Injury Report, 3/25/07

Bartolo Colon, Starting Pitcher, Los Angeles Angels
Injury: rotator cuff tear recovery
Timetable: expected to return to mound next week, will miss start of season
Outlook: Colon hasn’t pitched off a mound in a game situation since the end of July, when he tore his rotator cuff. His throwing shoulder has healed slowly, but he’s been throwing 50-60 pitch sessions and is building up his arm strength and endurance gradually. He will make his return in the minors in the near future, and assuming everything goes well, could be back in the rotation by May or June. Shoulder injuries are often harder to repair than elbow injuries, but Colon has spent adequate time rehabbing, and in a contract year, he could be nice late-round pick to stash on the DL until he’s ready to return.

Carl Crawford, Outfielder, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Injury: left groin tightness
Timetable: expected to return this week
Outlook: Crawford strained his groin right before Friday’s game and was a late-minute scratch. Reports stated that he only had mild tightness in his groin and could’ve likely played this weekend, but the Devil Rays have no interest in rushing him back and risking further straining for their star hitter. Crawford will likely return by Tuesday of this week and should show no ill effects on the basepaths.

Chone Figgins, Third Baseman, Los Angeles Angels
Injury: fractured index and middle fingers
Timetable: Will miss five to six weeks
Outlook: Unfortunately for Figgins’ owners, they’ll have to spend the first month of the season finding an altenate source of steals, but on the bright side, fractured fingers should heal quickly enough for him to start gripping a bat in a month and should have no adverse effect on his SB totals when he returns. His fingers are in splints now and we’ll have a better idea of a timetable when he is re-evaluated in three weeks. For now, the Angels will turn to Maicer Izturis in Figgins’ place, who could be an excellent source of steals himself, while posting a solid AVG sans power.

Carlos Guillen, Shortstop, Detroit Tigers
Injury: bruised shin
Timetable: day-to-day
Outlook: Guillen fouled a Tim Hudson fastball off his shin yesterday and was forced to leave the game, but the injury isn’t expected to have any lingering effects. He limped off the field, but was wearing a shin guard and spent the rest of the day in the clubhouse with an ice packed wrapped around the injury. The team states he’s day-to-day and while Guillen said he’ll miss today’s game against the Yankees, he should be back at 100% on Monday.

Jeremy Hermida, Outfielder, Florida Marlins
Injury: bone bruise on right knee
Timetable: expected to miss Opening Day but to return by April
Outlook: Like Guillen, Hermida’s injury was caused by a pitch fouled off of himself. Hermida fouled a pitch off his right knee on March 17th and has yet to return to action. Doctors state it is a very deep bone bruise on the knee and it has effected his stance, swing, and speed. Hermida had an ankle fracture on the same leg at the end of last season, but was back at full-strength prior to the bone bruise. He’s likely to start the season on the DL, but is expected to serve his 15 days and come back and start by April. In his place will likely be Joe Borchard, but his fantasy value is limited by a poor AVG.

Jon Lieber, Middle Reliever, Philadelphia Phillies
Injury: strained right oblique
Timetable: unknown
Outlook: After feeling some discomfort after a bullpen session on Friday, Lieber was diagnosed with a strained oblique and his timetable as of right now is up in the air. The team states he’ll be out indefinitely for the near future, but a less ambiguous time table should be made public by Monday. Lieber, whose value already took a huge hit when he was demoted to the bullpen, will now likely lose all value due to the abdominal strain. He shouldn’t miss too much time, but will likely miss the start of the season.

Joe Mauer, Catcher, Minnesota Twins
Injury: stress reaction in left fibula
Timetable: expected to be ready for Opening Day
Outlook: The Twins said they caught the “stress reaction” before it turned into a stress fracture, which could’ve resulted in a very significant loss of playing time. Mauer is still under scrutiny by team doctors and will likely be well rested for the remainder of the spring right up until Opening Day. Mauer originally complained about soreness in his left leg, but luckily an MRI revealed no serious or lingering damage. This could get him off to the slow start, but he’s still the #1 catcher in fantasy baseball and all signs point to no DL time.

