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Intro
MLB injury report: Friday, May 19
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (knee), Toronto Blue Jays — A day after an MRI showed nothing structurally wrong with his injured knee, Guerrero continues to inch towards a return to the lineup. The first baseman came off the bench to pinch-hit in Thursday night’s loss to the New York Yankees, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly. It seems like he could be ready to return for good on Friday.
Tommy Edman (abdomen), St. Louis Cardinals — Edman was forced to leave Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers after colliding with Lars Nootbaar on a fly ball to right-center (Edman has been playing right of late with Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson both on the IL). It doesn’t sound there’s any more significant wrong with the speedster, and he should return tonight.
Andres Munoz (shoulder), Seattle Mariners — Good news for the Mariners closer after he suffered a setback with his injured shoulder earlier this month.
Dipoto gives update on Munoz. Is in a throwing program and should know in the next 2 days if he can progress to the mound to start working toward a rehab assignment. All has gone well since the PRP shot but the #Mariners are being very deliberate in the steps that have followed.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) May 18, 2023
Munoz had been shut down since last week after testing discovered renewed inflammation in his shoulder, but it seems like it’s responding well to treatment. If he can progress to throwing off a mound next week, he should be able to return to Seattle’s bullpen at the start of June.
Liam Hendriks (cancer treatment), Chicago White Sox — Less than a year after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hendriks appears to be on the verge of pitching on a Major League mound:
Spoke with White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, who is headed to Chicago this week following a AAA rehab less than six months after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Plan is for him to throw live BP on Friday and, should it go well, he'll pitch in the big leagues soon thereafter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 18, 2023
The righty has understandably been a bit rusty during his rehab stint at Triple-A, but he should take over the cloesr’s role in Chicago again pretty quickly.
Aaron Civale (oblique), Cleveland Guardians — Civale made his first rehab start on Thursday night, a few weeks after landing on the IL with an oblique strain, and the righty looked like he hadn’t missed a beat — spinning three scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and four strikeouts. He only threw 35 pitches, so he’ll likely need at least one or two more outings before heading back to Cleveland, but that should come in just a couple weeks.
Tommy Kahnle (biceps)/Ian Hamilton (groin), New York Yankees — A bit of a good news, bad news situation with New York’s bullpen, as Kahnle made his first rehab appearance on the same day Aaron Boone confirmed that Hamilton — who’d been a life-saver in recent weeks — will miss around four weeks with a groin strain. At least Kahnle looks like he’s got his A-stuff already:
Tommy Kahnle's first inning of his rehab game with Tampa. Three up, three down, one strikeout. pic.twitter.com/gNE3Mk8jCm
— Conor Foley (@RailRidersTT) May 18, 2023
Jose Trevino (hamstring)/Josh Donaldson (hamstring/hand), New York Yankees — Of course, having multiple entries on the injury report is just the way this year has gone for New York. On Thursday it was Trevino’s turn to land on the IL, with the catcher apparently tweaking his hamstring during Wednesday night’s game in Toronto. Ben Rortvedt — acquired last offseason but yet to appear in a game for New York — was recalled from Triple-A to take Trevino’s place on the roster.
The main piece of that Rortvedt deal, Josh Donaldson, is on an injury saga of his own. The third baseman has suffered a couple different setbacks as he attempts to put his hamstring strain behind him, but the most recent one is easily the silliest:
Josh Donaldson had a minor setback: he sliced his thumb while putting together something at home. He and Giancarlo Stanton are now on similar timetables to return. #yankees
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 18, 2023
This latest ordeal is likely to push Donaldson’s return into mid-June. DJ LeMahieu is likely to keep getting the majority of starts at the hot corner, at least until Oswald Peraza returns from his rehab assignment next week.
Seth Lugo (calf), San Diego Padres — Lugo left his start against the Kansas City Royals this week with tightness in his calf, and while imaging confirmed that it was pretty minor, it was still enough to land the righty on the injured list Thursday afternoon. Lugo has been a solid back-end starter for the Padres early this season, but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that San Diego can turn to another eminently qualified option in Ryan Weathers (1-2, 3.42 ERA) from Triple-A.
Ryan Pepiot (oblique), Los Angeles Dodgers — Dustin May’s injury has left a void in L.A.’s rotation, but it doesn’t seem like Pepiot is an option to fill it any time soon. The top prospect is reportedly still feeling discomfort in the oblique he first strained back in the spring:
Some other important pitching injury news from Roberts:
— Jack Harris (@Jack_A_Harris) May 18, 2023
Ryan Pepiot is still feeling soreness in his oblique and is likely out until at least the All-Star break (if not longer than that). Pepiot is back to just flat ground catch. He hasn’t been throwing off a mound lately
The fact that Pepiot isn’t even throwing off a mound at this point is pretty disconcerting. The righty more than held his own in his first taste of the Majors last year, going 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 42 Ks in 36.1 innings. The Dodgers are likely to lean on another young arm, Gavin Stone, while May’s out.