Here is the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Monday, March 18, 2024. Inside, you will find information on Shohei Ohtani’s progression with the glove, Josh Lowe’s setback with his hip, and Sonny Gray’s potential to not miss any time. All of that and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report for Monday, March 18, 2024
TJ Friedl – OF Cincinnati Reds
TJ Friedl has a wrist fracture. Re access in 3-4 weeks. Has to let the bone heal.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) March 17, 2024
Friedl injured himself while diving for a ball in the outfield. It was diagnosed as a fracture and he will not be back until midway through the season. He said that he would do whatever was needed to keep his body in the best shape possible to return and help the team later this year. This is a big blow to the Reds who are already without Noelvi Marte.
Josh Lowe – OF Tampa Bay Rays
Josh Lowe is down with an oblique injury. Will not make opening Day roster. #Rays
— Kristie Ackert (@ByKristieAckert) March 17, 2024
Lowe was a candidate to return to the spring lineups at some point, but will instead miss Opening Day. At this point, he will likely need some form of ramping up before returning, so the first week of April might be gone for him.
Sonny Gray – SP St. Louis Cardinals
Sonny Gray will not be cleared before Opening Day, Oli Marmol says, but a path remains to where he won’t require an IL stint and could potentially pitch later in the first road trip of the season.
Miles Mikolas is your #STLCards Opening Day starter.
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) March 17, 2024
Since Gray injured himself early in the spring, he has progressed at a steady rate. While Miles Mikolas was named the Opening Day starter, there’s a chance that Gray finds himself at the back of the team’s rotation, thus not needing to spend fifteen days on the team’s Injured List. While nothing is yet set in stone, it is encouraging nonetheless.
Aaron Judge – OF New York Yankees
The Yankees say Aaron Judge hit off the tee, did soft toss and hit off the machine today. Was scheduled to hit outside but no one who stayed back did.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 17, 2024
This is contrary to what the team had previously predicted. Judge was projected to be in the team’s lineup over the weekend. Instead, he took live BP on both Friday and Saturday before undergoing the aforementioned process yesterday. This shouldn’t be considered a setback just yet as there are no concerns about him not being ready for Opening Day.
Eury Perez – SP Miami Marlins
From the #Marlins: On the day after exiting his outing early on Wednesday due to discomfort from his broken nail on his right middle finger, Eury Perez experienced elbow soreness on Thursday and alerted the training team.
They will evaluate with imaging and testing.
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) March 16, 2024
This news was announced over the weekend and it comes with an ominous tone. Perez had been dealing with a broken fingernail, and there’s a chance that he was compensating a way to effectively throw while dealing with this issue. That, alongside not pitching much because of the nail ailment, would likely cause him to not be ready for Opening Day regardless of the evaluation. Stay tuned as we should know more early in the week.
Vaughn Grissom – 2B Boston Red Sox
Full quote was "mid-April, probably late April." So that has changed from initial timetable. https://t.co/lJnI3YntgK
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 17, 2024
Grissom’s start to the season continues to get delayed here, though there haven’t been many updates to explain why. He is still with the team and taking part in baseball activities. The Red Sox don’t view his injury as anything serious.
Tyler O’Neill – OF Boston Red Sox
Red Sox hoping to get Tyler O'Neill (calf tightness) in the lineup Tuesday.
Cora said: "If that doesn’t happen, we’ll start getting worried But o far, as far as treatment and all that, (head athletic trainer) Brandon (Henry) feels like, let’s take care of this and not try… 1/2— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) March 17, 2024
O’Neill has missed the better part of a week with calf tightness, and the team doesn’t want him out there unless he’s 100% healthy. There doesn’t seem to be too much of a worry yet, but if the next two days off turn into four or five, then there’s likely something more that we don’t yet know. For now, consider him DTD.
Alex Cobb – SP San Francisco Giants
Alex Cobb threw 27 pitches (18 strikes) in a minor league game today and struck out five in two hitless innings. At this rate, the guy might be ready for the opening day roster 👀
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) March 16, 2024
This was fantastic to read over the weekend. Cobb has been trending in the right direction for quite a while, and this confirms it. While nothing has officially happened, his likely avoiding the Injured List is nothing short of a miracle.
Ryan Mountcastle – 1B Baltimore Orioles
Ryan Mountcastle said his neck feels a lot better. Could be in lineup after Monday off-day. Felt it lock up on him during a swing #orioles
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) March 17, 2024
Great news here as it doesn’t appear that Mountcastle will miss the start of the season.
Bryce Harper – 1B Philadelphia Phillies
Bryce Harper hasn't played the last three days. He won't play tomorrow. He has some stiffness in his back. Level of concern? "None. Zero," Rob Thomson said. He said Harper will be back in the lineup later this week and ready for Opening Day.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 17, 2024
The bad news here is that Harper has had to sit out of the Phillies’ lineup due to back stiffness. This sort of thing can be difficult to alleviate and something that not only makes it difficult to swing for power but can also reappear over time. The good news is that nobody on the Phillies seems concerned whatsoever. We shall see if he is back soon enough with no lingering effects. For now, consider him DTD.
Justin Verlander – SP Houston Astros
Justin Verlander is scheduled to throw a light bullpen session today. If that goes well, his next time out will be a live batting practice against hitters, Joe Espada said. Verlander will get multiple live BPs before pitching in games, Espada said.
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) March 17, 2024
Verlander continues to trend in the right direction. We should know more about where he’s headed with his rehabbing once there’s an update on how his body handled the light bullpen session. If he does progress to live BP, it will take multiple weeks to get through that phase, and he may also require a minor league rehab. He will begin the year on the Injured List.
Shohei Ohtani – UT Los Angeles Dodgers
Dave Roberts said Shohei Ohtani will start a throwing progression once the Dodgers return to the U.S.
While Dr. Neal ElAttrache said recently he could face hitters by September, Roberts said there wasn’t a clear timeline for that.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 18, 2024
This is potentially massive news that came out early Monday morning. With Ohtani beginning a throwing program, the door has been left open for him to possibly play in the field at some point this season. Whether or not that happens all depends on how his body progresses. The team has said that he will not pitch at all this year, despite what Dr. ElAttrache has stated. That said, Ohtani gaining outfield eligibility at some point adds incredible value.
Nick Lodolo – SP Cincinnati Reds
David Bell said Nick Martinez will throw three innings in a simulated game today. Martinez is still going to be able to be built up to start.
Nick Lodolo will start today in the spring training game. Following yesterday's rainout, that pushes Lodolo's schedule back a day. So now…
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) March 16, 2024
The delay here is just another in a string of items of bad news for the Reds this past week. For however much he has progressed, he may end up missing the first two weeks of the season. Stay tuned.
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