MLB injury report for Tuesday, May 16

It was another busy night on the health front around MLB, as several big names — from Cody Bellinger to Manny Machado to Christian Yelich — came down with an injury during Monday’s games, So let’s get right to our daily injury report to catch you up on everything you need to know.

MLB injury report: Tuesday, May 16

Cody Bellinger (ankle), Chicago Cubs — Bellinger provided an excellent example of giving up the body in Monday night’s loss to the Houston Astros:

Bellinger robbed Kyle Tucker of extra bases, but he was also forced to leave the game with an ankle injury. David Ross said afterwards that his center fielder didn’t appear to have anything structurally wrong and deemed the injury “nothing major,” but he’s officially listed as day-to-day for now. Bellinger’s been in the midst of a renaissance season in Chicago, with an .834 OPS, seven homers and nine steals across his first 36 games, so here’s hoping he won’t be out long.

Christian Yelich (back), Milwaukee Brewers — Yelich was surprisingly pulled in the seventh inning of Milwaukee’s blowout loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, and while the lopsided score certainly played a role in that, manager Craig Counsell also revealed that his outfielder has been battling a balk back.

It sounds like Yelich will likely play tomorrow, but it’s something to monitor.

Manny Machado (hand), San Diego Padres — Scary moment for the Padres All-Star on Monday night, as he took a Brad Keller offering right off the top of his hand during his first at-bat and was forced to leave the game before the next half-inning.

He was able to run the bases afterwards, which would seem to be a promising sign, but the team won’t know more until X-rays come back. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Corey Seager (hamstring), Texas Rangers — There was some buzz that Seager could be activated off the IL prior to Monday’s game against the Atlanta Braves, and while that didn’t happen, Rangers GM Chris Young did confirm that his All-Star shortstop is set to return in the next couple of days. Seager’s been out since mid-April with a hamstring strain and had posted a gaudy 1.008 OPS before going on the IL. Ezequiel Duran has been a revelation filling in at the 6 for what’s become the best lineup in baseball in the early going, and while Seager will obviously get his position back, Texas will undoubtedly try to get Duran in the lineup any way they can.

Anthony Rendon (groin), Los Angeles Angels — Rendon just cannot catch a break. The third baseman was finally starting to look like his old self this season after two lost years due to a series of injuries, so of course he’s been put on the IL with a groin strain. He told reporters that he hopes it’s not too serious, but this doesn’t sound like it’ll be a minimum stay. Gio Urshela will likely slide back over to third for the time being, especially with Jared Walsh almost ready to make his season debut.

Jose Alvarado (elbow), Philadelphia Phillies — When Philly’s closer landed on the IL earlier this month, the hope was that he just needed a little bit of time for the inflammation in his elbow to die down. It looks like that is indeed the case, as Alvarado is expected to resume throwing at some point this week — a sign that he’s avoided the worst-case scenario. Craig Kimbrel and Seranthony Dominguez have done a solid job filling in, but make no mistake, Alvarado and his 0.63 ERA (with 24 Ks in 14.1 innings) will get the ninth inning back whenever he’s healthy.

Nico Hoerner (hamstring), Chicago Cubs — Hoerner also appears to have avoided too serious an injury, as the Cubs’ second baseman has already started running the bases after going on the IL last week with a hamstring strain.

It doesn’t seem like Hoerner has graduated to rounding and cutting, but that’s generally just about the last step prior to a return from this sort of injury, so obviously this is a good sign nonetheless. The righty was the engine of Chicago’s offense early on, batting .303 with 12 steals across his first 35 games.

Tyler O’Neill (back), St. Louis Cardinals — More good news: O’Neill participated in some pregame workouts with the team ahead of Monday’s game and is now set to embark on a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Thursday. Given the relatively short layoff, he’s unlikely to need too many appearances, but back injuries can be tricky. O’Neill’s playing time moving forward is murky with so many bodies in St. Louis’ outfield unless he can recapture his 2021 form soon.

Enrique Hernandez (hamstring)/John Schreiber (lat), Boston Red Sox — More troubling news for a Boston team that suddenly finds itself in last place in the AL East (and has dealt with more than its share of injury troubles already this year). Hernandez missed his second straight game on Monday with a tight hamstring he suffered over the weekend, and while it doesn’t seem to be anything too serious, it could wind up needing a brief IL stint. The Red Sox had been relying on him as the everyday shortstop with Christian Arroyo also battling injury issues recently, and this could mean a call-up from Triple-A for speedster David Hamilton.

Schreiber, meanwhile, may be an even bigger loss. The righty, who’s been a critical bridge to Kenley Jansen in the late innings, left Monday’s game early with what the team is calling right lat tightness. Alex Cora told reporters that the injured list is likely in Schreiber’s future, and with Chris Martin already down, Boston will be desperate for someone to emerge alongside Jansen and Josh Winckowski as a high-leverage option.

Brad Boxberger (forearm), Chicago Cubs — Well, this is one way to thin out the Cubs’ ninth-inning logjam. Boxberger was placed on the IL with a forearm strain, which can often be a precursor to something far more serious. Even if the righty avoids the worst, he’ll still likely be out several weeks at least, meaning that Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay are firmly entrenched as the top two leverage options for David Ross. Leiter Jr. remains the preferred add for teams looking for saves.

Joc Pederson (hand), San Francisco Giants — It seemed like Pederson was trending in the right direction after taking a pitch off his hand last week, but the outfielder will need an IL stint as it continues to heal. X-rays came back negative, so this should be a relatively short stay, but with Heliot Ramos and Austin Slater already out the Giants find themselves short on outfielders at the moment. Catcher Blake Sabol could see more time out there, which would make him an even more appealing waiver add than usual.

C.J. Cron (back), Colorado Rockies — Cron could barely walk off the field under his own power after an at-bat on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, and while it initially appeared to be a leg injury, word after the game was that he was actually suffering from back spasms. Manager Bud Black told reporters that Cron was likely to get placed on the IL, and sure enough, that came to pass on Monday afternoon.

The team has yet to release a timetable for his return to action. Michael Toglia was called up in a corresponding move, but given a likely timeshare with Mike Moustakas at first (and Toglia’s struggles with strikeouts in his previous MLB stint) he’s not a recommended add.

Luke Voit (neck), Milwaukee Brewers — Voit’s first season in Milwaukee has gone from bad to worse, as the first baseman — who currently has a .548 OPS with no homers in 22 games — was placed on the IL with neck tightness. Owen Miller will likely spell Rowdy Tellez at first against left-handed pitching.

TJ Friedl (oblique), Cincinnati Reds — Friedl had quietly been one of Cincy’s best position players this season, but that’s been put on pause due to an oblique strain. The center fielder was put on the IL on Monday afternoon after missing the last several games — the team is hopeful that he’ll be back before the month is out, and it’s encouraging that he initially thought he might not need a stint on the injured list, but this season has taught us how fickle obliques can be. Look for more Stuart Fairchild in the outfield for the Reds in the meantime,