Carlos Quentin, Outfielder, Arizona Diamondbacks
Injury: ailing left shoulder
Timetable: week-to-week, may miss Opening Day
Outlook: Quentin suffered a shoulder strain last Thursday, received a cortizone shot over the weekend and was told to rest it until a better diagnosis was determined in about a week. Quentin’s injury doesn’t sound overly serious and more or less just a temporary setback, but the team seems to be preparing Scott Hairston to start the season in RF in his place. He’s expected to undergo a four-to-five day strengthening program, at which point a better timetable will be set, but right now, it’s not of the question that he’ll start the season on the DL.

Freddy Sanchez, Second Baseman, Pittsburgh Pirates
Injury: sprained ligament in right knee
Timetable: week-to-week, may miss Opening Day
Outlook: Sanchez, who has been out since March 6th with the ligament sprain has shown no ill effects in the field or at the plate, but it has greatly hindered his ability on the basepaths. The team is debating whether or not to start Sanchez on the DL for the first week of the season or allow him to gradually rehab in minor league camp, but either way will likely miss Opening Day on April 2nd. He’s still day-to-day and his progress could change significantly by the end of the week, but even if he does start the season on the DL, he is expected to rejoin the lineup by mid-April.

Chien-Ming Wang, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees
Injury: right hamstring strain
Timetable: Will start season on DL, expected to miss three to four weeks
Outlook: Wang, who was slated as the Yankees’ Opening Day starter, will start the season on the DL and is expected to miss most or all of the month of April after straining his hamstring while sprinting. GM Brian Cashman has said that Wang will not return until at least the end of April, but with only a grade 1 sprain, he should start throwing again in light session in a week or two and make a full recovery by the first week of May. He’ll be replaced by low-key prospect Jeff Karstens, who has been lights out this spring and could be a nice temporary fit.

Injury Report, 3/5/07

I don’t think I need to present any introduction regarding the significance of injuries in fantasy baseball. Nothing adversely affects a team more than injuries; bad drafting, poor outputs from expected stars, etc. all can hurt a team, but they can fixed. When you lose a star for a long period of time due to injury, the best you can hope for is lucking out on the waiver wire, someone off the bench stepping up, or executing a timely trade. Before your next draft/transaction, monitor these players closely before pulling the trigger:

Marlon Anderson, UTIL, Los Angeles Dodgers
Injury: elbow inflammation
Timetable: expected to miss start of regular season
Outlook: Anderson underwent surgery this fall to remove the bone chips in his elbow and it appears as if the adverse effects of surgery are still lingering. He originally expected to be back later this week, but has continued to face setbacks with soreness in the elbow. He now states he will not be ready for Opening Day, but it doesn’t appear as if he’ll miss uch more than the first couple of weeks of the season. Anderson hit like a monster upon arrival in L.A. and has great position flexibility, but the Dodgers can turn to younger options like Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp during Anderson’s absence.

David Eckstein, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
Injury: strained oblique
Timetable: Unknown
Outlook: Eckstein missed 26 games last season due to an oblique-related injury and the problem seems to be persisting. Eckstein has reported sever ribcage soreness, but manager Tony LaRussa said that his time out thus far hasn’t been attributed to one singular issue. He is scheduled to re-evaluated today, at which point the team will have a better idea of his timetable. It sounds as if he should still be ready to go come Opening Day, but if not Aaron Miles will be penciled in at shortstop until Eckstein is healthy.

Ryan Freel, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Injury: sore left wrist
Timetable: expected to miss less than a week
Outlook: Freel injured his wrist on Sunday, March 3, falling while attempting to make a play on a fly ball. What originally looked like it could have been damaged worse than was determined, Freel should walk away with only stiffness for the next couple of days. The Reds will let him heal so that he can make a full recovery and have no lingering effects with the bat.

