasy managers can figure out how best to utilize it.

The last edition was on September 27th, so any news was taken after that date.

Mining the News Archive

American League

Angels

Anthony Rendon is going to try harder this offseason to stay healthy. Sure…

Rendon isn’t expected to return this season but said on Sept. 27 that he plans to meet with the Angels and the training staff to come up with a better offseason routine to stay healthy next season.

Guardians

Alex Cobb is continuing his rehab hoping to make the postseason roster.

Cobb was able to throw a bullpen session on Sept. 23 without pain, and he advanced to a simulated game on Sept. 29, facing a handful of Guardians hitters. The team is hopeful that he’ll be able to be on the AL Division Series roster and the plan will be to prepare him to start.

Mariners

Matt Brash (UCL repair) should return around June 2025.

Brash had the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow repaired and a brace installed, which has typically allowed patients to begin physical therapy sooner. That’s why the Mariners are hopeful Brash can return in 12 months, potentially as soon as June 2025.

Sam Haggerty expects to return in mid-May after tearing his Achilles

Haggerty tore his right Achilles on May 18, in his second game after getting optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma, and he underwent surgery with Dr. Albert O. Gee at the University of Washington the following week. He then departed for Arizona shortly after to transition his recovery there. Before leaving Seattle, Haggerty mentioned in passing that his timeline would be around 12 months if all goes well with his subsequent rehab.

Red Sox

Masataka Yoshida played through shoulder discomfort.

Yoshida revealed on the final day of the regular season that he’s been playing through discomfort in his right shoulder. He said the injury is most painful when he swings and misses. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Yoshida is expected to undergo an MRI during the first week of October and the club will have a better idea then if he will need surgery.

Tigers

Sawyer Gipson-Long is on track to return from Tommy John surgery in June.

Gipson-Long is scheduled to begin a throwing program the week of Sept. 30, about five months after he underwent Tommy John surgery. While it’ll have no bearing on his situation this season, it’s an encouraging development towards getting him back to pitching next year.

Twins

Trevor Larnach played with hamstring pain and was eventually shut down.

Larnach had been playing through hamstring pain for weeks as part of the Twins’ failed push for the postseason, and following their elimination on Sept. 27, the Twins placed Larnach on the IL, ending his season and getting him an early start on the recovery process. Larnach had, at times, been clearly hindered on the field to the point of barely being able to run while being limited to DH duties only at times — though he had returned to play defensively in the outfield by the end of the month.

Max Kepler might need off-season hernia surgery on top of some knee soreness he played through.

Kepler’s Twins career is likely complete following his move to the 60-day IL on Sept. 27, and he could be headed for an offseason surgery to address a sports hernia. He reported soreness in his hip and groin area following September sessions of live batting practice and received a cortisone injection on Sept. 16, per president of baseball operations Derek Falvey.

Kepler had been dealing with the soreness in his left knee since he was scratched from the starting lineup on Aug. 25, but he had returned to play in four more games — including three starts — before he was once again scratched from the lineup on Sept. 2. He did not appear in another game after that as the Twins evaluated the knee ahead of his eventual IL placement on Sept. 5.

National League

Mets

Paul Blackburn won’t return this season because of a spinal fluid leak in his back.

Manager Carlos Mendoza revealed Wednesday that Blackburn, who has been sidelined since taking a line drive off his pitching hand on Aug. 23 in San Diego, won’t return regardless of how far the Mets progress in the postseason. Since early September, Blackburn has been dealing with back discomfort stemming from a spinal fluid leak. He received multiple platelet-rich plasma injections in the area but has been unable to ramp up activities without pain.

Padres

Ha-Seong Kim 김하성 will have shoulder surgery.

Kim will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a “small tear” in the labrum in his right shoulder, he said on Sept. 28. Kim made multiple attempts to ramp up toward a return, but his shoulder wouldn’t respond. He sustained the injury in mid-August while diving back into first base during a game in Colorado. Kim and the Padres have a mutual option worth $10 million this offseason, which Kim seems likely to decline.

Phillies

Spencer Turnbull wants to throw in the postseason.

The Phillies are expected to carry 12 pitchers in the NL Division Series, which means an eight-man bullpen. The first seven spots are locks, but the last spot is open. Turnbull hopes to be the last man in the ‘pen, although it remains to be seen.

“I feel like I’m ready,” he said.

Turnbull is scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game on Oct. 2 at Citizens Bank Park. He last pitched for the Phillies on June 26, when he departed after just three innings in Detroit. Turnbull, who was diagnosed with a right lat strain and went on the 15-day IL the following day, was transferred to the 60-day IL on Aug. 17.

In the intrasquad game, he was only touching 92 mph.

Anyone hitting 92 mph is likely to sit 89 mph to 90 mph. Before getting hurt, he averaged 92.3 mph for the season.

Reds

Matt McLain and …

McLain has been playing games in instructional league and was added to the taxi squad for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League so he can get some at-bats, interim manager Freddie Benavides said. There are no current plans for McLain to play winter ball. He has been trying to come back from March surgery that repaired the labrum and cartilage damage in his shoulder

Christian Encarnacion-Strand will participate in some Fall League games.

Encarnacion-Strand was part of the Reds’ contingent participating in the Arizona Fall League to get at-bats and make up for lost time. He underwent surgery on July 11 to repair ligament damage in his hand. Encarnacion-Strand was diagnosed with a right ulnar styloid fracture on the inside of his hand near his wrist on May 8, and he also has ligament damage in the same area.

Rockies

Brenton Doyle has dealt with knee pain for the past two seasons.

Last year’s Gold Glove winner as a rookie and a favorite this year for his second, Doyle has been dealing with pain in the knee that comes from his all-out play at the position. Doyle finished with 149 games played, with the Rockies giving him periodic days off during the second half.

“It’s something I’ve been dealing with for a couple of seasons,” said Doyle, who made big offensive strides while hitting .260 with 23 home runs, 72 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. “It just got to a point where we wanted to find a solution, and this injection should do the trick. I’ll have to do some physical therapy for it after the injection part. In maybe a month or so, it should be back at full strength.”





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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Rollie's MustacheMember since 2017
1 month ago

Uhh Paul Blackburn had what now??