MLB: Players World Series contenders can’t afford to lose

Every MLB team deals with injuries, but World Series contenders are typically deep enough to weather the storm. However, which players are absolutely essential for this year’s Fall Classic hopefuls?

Injuries have always been a part of baseball, but it seems MLB players – prominent ones, too – have been dropping like flies this season. Mike Trout, widely considered the best the game has to offer, has been out for over a month and is expected back around the All-Star break. It’s his first stint on the disabled list in his career.

For big league teams, navigating their way through various DL trips over the course of six months is as much a key to success as scoring enough runs or maintaining an effective pitching staff.

Some clubs get hit worse than others, but it’s a fact of life virtually every franchise has to deal with. That’s why depth is so incredibly important for MLB teams that hope to make the postseason and advance far once they get there.

The most well-equipped squads have serviceable players ready to fill in when their starters go down, but even those with World Series aspirations have at least one superstar who is just about indispensable. A guy who, if injured, would deliver a sizable hit to their chances.

With the 2017 season just about at its midpoint, it’s a good time to consider the players who have been bitten by the injury bug and perhaps cross your fingers for those who have managed to stay healthy.

Of the teams that have already asserted themselves as possible contenders for this year’s Fall Classic, which player could each simply not afford to lose? Let’s take a look at who holds their club’s fate in their hands.

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