Matt Garza, SP, Minnesota Twins
Injury: sore neck
Timetable: Unknown, but not expected to be significant
Outlook: Garza, who might just be the favorite for the #2 starter spot behind Santana left today’s game against the Devil Rays after only facing two batters due to a sore neck. Reports state that Garza has been dealing with this issue on and off again this spring training and will see a doctor on Tuesday. Garza can’t afford too many setbacks if he expects to make the rotation, but this one shouldn’t hinder his chances.

Mark Grudzielanek, 2B, Kansas City Royals
Injury: meniscus cartilage tear in left knee
Timetable: Will begin season on the DL
Outlook: Grudzielanek underwent microscopic surgery today to repair the knee, and while it’s known that he’ll begin the season on the DL, manager Buddy Bell states they will not have a specific timeframe on his return for another couple of weeks. Grudzielanek carries a decent bat, but his lack of speed and power, limit his fantasy value. His best asset is his defense, which won him a Gold Glove last season, and could hurt some of Kansas City’s low-strikeout, high-ground ball ratio starters, who rely on a solid middle infield to keep a low ERA. Former highly-touted prospect, Esteban German, will start in his place for the time being, after an impressive 2006 campaign.

Todd Helton, 1B, Colorado Rockies
Injury: inflammation in right knee
Timetable: expected to miss less than a week
Outlook: Helton’s recent injury, inflammation in his right knee, has caused him to miss the last two games, but Helton said that he is not concerned and will return this week. With the laundry list of injuries Helton has dealt with as of late, and his track record of rushing back prematurely, make this rather insignificant blurb something fantasy owners should still keep on the backburner temporarily.

Torii Hunter, CF, Minnesota Twins
Injury: head
Timetable: expected to return this week
Outlook: As I reported earlier this week, Hunter was drilled in the head by a fastball from Kyle Lohse in an exhibition games against the Reds. He took some batting practice during the weekend and said that while he still feels some pain, he doesn’t expect to miss any more time due to it and will return this week. Hunter hasn’t had much injury concern and there were no signs of concussion, so this shouldn’t really deter any fantasy owners at this point.

Mark Prior, SP, Chicago Cubs
Injury: sore shoulder
Timetable: Has already made return
Outlook: Prior pitched for the first time in an actual game since August 10, but allowed 3 earned runs, while recording only 4 outs on 41 pitches. Prior was teed off on by Mariner hitters and had to be removed from the game prior to completing his two-inning assignment. Whether it was just rust or Prior still suffering from nagging shoulder and arm injuries, only time will tell, but at this point, he should be avoided in anything but the deepest of non-keeper leagues.

Jaret Wright, SP, Baltimore Orioles
Injury: sore right shoulder
Timetable: not expected to miss any time
Outlook: Wright struggled to complete an inning’s worth of work against the Mets on Sunday, and acknowledged general soreness, but will not commit to the notion that it is related to any kind of arm problems. Based on Wright’s track record, there is need to take precaution. Wright should make his next scheduled appearance and if the rust isn’t shaken off by then, we could be looking at an under-the-radar arm injury that will likely expose itself just in time for Opening Day. Wright’s value is pretty low to begin with, this may extinguish all value in standard leagues.

Victor Zambrano, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Injury: recovering elbow injury
Timetable: expected to be at full strength by May
Outlook: After Zambrano underwent his second Tommy John surgery of his career last season, it was expected that he would miss most of, if not all, of 2007. The Blue Jays gave him a minor league deal in hopes he could help out late in the season, but Zambrano is well ahead of schedule on recovery. Zambrano has already made hs spring training debut and has thrown on and off the mound in practice. The Blue Jays will likely start him off in AAA to work out his arm some more in small doses, but they expect he could be ready to join the club in a long relief role by May, and with the unstability of the back of the rotation, inheriting a starting job prior to All-Star break is not out of the question.