Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Monday, April 13, 2025. In today’s edition, we learned this weekend that Justin Steele will not be returning this year, as he will be having season-ending surgery to repair his elbow. Also, the deep position of shortstop lost two big pieces this weekend, as both CJ Abrams and Masyn Winn went on their respective Injured Lists. Finally, Brandon Woodruff made his return to the mound in a rehab start for the Brewers. All of this and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report
Justin Steele – SP Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the remainder of the 2025 season. Unclear yet whether it's a full Tommy John or primary repair, but his season is over regardless. Awful news for the Cubs, who are off to a great start.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 13, 2025
A brutal break here for the Cubs, who are rolling thus far this season. Steele had just finished pitching a gem in his last outing of the year, but the painful feeling in his elbow wasn’t going away. Since this was a recurring problem for him, he got a second opinion, and it was revealed that he would require season-ending surgery. As stated here, we don’t yet know the operation, and the distinction is a big one. If it is Tommy John Surgery, he will miss anywhere from twelve to eighteen months, making him an option for the 2027 season. The Cubs will welcome back Javier Assad soon enough, as he begins a rehab assignment this week. In the meantime, it’s anyone’s guess as to how they fill this major void, though Cade Horton could get his chance.
Seiya Suzuki – OF Chicago Cubs
Per Craig Counsell, Seiya Suzuki is day to day with his wrist injury. He originally injured it Monday against the Rangers and aggravated it again tonight.
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 13, 2025
Suzuki was removed from Saturday’s game with wrist pain that he sustained earlier in the week. He would not start against the Dodgers the next night, and was said to have been in considerable pain when he squeezed a bat. It’s too early to know if he will be placed on the Injured List for this, which is frustrating for owners who want to set their rosters for next week. For now, consider him day-to-day with the decent chance of being in the lineup.
CJ Abrams – SS Washington Nationals
The Nationals placed Abrams on the Injured List this weekend, as his right hip flexor was giving him problems all week. From the sound of things here, the team was being precautionary, with the belief that they were getting ahead of something bigger. The team seems hopeful that it will be a minimal stay away from the team, but we likely won’t know more about this situation for a few days. In his absence, Paul DeJong should be looked for additional playing time, and he could profit from getting to play in Pittsburgh and Colorado this week.
Jack Leiter – SP Texas Rangers
Leiter has missed almost two weeks as it is with a blister, but it would appear that he is ready for a rehab assignment. Chances are, if this one is a success, he will be brought back to the Rangers’ rotation soon after, as blisters don’t usually require multiple starts to prove the pitcher is healthy.
Masyn Winn- SS St. Louis Cardinals
Masyn Winn (back spasms) to 10-day IL.
Nolan Gorman activated.
More soon.#stlcards— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) April 12, 2025
Winn’s spasms became too much to handle, as they had been bothering him for weeks. This could help explain his slow start to the season, and could make him an interesting buy-low option either now or when we get word of his being close to returning. The good news is that Nolan Gorman is back with the Cardinals, as he is someone who is looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2024 season.
George Springer – OF Toronto Blue Jays
X-rays on Springer’s wrist returned negative. Blue Jays are considering him day-to-day
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) April 13, 2025
Springer left the game after striking out and whining in pain. The worst was feared as it looked to be a very serious injury. Luckily, the X-rays were negative, and he is now considered day-to-day with an injury that isn’t considered significant.
Lance McCullers – SP Houston Astros
Re Lance McCullers Jr., Dana Brown told the Astros pregame radio show the team could target its April 25-27 series in Kansas City for his return: “That would be pretty encouraging. But we don’t want to rush it.” @AstrosRadioMLB
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) April 13, 2025
McCullers has worked his way up to four innings of work and looks to improve on that with his next start, which will be at Double-A Corpus Christi. If all goes well with this and one other start, we could see him throw a pitch for the Astros for the first time in years. As a side note, he is one of the only pitchers who has yet to throw with the new pitch clock rule. That’s how long he has been out of action.
Brandon Woodruff – SP Milwaukee Brewers
Brandon Woodruff is back! 🪵
The @Brewers right-hander tallies five punchouts over 3 2/3 innings for the @nashvillesounds in his first non-Spring Training start since Sept. 2023. pic.twitter.com/wlficRd6aA
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 13, 2025
One can’t help but smile at this outcome, as Woodruff has worked incredibly hard to get to this point. His fastball reached 94.4 miles per hour at one point, which is something that he has been working hard to maintain. He still has a ways to go to become a starter for the Brewers, and his result this year might be a long reliever, but for now, it’s great news that he was able to do what he did this weekend.
