Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Friday, April 11, 2025. In today’s edition, the Atlanta Braves may get some very good news shortly. Both Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider could take positive steps forward in the near future. Also, Eaequiel Tovar missed a game with a hip injury, Ranger Suarez had a very successful rehab outing, and Clarke Schmidt could be back very soon. All of this and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report
Ronald Acuna Jr. – OF Atlanta Braves
#Braves RF Ronald Acuña Jr. should head to Los Angeles to meet with doctors the first of next week. He expects to be cleared for lateral movement and quick start/stop running. That'll determine his next steps and timetable for rehab assignment.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 10, 2025
The beginning of next week will help determine the future of Acuna’s health. The hope and belief are that he will be ready to ramp up his physical activities to the point of being much closer to a rehab assignment. To get to that point, he will need to begin moving around like a typical baseball player would. The lateral movement, stopping, and starting to run are great first steps for him to get back on track for a return. If cleared, the guess would be that he is at least one month away from making his 2025 debut, given that he would need to work on his timing and mechanics at the plate and go out for a rehab assignment.
Spencer Strider – SP Atlanta Braves
Snit wouldn’t commit to Strider being activated next week. But he indicated that’s the plan
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 10, 2025
While this is an unofficial statement, it comes with the belief that it will happen. It would seem that after yesterday’s terrific outing, where he struck out thirteen batters over six innings that Strider is as close as ever. Still, his velocity isn’t quite where it was pre-injury, so that could be reason enough to hold off on a debut next week. Stay tuned.
Ezequiel Tovar – SS Colorado Rockies
#Rockies    manager Bhd Black said SS Ezequiel Tovar has been dealing with "a little bit of a hip thing going on that we don't think is significant enough for us to be concerned about." Black noted that Tovar "hasn't looked quite right" for a couple games. Hence, the rest day.
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) April 10, 2025
Tovar missed Thursday’s game as a way to rest up after being banged up for quite some time. As a side note, I was able to interview Thomas Harding for a podcast on Thursday night. After speaking to Harding about Tovar, he noted that the injury could be because of his rather aggressive baserunning this season, as opposed to years past. He has already attempted four steals so far while attempting only eleven last year. He couldn’t say for certain that this was the case, but he does travel with the team and has 25 years of experience doing so. All that being said, there isn’t much of an indication that he will require a trip to the Injured List, but all of this is a long-winded way of saying that there is a chance that either Tovar stops running when he returns or he does have frequent “bad days” because he continues to run.
Ranger Suarez – SP Philadelphia Phillies
Ranger Suarez's line in his rehab start tonight with Class A Clearwater: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 33 pitches (24 strikes).
Four-seam fastball averaged 92.2 mph. It averaged 91.8 last season.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 11, 2025
Suarez’s first rehab outing was a success, as he was able to fire off three innings of work with a fastball velocity that mirrored last season’s. The hope is that his back feels good enough in the coming days, which would help pave the way for him to build up his endurance to throw more.
Clarke Schmidt – SP New York Yankees
Final line on #Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt in his 2nd and likely final rehab start before returning to the Bronx: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 K. 61-45. Looked smooth and in control throughout – didn't really labor at any point.
— Matt Kardos (@mattkardos) April 10, 2025
It looks like Schmidt is all but ready for the official return to the Yankees rotation. We could see him back in New York later this week. Fantasy owners would be wise to put some FAAB money on him this weekend.
Masataka Yoshida – UT Boston Red Sox
Masataka Yoshida will play in extended Spring Training games in Fort Myers beginning the week of April 14. He won't start a Minor League rehab assignment until he is throwing at 100 percent. Alex Cora says his throwing right now is inconsistent. Good days, bad days.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) April 10, 2025
Yoshida’s slow progression here is a bit concerning, as he hasn’t been able to progress with his throwing. That said, because Rafael Devers will not put on a glove this season, his potential could be capped. There’s no doubt that he can hit, but the Red Sox are committed to waiting for him to be able to throw.
Yoan Moncada – 3B Los Angeles Angels
There it is. Ron Washington said that he doesn't know how long Moncada will be out. It's too early to say that he will have a minimum stay on the IL. No results back in his re-evaluation yet. #Angels https://t.co/YYBtJF37Oe
— Brian Murphy (@Spokes_Murphy) April 10, 2025
This is an unfortunate break for the Angels, who are now without their top two third basemen. Though given the injury histories of both players, it’s hard to feel sorry for a team that did this to themselves. Still, it’s likely that Moncada misses more than the minimum, and while that could be mainly hunch-based, it’s because we know that he is a very slow healer.
Byron Buxton – OF Minnesota Twins
Byron Buxton, out of the lineup again today, returned home for a personal matter.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) April 10, 2025
The hope here is that whatever Buxton is dealing with can be resolved quickly, and that all is well with him and his family. He is wished the absolute best.
