MLB injury report for Thursday, May 11

Intro

MLB injury report: Thursday, May 11

Max Fried (forearm)/Kyle Wright (shoulder), Atlanta Braves — Braves fans were bummed enough at the news that Fried could possibly miss two months due to his forearm strain, with MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writing that early July was an “optimistic” target for the lefty’s return. He’ll be shut down from throwing for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer, and then likely need at least a month to build back up from playing catch to throwing off a mound to bullpens to rehab starts. After the All-Star break seems like the most reasonable timetable right now.

Wright, meanwhile, could be out even longer:

Wright is shut down right now, and it sounds like he will be for at least the rest of the month. Atlanta’s rotation is down to Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and a whole bunch of question marks, although one of those questions could be answered positively here pretty soon.

Michael Soroka (Achilles), Atlanta Braves — Soroka has thrown 20.2 innings over five starts down in Triple-A, and appears to be pitching without issue. On a related note, the Braves are currently without a scheduled starter for their series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Soroka hasn’t pitched since 2020 after not one but two tears of his Achilles tendon, but it seems like the former Cy Young candidate is ready to return to the Majors very soon. He’s pitched to a 5.23 ERA in the Minors this year, and red flags still abound, but he’s worth a stash in deeper fantasy leagues.

Jose Alvarado (elbow), Philadelphia Phillies — After feeling some wrist discomfort on Tuesday, the Phillies had Alvarado sent for an MRI just in case — and it’s a good thing they did, because it showed inflammation in the closer’s pitching elbow. It’s obviously a scary diagnosis, but the good news is that the team seems to have ruled out the worst-case scenario:

He’ll likely be out until early or mid-June, while Seranthony Dominguez and Craig Kimbrel will split the ninth inning in his absence. Dominguez is certainly throwing better between the two right now and would be my recommended add after some recent Kimbrel implosions.

Tyler Glasnow (oblique), Tampa Bay Rays — Glasnow seemed like he was chugging right along in his return to the Rays rotation, but the righty was forced to leave his rehab start at Triple-A on Wednesday night after just one inning with tightness in his side. If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that the team qualified that tightness as “very mild”, and made it seem like something he could’ve pitched through if they weren’t erring on the side of caution. Still, given the fickle nature of oblique injuries and Glasnow’s history, it’s something to keep an eye on. This was to be his second-to-last rehab outing, but we’ll see where that stands after he has more testing done.

Luis Severino (lat), New York Yankees — Look who it is:

Back on the mound for the first time in almost two months, Severino looked just fine on Wednesday, averaging around 96 mph on his fastball and generating seven whiffs in 20 swings. The velocity is a smidge down from where he usually is, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary after such a long layoff. He’ll make another rehab start at Triple-A this weekend before the team makes a determination.

Max Scherzer (neck), New York Mets — Scherzer was supposed to play catch today ahead of his start this weekend against the Washington Nationals, but we might not want to put that in ink just yet:

The neck doesn’t seem like a long-term concern, but it’s one more thing to deal with on top of Scherzer’s ongoing shoulder discomfort. At this point his turn in the rotation may wind up getting pushed back to early next week.

Michael Brantley (shoulder)/Chas McCormick (back), Houston Astros — Just days after Brantley finally returned to the team in anticipation of making his 2023 debut, the outfielder has apparently been sent back to Houston for further testing on his surgically repaired shoulder.

McCormick, meanwhile, appears to have made his return a little too soon, as the outfielder sat on Wednesday for the second game in a row due to back soreness. He’d proclaimed himself “100 percent” after a weeklong rehab stint, but manager Dusty Baker admitted that McCormick “overdid it” in the Minors and may have reaggravated his injury. Not a great look for the Astros’ return-to-play procedure.

Jake Burger (oblique), Chicago White Sox — Burger will begin a rehab assignment of his own today at Triple-A, keeping him on track to return from the IL following the minimum stay. The team has already committed to giving him regular playing time even when Yoan Moncada (also in Triple-A right now) returns, and Burger showed some major power before his injury.

Antonio Senzatela (forearm), Colorado Rockies — In just his second start of the season after recovering from a torn ACL, Senzatela was forced to leave early due to what the Rockies are calling forearm tightness. The righty has been pretty solid when healthy, but he’s likely to at the very least need some more time on the IL.

Noah Syndergaard (blister), Los Angeles Dodgers — Roberts told the media on Wednesday that the team would wait until Friday to make a decision on Syndergaard’s next start in order to give the cut on his index finger time to heal. Thor, for his part, doesn’t seem overly concerned.

Sometimes blisters can make it harder for pitchers to grip the ball, but that doesn’t sound like the case here.

Brooks Raley (elbow), New York Mets — Raley’s departure in late April left an already-thin bullpen stretched to its breaking point, but the lefty seems to be closing in on a return — he struck out three in a clean inning of work at Double-A on Wednesday and could be back with the Mets next week.

Jared Walsh (headaches/insomnia), Los Angeles Angels — It appears that Walsh is finally set to put the hellish neurological issues that have plagued him for over a year now behind him.

If Walsh’s timeline is to be believed, this condition would go a long way to explaining why he slumped so badly last season after breaking out in 2021. If he’s truly healthy and has put all this behind him, he could be a sneaky add in deeper fantasy leagues — it wasn’t that long ago he was popping 30 homers while batting behind Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

Tomas Nido (vision issues), New York Mets — I’m sure Mets fans can fill in their own punchline here, but the catcher has apparently been suffering from dry eye syndrome — especially at night — and it finally got to the point at which he needed time on the IL. Nido has posted a -24 OPS+ (not a typo, somehow) so far this year, while the team just added Gary Sanchez as insurance. Michael Perez got the call up to New York this time, but with an OPS below .600 in Triple-A so far this year that doesn’t seem like a permanent solution.

Jeimer Candelario (ankle), Washington Nationals — Candelario was forced to leave Wednesday’s win over the San Francisco Giants with an ankle injury he sustained on an awkward slide. He was seen with it wrapped after the game, and while the team is calling him day to day for now, former top prospect Carter Kieboom is back healthy and waiting in the wings in Triple-A.

Jesus Sanchez (hamstring), Miami Marlins — Yet another baserunner who’s pulled up lame while running the bases. It’s unclear whether this will eventually require an IL stint, although it does seem likely — just ask Corey Seager. It’s a shame, too, because Sanchez looked to be breaking out, slashing .281/.361/.500 with two homers and three steals in 26 games. With Avisail Garcia also out, Bryan de la Cruz and Peyton Burdick should man the corner outfield spots for Miami.

Austin Slater (hamstring), San Francisco Giants — Speaking of baserunning-related injuries:

Slater, who already missed part of April with a hamstring strain, is now dealing with hamstring tightness yet again. Manager Gabe Kapler said that, pending MRI results, he was hopeful that Slater had avoided serious injury, although we’ll see. Slater has been the Giants’ go-to leadoff man against left-handed pitching and had posted a sizzling .944 OPS so far this year.