Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report. In this report, Spencer Strider is throwing bullpens, Ronald Acuna Jr. might be slowly deployed once healthy, Felix Bautista will be eased into action, Shohei Ohtani delivers good news, and Tyer Glasnow’s condition takes a turn. All of this and so much more in the latest MLB Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report for February 3
Spencer Strider – SP Atlanta Braves
Spencer Strider is sitting on four completed bullpens right now. As both Strider and AA have discussed previously, Strider will get a largely normal spring but the plan is still to not have him on the Opening Day roster
— Lindsay Crosby, big baseball guy (@CrosbyBaseball) January 24, 2025
This is pretty good news for both Strider and the Braves, as four bullpen sessions are a significant amount of progression. There has not been any indication if any of these bullpens were live bullpen sessions, but the fact that he is throwing without any known physical setbacks is a great sign that things are going in the right direction. Also, as stated, he will not make the Opening Day roster, meaning that he will be placed on the Injured List once the season begins. It remains to be seen whether or not he will be placed on the 15-day Injured List or the 60-day Injured List. That being said, a return before May seems very unlikely, and his draft price of approximately 140 since January 1 reflects that. He makes for a very tempting SP3 in drafts.
Ronald Acuna Jr. – OF Atlanta Braves
This re-iterates the fact that Ronald Acuna Jr. will in fact miss significant time to begin the season. The wording here of “first month or so” could mean somewhere in the range of the first six weeks of the season. Later in the article, the role of Jarred Kelenic is discussed, and the author David O’Brien suggests that Acuna Jr. may also be given additional time off once he does return, giving Kelenic more time to fill in as a role player off the bench. Both Acuna and the team have stated more than once that they will be taking things slowly this time around. His first ACL recovery felt rushed and the outfielder said that he never felt quite like himself when he returned. Looking back, that was one of his worst seasons as a pro, so consider this time around being tailored to lessons learned.
Brandon Nimmo – OF New York Mets
These are good signs of Nimmo being ready for Opening Day, or sometime just after that. Plantar fasciitis is a tough injury from which to recover. Rest is one of the best ways to treat it, and unfortunately for him, baseball is a game that requires running for 162 games a season. As a side note, I was able to talk to Laura Albanese of Newsday this past week on a podcast, and she, after speaking with Nimmo at a promotional event, felt confident in his ability to be ready for Opening Day. Take that for what it’s worth, but she is knowledgeable and with the team.
Felix Bautista – RP Baltimore Orioles
#Orioles GM Mike Elias said it won’t be a typical start to Spring Training for RHP Félix Bautista because he is coming off Tommy John surgery. O’s plan to be careful with the All-Star closer and ease him into camp.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) January 31, 2025
This is an interesting note on Felix Bautista, as he will be eased into the closer’s role despite being on track to be ready for the season. What exactly this means is unknown, but some possibilities could be not pitching in back-to-back games, pitching in low-leverage situations, or something else altogether. There were other reports of him looking outstanding in recent bullpen sessions, which is comforting to read, but the fact that the Orioles are going in with a cautious approach is something to be noted. Bautista has a draft price of a third or fourth-round pick, depending on league size, and this news might put a damper on any decision to draft him as early as that.
Shohei Ohtani – SP Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani said it’s too soon to determine when he will be able to pitch in a big league game this season. That’ll depend on when they lay out his schedule to start throwing bullpens.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 1, 2025
The biggest news out of Dodgersfest this past weekend was the updates on Shohei Ohtani. The number one pick for most was there and offered news on how he was doing with regard to his injuries. Ohtani said that he did not know when he would be pitching again this season, as a timeline had yet to be set. Once he starts throwing bullpens, something would be able to be outlined, but for now, he couldn’t commit to it. Additionally, manager Dave Roberts mentioned that May sounded like a good time to predict that we would see him pitch again, which is something to target as fantasy managers. That being said, there are a few issues with this. First, it is just a speculative comment more than anything, as not much is known outside of this guess. Secondly, May is a 31-day month, and any time in May could mean he misses one or two months this season, which is a big difference. AWith all this, his status as a pitcher remains unknown, but both he and the team plan on pitching in 2025.
Shohei Ohtani – DH Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani added that everything appears to be on schedule after left shoulder (non-throwing) surgery this offseason. https://t.co/eAEvVKlMVA
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 1, 2025
There was also news about Shohei Ohtani “the hitter” this past weekend. A reminder that he suffered an injury on his shoulder during the World Series and had off-season surgery to fix the problem. The good news here is that everything appears to be going smoothly. The plan is for him to be on the Opening Day roster as a hitter, and this news keeps that outlook in line.
Freddie Freeman – 1B Los Angeles Dodgers
Freddie Freeman has started swinging, but hasn’t started running yet after ankle surgery. Freeman said he won’t be in Cactus League games to start but expects to be ready for Tokyo.
Freeman said he tore ankle ligaments last October, too, but those healed before surgery.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 1, 2025
Good news here on Freddie Freeman, as the expectation has always been for him to be ready for Opening Day. It’s hard to tell if his not running yet is a setback or not, but with no real worries just yet, he feels like a safe player to draft, given his lack of extensive injury history. His advanced age is something to consider, as he will be 35 next season, and as he gets older, his body won’t heal as quickly as it should. Still, your opinion of him shouldn’t have changed after this news.
Tyler Glasnow – SP Los Angeles Dodgers
Tyler Glasnow said his elbow issue late last season turned out to just be tendinitis, and his latest MRI came back clean. “I’ve been throwing normal, throwing bullpens, and I feel as good as I’ve ever felt.”
— Rowan Kavner (@RowanKavner) February 1, 2025
Interesting nugget here, as it turns out that Tyler Glasnow’s elbow injury was not an elbow strain after all. It feels odd that it wasn’t revealed until now, but there is a chance that it wasn’t discovered until recently. Still, it seems likely this would have been identified at the time and not months later. If this is true, then it would definitely make Glasnow a safer pick to draft, but it’s hard to know the accuracy of this and the timeline. There should be more to this in the coming weeks. Fantasy baseball owners should still have their Spidey senses tingling.
Michael Kopech – RP Los Angeles Dodgers
https://twitter.com/BBisntBoring/status/1884303061449130383
Interesting notes here, as Brandon Gomes refutes almost all of what Bob Nightengale reported previously. What he didn’t say here was that Kopech wasn’t actually injured, as it sounded like he chose his words wisely. This was more of a way to express that it isn’t confirmed that he will miss a month or so with forearm inflammation. Either way, the Dodgers have acted like they won’t be using him as much this season, as they have bolstered their bullpen with proven arms, making them an incredibly reliable group of pitchers. The clip ended with Gomes stating that their goal is to win in 2025, so any and all health matters will likely be slow-played.
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