Hurt file, July 10-15

NOTE: This column focuses on injury analysis, so we don't cover the progress of every injured player. We try to highlight the key fantasy contributors, unusual injuries, or situations where the official projected return is variable or not given. Players whose progress is proceeding as expected are very well covered by fantasy news sources; we'll tend to leave those players alone unless we have something we want to add to the news coverage. This column is updated on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays.

Credit for the Worry-O-Meter goes to Dr. Jim Ferretti (Twitter: @TFSDoc):

     1 – “No problemo”
     2 – “I’ll be back”
     3 – “I (might) be back”
     4 – “I (probably won’t) be back”
     5 – “Hasta la vista, baby”
 

July 15, 2024
 

Dane Myers (OF, MIA) – L ankle, fracture (7/13/24)
There’s at least one of these every year, though usually it’s a punch. He broke his ankle kicking the clubhouse door. He’ll miss a bunch of time an probably won’t be in the manager’s good graces when he returns.
2024 Impact: Likely minimal, aside from time missed
Est. Return: Early/mid-September
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Jose Trevino (C, NYY) – L quad strain (7/13/24)
It’s a Grade 2 strain, so it’s going to keep him out a while. And there’s the usual caution about recurrence if he returns too soon.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Late August/early September

Carlos Correa (SS, MIN) – R foot, plantar fasciitis (7/12/24)
He’s missed two games, and will now get a few days to heal up. The question is whether that will be enough time. Fasciitis does not just go away—it requires active therapy, and can be slow to improve. He could be back right after the break, but don’t be surprised if he hits the IL and stays there for a bit.
2024 Impact: Unknown severity
Est. Return: Post All-Star break or longer
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Nolan Jones (OF, COL) – Back strain (7/12/24)
He spent six weeks with a lower back strain earlier this season, though that was complicated by a knee injury he suffered during rehab. We’d expect something similar this time, less the extra delay due to the knee. This could be an ongoing issue the rest of the season as well.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity; Possible chronic issue
Est. Return: Mid-/late August
Worry-O-Meter: 3
 

July 13, 2024
 

Kyle Tucker (OF, HOU) – R shin, contusion (6/3/24) UPDATE
In our initial coverage we said “unless it’s a bone bruise…” and now that seems a real possibility. An ordinary bruise should have healed by now, but he’s out another week at least, suggesting an unreported injury, like a bone bruise. He’s still not up to 100% in the field yet, but he could be ready for a short rehab assignment within the next week. It seems unlikely he’ll be back much before August at this point.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity
Est. Return: Late July/early August
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Zack Wheeler (RHP, PHI) – Lower back tightness (7/9/24) UPDATE
They’re going to skip his next start, which makes sense with the All-Star break coming. If it was serious, he’d be on the IL already, so there’s a good chance he’ll be back next weekend.
2024 Impact: Unknown severity; Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: July 20-23, perhaps
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Cody Bellinger (OF, CHC) – L hand, fracture (7/10/24)
He was hit by a pitch and fractured his left middle finger (yeah, go ahead and make your jokes). The median return time for a broken finger is five weeks, but it’s going to depend on the bone and location. Figure a month, probably, with potential effects on hit hitting when he first returns.
2024 Impact: Possible reduced production
Est. Return: Early/mid-August
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Tyler Soderstrom (1B, OAK) – L wrist, bone bruise (Unknown)
There’s no report of how or when this happened. He was hit by a pitch on June 21, so maybe? He’s probably looking at a month for healing, with potential effects on his hitting after that. If you have him rostered, realize you won’t have him for a while.
2024 Impact: Potential for reduced output
Est. Return: Mid-/late August, maybe longer
Worry-O-Meter: 2.5

Bo Bichette (SS, TOR) – R calf strain (7/10/24)
The diagnosis is a torn fascia, which is the outer casing that helps hold the muscle together (think about the silver skin on a cut of meat). It can be difficult to distinguish between a fascia tear and a tear of the muscle fibers, so we suspect a percentage of “muscle strains” are actually fascia tears (a strain is always a tear). This is the same muscle group as his strain in June, so while it seems pretty minor, he may see IL time. We’re going to assume 2-3 weeks out of caution.
2024 Impact: Uknown severity; Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Late July/early August (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 2

LaMonte Wade (1B, SF) – Hamstring tightness (7/9/24)
Which leg usually doesn’t matter, but here it does, as he recently returned from a left hamstring strain., The team sees him as day-to-day, but we’d expect him to sit through the break.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity
Est. Return: July 19-22, maybe
Worry-O-Meter: 2+

Graham Ashcraft (RHP, CIN) – R elbow strain (7/10/24)
The team hasn’t said what’s wrong exactly, but he “might” make it back for September. That’s probably a flexor strain or maybe a flexor tendon strain (sprain) and not a UCL. Is it possible he has a torn UCL? Yes, but low odds right now. He’s a drop in all formats at this point.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity
Est. Return: Mid-September or maybe 2025
Worry-O-Meter: 4
 

July 10, 2024
 

Tyler Glasnow (RHP, LA) – Back tightness (7/7/24)
The location matters here, and we haven’t been given any information as of yet. If it’s a mid-back issue, it could be a trapezius or lat strain, and that would be more involved with the throwing motion than a lower back issue. We should hear more information about this in the near future (we can hope), but for now, we’d expect him to miss 2-4 weeks, with moderate risk of this being worse than it appears right now.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity
Est. Return: Late July/early August (best estimate)
Worry-O-Meter: 2

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Ramón Laureano (OF, ATL) – Strained back or oblique, maybe? Do they know? (6/26/24)
He missed a week with a sore back, which could be an oblique. Now he has a sore side, which could be an oblique (and they’re saying it’s an oblique). So we guess it’s an oblique. He’s now missed two weeks and still isn’t on the IL. Maybe they give in at some point and just put him on the IL? Or he could return tomorrow. You have to think he’s close or he’d be on the IL by now.
2024 Impact: Just a weird situation
Est. Return: Early/late July-ish
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Zack Wheeler (RHP, PHI) – Lower back tightness (7/9/24)
He left his start after five innings on Tuesday. As of now, there are no specifics about the injury, so we’ll wait for news. It’s probably a muscle strain, and that would probably put him on the IL for 2-3 weeks. We’re not going to project that quite yet, as it could be something less serious.
2024 Impact: Unknown extent/severity
Est. Return: TBD
Worry-O-Meter: 3

Oneil Cruz – One of his hamstrings, strain (7/8/24)
Nobody wants to say which hammy is it, but the side it’s on doesn’t matter much. He sat on Tuesday, which means it wasn’t just a cramp. We’ll say it’s 50/50 he hits the IL, but the team seems to think it’s a minor deal. Note that if he hit the IL on Wednesday, he could be back by the Saturday after the All-Star break. That could play into the team’s decision here.
2024 Impact: Unknown severity; Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: 3-4 days, or after the All-Star break
Worry-O-Meter: 2

Parker Meadows (OF, DET) – R hamstring strain (7/6/24)
If you’re going to strain something, it might as well be a hamstring. The muscles there aren’t terribly big, so they tend to heal fast. He could be back right after the All-Star break, though it could also take him into the very beginning of August.
2024 Impact: Elevated risk; Risk of recurrence
Est. Return: Late July/early August
Worry-O-Meter: 2

 

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