MLB injury report for Friday, May 12

Intro

MLB injury report: Friday, May 12th

Wander Franco (neck), Tampa Bay Rays — Franco has played like a dark-horse MVP candidate during Tampa’s historically hot start, but he suffered a bit of an injury scare in the Rays’ win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night. He was seen grimacing and holding his neck after a single in the third:

Before eventually being pulled in the fifth. The official word is that it’s a neck spasm, and the star shortstop didn’t rule out playing on Friday — consider him day-to-day for now, but it doesn’t feel like anything too serious.

Mason Miller (forearm), Oakland Athletics — It seemed like the writing was on the wall here after the A’s rookie phenom was shut down due to forearm tightness, and sure enough, he’s been placed on the IL. There’s no word on a specific diagnosis or timetable just yet as the righty undergoes more testing back in Oakland, but he’s likely to be out at least a month even in the best-case scenario.

Max Scherzer (neck/shoulder), New York Mets — Scherzer reported pain in his suddenly balky neck when trying to play catch on Wednesday, and now the righty has had a scheduled start pushed back for the second time this week. Scherzer won’t pitch on Friday against the Washington Nationals, and it’s not clear if he’ll be back at any point this weekend. The Mets rotation has turned into a four-alarm fire with Kodai Senga struggling and Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco and Jose Quintana hurt.

Luis Severino (lat)/Carlos Rodon (back/forearm), New York Yankees — After a successful first rehab start this week, Severino will apparently make another appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. Aaron Boone didn’t confirm that this would be the righty’s final outing before returning to New York, but he also didn’t rule it out, and Severino could feasibly be built up enough to not require a third start in the Minors.

Rodon, meanwhile, has recovered from the cortisone shot in his back and hopes to resume his throwing program this weekend. Jon Heyman reports that, if all goes well — which is a pretty big “if” at this point — the lefty could be pitching in the Majors in six weeks, which is about how long it would take to progress from flat ground to throwing off a mound to facing live hitters to simulating a game environment. Rodon’s elbow is reportedly no longer the issue, so hopefully he can manage this chronic back condition well enough to avoid any further setbacks.

Tyler Mahle (elbow), Minnesota Twins — Brutal news for Mahle, as the elbow injury that a couple of weeks ago seemed like a minor setback will now require Tommy John surgery. Mahle had pitched well over his first five starts this season, but will now be aiming to return at some point late in 2024. He’s set to be a free agent this winter, so his future in Minnesota is very much in doubt after the Twins gave up three prospects to acquire the righty at last year’s trade deadline.

Corey Seager (hamstring), Texas Rangers — Seager played five innings without issue in his first rehab start, notching an RBI double for Double-A Frisco.

Manager Bruce Bochy said that Seager will DH tonight before making another start at shortstop this weekend — at which point he might be ready to come off the IL as early as Monday. Ezequiel Duran has been a revelation in Seager’s absence, but it’s unclear how the infield logjam will shake out.

Tyler Glasnow (oblique), Tampa Bay Rays — Everybody can exhale after Glasnow left his rehab start at Triple-A after just one inning with tightness in his side.

It sounds like Glasnow could make another start this weekend or early next week, at which point he’ll be about ready to make his 2023 debut in the Majors.

Yoan Moncada (back), Chicago White Sox — After tearing it up in Triple-A for a week, Moncada is reportedly set to return to the White Sox lineup on Friday against the Houston Astros. The third baseman was off to a great start before being sidelined with a back strain, and we’ve seen how good he can be when he puts it all together.

Michael Soroka (Achilles), Atlanta Braves — There was some thought that Soroka could make his long-awaited return to the big leagues this weekend in Toronto, but manager Brian Snitker put that to bed pretty quickly: The righty, who hasn’t pitched for the Braves since 2020 after not one but two Achilles tears, threw 73 pitches at Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday night. His time should hopefully be coming at some point in the next week or two, though, and he’s started to look more and more like his All-Star self down in the Minors.

Joey Votto (shoulder), Cincinnati Reds — Weeks after having his initial rehab stint cut short due to lingering discomfort in his surgically repaired shoulder, Votto will take live BP at Triple-A Louisville on Friday — his first time facing live pitching since the setback. With any luck, he could be playing in games at some point next week and return to Cincy not too long after.

Oswald Peraza (ankle), New York Yankees — Peraza was just put on the IL on Tuesday with a sprained ankle, and he’s already back participating in defensive drills:

It’s likely Peraza, who tweaked his ankle sliding into second base, wouldn’t have needed an IL stint if the Yankees hadn’t needed to clear a roster spot for Aaron Judge, and the top prospect should be back at some point in the coming days. He won’t start every day, but he should fill in plenty at third base while Josh Donaldson is out, and his speed is immensely valuable in deeper fantasy leagues.

TJ Friedl (side), Cincinnati Reds — Friedl was pulled late in Cincy’s win over the Mets on Thursday with discomfort in his side, and while the team won’t know more until the results come back on his MRI, manager David Bell did raise the specter of the dreaded oblique strain in his postgame press conference. The 27-year-old has made the center field job his own so far this year with an .838 OPS go to with three homers and four steals.

Max Kepler (leg), Minnesota Twins — Twins fans were nervous when the red-hot Kepler, who’s hit to a .902 OPS since April 18, pulled up lame while running out a ground ball late in Minnesota’s win over the San Diego Padres. But manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters after the game that the move was mostly precautionary, and the team hoped that it was just a leg cramp rather than any sort of strain. Kepler will likely sit today with the Twins facing a lefty but should hopefully be back this weekend.

Seth Brown (oblique), Oakland Athletics — Brown’s been down for most of the season after suffering an oblique strain in early April, but after taking live BP on Thursday he’s set to play his first Minor League rehab game on Friday night. He returns to a crowded corner infield/outfield situation, with Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Ryan Noda and Ramon Laureano all vying for time, but Brown was the A’s best position player last year and should see near-regular time against righties once he’s healthy.