MLB: Injured Stars creating tough decisions for teams
There’s never an opportune time for your star player to get injured, especially when there are set backs. Luckily for these injured stars, their MLB teams can still bolster their rosters before July 31.
If you’re a fantasy baseball owner the word ‘injury’ is your worst nightmare. It’s probably the end of the season for your team, as you’ll be hitting the refresh button on the waiver wire page to see if there is anyone who can jump into your lineup.
For an MLB franchise, it’s still your worst nightmare, but you have more options than the lowly fantasy owner. A couple of big name stars have gone down in the past few weeks, and teams will need to make a decision of playing the waiting game, or pulling the trigger on a trade.
The San Francisco Giants currently have three stars,
,
, and
, who are on the DL, but they will be coming back soon. The Giants have lost four straight, but now may not be the time to ship away a prospect as all three players are expected back by next week.
A number of high profile players who are injured have had minor setbacks in their rehab stints and will need more time until they will return to their big league club. We’ll take a look at a couple of these guys, and what decisions their teams will need to make to make sure they will still be able to compete.
Next: The Dodgers ace
Clayton Kershaw
The Injury and setback:
Clayton Kershaw was placed on the DL on June 30 with a mild disc herniation. Kershaw had been rehabbing for the past week but was shut down on Tuesday for an indefinite amount of time.
Kershaw threw a 60-pitch simulated game on Tuesday and didn’t feel great afterwards. Manager Dave Roberts announced that they’d be cautious with him before they moved forward with his rehab process. It was announced just this afternoon that he may need surgery, but they are optimistic he can return in 2016.
Kershaw was the best pitcher in the majors before suffering his injury. He had the best ERA, WHIP, and WAR in the bigs, fourth most strikeouts, and just nine walks.
How it impacts the team:
Kershaw, obviously, is the best pitcher on the Dodgers. Losing him is a huge step back for a team competing for October. They also lost Hyun-jin Ryu to the DL on Tuesday. They will now have to rely on a staff that consists of Bud Norris, Julio Urias, Kenta Maeda, Scott Kazmir, and Brandon McCarthy.
Kazmir hasn’t been as good as the Dodgers had hoped, McCarthy has only appeared in three games this season, Urias hasn’t gotten past the sixth yet, and Norris is still questionable as a reliable starter.
Possible Decisions:
The Dodgers rank fourth in the MLB in ERA, and haven’t had too many issues with pitching besides injuries. However, the rotation sits on the older side, and acquiring another young pitcher could help.
Translation: #Dodgers might be motivated to pursue Chris Archer, even though he's struggled. Odorizzi, Smyly-type deals ... not so much.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 20, 2016
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman still has plenty of ties with his former club who is stocked with young, talented arms. It’s been rumored that either Chris Archer, Matt Moore, or Jake Odorizzi could be traded before the deadline.
What they should do:
Friedman should call up his old buddies and try to make a deal. Adding a young, club controllable starter can only help a contender.
Next: The Indians outfielder
Michael Brantley
The Injury and setback:
Michael Brantley has been on the DL since May 14 after a slow start to the season. He began the year on the DL after having surgery in November to repair a torn shoulder labrum. He’s been making rehab starts this past week for minor league affiliates, but it’s questionable as to whether or not the injury has improved.
The Indians were hoping he could make back to back starts at some point but sat out after a Friday game, and played again Sunday, going 0-3. Brantley then complained that there was more shoulder discomfort. He will undergo an MRI today.
How it impacts the team:
Brantley was the Indian’s best player last season. He hit .310, lead the majors with 45 doubles, and had more walks than strikeouts. This year, the Indians transitioned third baseman
into a left fielder, and he has played extremely well.
The 23-year-old is hitting .294 with 41 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He’s also been very clutch, hitting .400 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
Possible Decisions:
Jose Ramirez has handled left field like a pro, meaning if Brantley is lost for more time they’ll be okay in the outfield. However, Ramirez’s native position, third base, has been an issue for the Indians. Juan Uribe is the starter there and is hitting .214 with an Offensive runs above average of -12.6.
