Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Thursday, June 20, 2024. In today’s edition, CJ Abrams gets his wrist checked out, Kyle Bradish has Tommy John Surgery, Kyle Tucker may need a rehab assignment, and Pete Fairbanks should be back soon. All of that and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report for Thursday, June 20, 2024.
CJ Abrams – SS Washington Nationals (wrist)
CJ Abrams is getting an MRI on his left wrist. Isn’t sure how he hurt it.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) June 19, 2024
There was some confusion as to why and how Abrams got injured. While he did collide with Corbin Carroll on the basepaths, there was minimal concern about this being a situation to monitor at the time. Still, the team and fantasy owners will need to wait for the results of this MRI to see what the next steps will be. The Nationals have an early start today, and with minimal information present, it’s hard to believe that he will be in the lineup. Stay tuned.
Kyle Bradish – SP Baltimore Orioles (Tommy John Surgery)
Kyle Bradish had Tommy John surgery with an internal brace today, general manager Mike Elias said.
— Danielle Allentuck (@d_allentuck) June 19, 2024
Bradish’s 2024 season comes to an end here after having this surgery. He opted for the internal bracing method and the expected timeline for this is 12-18 months. He should not be expected to pitch until the start of the 2026 season.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. – OF Miami Marlins (hamstring)
Jazz was scratched with right hamstring tightness for precautionary reasons. He is available off the bench.
Quick turnaround from night game to matinee so don’t want to chance it.
Vidal gets the start in CF. Otto is in there at 2B, where Vidal originally was. https://t.co/O6yQ2dO4iR
— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) June 19, 2024
The reasoning for his absence is sound, as the team had a very early game on Wednesday. The only thing to watch for here is if Chisholm is able to return to the lineup tomorrow evening. Chisholm has a long history of injuries but has been able to remain healthy this season. It would be a shame if he were to miss some time.
Aaron Judge – OF New York Yankees (hand)
Aaron Judge is not in tonight’s lineup … Boone said he considers him day to day. Said Judge’s hand is still pretty sore but noted he that he took some swings in the cage today #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) June 19, 2024
Judge taking swings in the batting cage is a good sign of him returning soon and avoiding the Injured List. The hope is that at some point this weekend he will be back out there.
Walker Buehler – SP Los Angeles Dodgers (hip)
Buehler will be going on the IL with a hip injury. Roberts said Buehler had been dealing with some hip discomfort even before last night
Obviously, this also gives Buehler a chance to reset after his struggles this season. Roberts said there’s no timeline for his return right…
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) June 19, 2024
Buehler has struggled all season long to get things going after returning from Tommy John Surgery. Of the seven pitches that he has thrown, five of them have a batting average well over .250 against this season. Even though he was hit in the hip in his last outing, this move to the Injured List seems like a minor reason to allow him time to figure things out. He will be counted on in the future to contribute and be the pitcher they believed he could be. The team has World Series aspirations and will need all the help they can get from everyone on the roster.
Clayton Kershaw – SP Los Angeles Dodgers (shoulder)
Clayton Kershaw impressed in his first rehab start. He struck out five, topped out at 90 mph, and says he "checked off a lot of boxes".
3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks, 36-26 PC, 42 CSW% pic.twitter.com/wGDxyvoLRr
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) June 20, 2024
Kershaw is in the final stages of his long recovery. He had anticipated returning to the Dodgers in the late summer months. As he stated here, he checked off a lot of boxes in the things that he wanted to do. He looked effective and was fine velocity-wise. Once he knows how his body reacts and sees how he feels today, the team will be better able to map out a timeline for his 2024 debut.
Pete Fairbanks – RP Tampa Bay Rays (thumb)
#Rays Fairbanks said after testing his bruised right thumb playing catch “everything felt within the realm of good” and he expects to be available to pitch Thursday.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) June 19, 2024
Fairbanks tested his thumb out by throwing yesterday under the watchful eye of the medical staff and trainers. Both he and the team must be confident in his abilities to bounce back and pitch if he does in fact return today. All in all, it feels like this issue is just about behind them.
Nolan Arenado – 3B St. Louis Cardinals (elbow)
Nolan Arenado is day-to-day. The pitch hit him in the nerve in his elbow, causing his hand to sort of cramp-up. He's hoping to be back in action by Saturday, but he can't guarantee anything. This is the first time he's dealing with this specific type of injury.
— 🌱paige🌱 (@paige_leckie) June 19, 2024
It sounds like the pitch that hit Arenado did so on such a small, one-of-a-kind spot that could have led to some damage. His hand cramping up is painful, and the hope is that he will be back in a few days. As he said here, though, nothing is guaranteed.
Eduardo Rodriguez – SP Arizona Diamondbacks (shoulder)
Torey Lovullo said E-Rod's latest imaging showed "almost 100% healing." He will likely throw off a mound within the next week.
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) June 19, 2024
The team has been taking things slowly with Rodriguez after having admitted to rushing things within the organization earlier this season. His throwing off a mound will be a big hurdle to clear which could lead to a quicker healing process to become ready to make his 2024 debut.
Alek Thomas – OF Arizona Diamondbacks (hamstring)
Torey Lovullo says the D-Backs have again put Alek Thomas’ rehab on pause.
Lovullo said Thomas is dealing with “general soreness” but added that he remains “very” optimistic Thomas will get back into rehab games by the end of this week.
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) June 19, 2024
The team reiterated that they believe this is just general soreness, but didn’t rule out imaging if the problem persists.
Ben Brown – SP Chicago Cubs (neck)
Ben Brown (neck) began throwing again yesterday. General medical consensus was that he had a “benign area of concern,” Craig Counsell said, but it’s already dissipating.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) June 19, 2024
The team believed that it was a stress reaction in his neck. It is a sign in the right direction to see him throwing, mind you, that this could very well blow over with a bad case of a stiff neck. Either way, his testing it out with playing catch is a great sign.
Lance McCullers – SP/RP Houston Astros (forearm)
Lance McCullers Jr says he's hitting over 90 MPH bullpen sessions. It's been a little over a year since major surgery. It's significant to see this progress pic.twitter.com/7Zd0pCiyJl
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) June 19, 2024
McCullers is on the right path after having surgery to repair his flexor tendon and have a bone spur removed. That being said, he’s had multiple setbacks and injuries over the years, so it’s hard to trust any progress seen.
Kyle Tucker – OF Houston Astros (shin)
Kyle Tucker still walking with quite a noticeable limp as he recovers from his shin contusion
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) June 19, 2024
Tucker has progressed slowly, and the team is somewhat concerned. It was originally believed to be a minor injury, but he last played almost two weeks ago. Due to the time in between now and his last game played, a rehab assignment might be warranted here.