The Indians have a couple of options. They could move Ramirez back to third base and look for an outfielder to replace him until Brantley can get back. Their backup Tyler Naquin is the front-runner if that happens. He’s hitting .314 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in 172 at-bats.
If they elect to keep Ramirez in left, they will need to replace Uribe. Yunel Escobar would be a nice addition for the Indians. He signed a two-year deal with the Angels in the off-season and has put together a slash line of .314/.364/.410.
What they should do:
Save your prospects. Move Ramirez to third base, and make Tyler Naquin the everyday left-fielder until Brantley is healthy enough to return.
Next: The Red Sox closer
Craig Kimbrel
The Injury and setback:
The Red Sox relievers who sit on the DL would make a pretty stellar bullpen. Carson Smith, Junichi Tazawa, Craig Kimbrel, and now Koji Uehara all are injured and inactive.
Kimbrel’s injury serves at the biggest blow to the ‘pen. He was placed on the DL on July 9 with a meniscus tear. His surgery was two days later, and the Red Sox announced he would be out for 3-6 weeks. The injury set the Red Sox back as it was, but the major setback comes in the form of his replacement.
#RedSox officially announce Koji Uehara is headed to 15-day DL with right pectoral strain. Left in 9th last night w/ discomfort
— Brendan C. Hall (@BHallWrites) July 20, 2016
The Red Sox placed Koji Uehara on the DL today with a right pectoral strain. They called up Noe Ramirez, 6.55 ERA in 11 games, to add another arm in the pen.
How it impacts the team:
The Sox will have to turn to Brad Ziegler to close games out for the time-being. He has plenty of experience closing, as he recorded 18 saves while in Arizona this year.
Boston has a plethora of relievers who don’t have much playoff experience working out of the bullpen for now. Their unit ranks in about the middle of every category for relievers, but they will need to acquire help in case Kimbrel or Koji have setbacks.
Possible Decisions:
The first thing the Red Sox will most likely do is promote
back to the major league roster, and put him in the bullpen. Kelly throws the ball hard and could serve as a late inning reliever, or compliment
as an inning-eater.
The Red Sox could also trade for a couple of relievers. Dave Dombrowski said recently that the team was most likely done dealing, but now may have to take his word back and make a deal.
Possible trade targets are Will Smith of the Brewers who’s allowing batters to hit just .169 off him and has allowed just four earned runs in 20 games. The other is Fernando Abad of the Twins. He has a 78.3 left-on-base percentage and has allowed just two home runs to the 120 batters he’s faced.
What they should do:
Make a deal. Smith or Abad should come rather cheap, and it doesn’t hurt to have another dependable arm come October.
Next: The Diamondbacks Ace
Zack Greinke
The Injury and setback:
Zack Greinke hit the DL on July 3 with a left oblique strain. The 200-million-dollar man had bounced back from his rough start with his new team, and losing him makes the already weak Diamondbacks even weaker.
Greinke was supposed to return on July 25, but it seems that the date will be pushed back further. He threw on flat ground on Tuesday and will try a bullpen session today. Greinke acknowledged that he will most likely need to make a minor league rehab start before he even thinks about returning to the big league club. This will most likely push his return back to early to mid August.
How it impacts the team:
The Diamondbacks rank 27
th
in the majors in ERA. They thought they had built a great rotation around Greinke and
, but that hasn’t worked out as Miller was sent down to AAA just this week.
Existing starters
and
have been duds this year, putting up 4.49 and 5.25 ERAs, respectively.
has allowed 12 runs in 20.1 innings pitched, and hasn’t appeared much. The positive is that they’ve given
another chance, and has struck out 39 batters in his last seven games.
Greinke’s absence hurts the D-backs, but doesn’t throw their season off-track. They’re 17 games back of the Giants, and have no hopes for the playoffs.
Possible Decisions:
It makes no sense for the D-backs to try and make a move for another starter. The only trade they should make is one for prospects that can be used in the future.
They have Shelby Miller who they could call up at anytime as well as top prospect Braden Shipley. Shipley is estimated to pitch at sometime in 2016, so now is a good time to promote him.
Next: Promoted Prospects making a difference
What they should do:
Promote from within, make no trades, ride the rest of this failed season out.