Welcome to the MLB Injury Report for Tuesday, May 21, 2024. In today’s edition, Xan der Bogaerts injured his shoulder, Kodai Senga suffered a setback, and Gerrit Cole will take a major step forward today. All of that and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report for Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
Xander Bogaerts – 2B San Diego Padres (shoulder)
Preliminary imaging negative on Xander Bogaerts’ shoulder. That’s good news for now.
Padres awaiting further results.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) May 20, 2024
Bogaerts injured his shoulder while making a defensive play. The injury looked quite severe when it happened, but initial tests show that there is no structural damage done. For now he is considered DTD, but there could be a change in that diagnosis should he return to the team in any more pain. Stay tuned.
Kodai Senga – SP New York Mats (shoulder, tricep)
Kodai Senga experienced tricep tightness and did not throw his scheduled bullpen session yesterday
Carlos Mendoza says it is a "low-level concern" and that they hope he will throw a bullpen by the end of the week pic.twitter.com/EDa0QScylt
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2024
Senga has been recovering from an early-season shoulder injury and suffered his first significant setback. The team sees this as a minor ailment, with the expectation that he will resume his recovery plan in the near future. This is something to keep an eye on, and one of the fears of rostering injured pitchers. Any setbacks can cost weeks of time.
Gerrit Cole – SP New York Yankees (elbow)
Gerrit Cole will face hitters tomorrow (first time since landing on the IL) #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) May 20, 2024
This is a massive step forward for Cole, who has been throwing bullpen sessions for quite some time now. He has elevated his game to be able to now throw to live hitters, which is a step right before a rehab assignment. The team will likely want to see him do this many times to ensure that he’s able to do this without soreness and with accuracy. All in all, fantasy owners and Yankees fans should be pleased.
DJ LeMahieu – 3B New York Yankees (foot)
Aaron Boone expects DJ LeMahieu to get the bulk of playing time at 3B when he returns. He'll be eased in a bit though. #Yankees
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) May 20, 2024
LeMahieu has two hits over three at-bats during his current rehab assignment. Additionally, it is believed that when he returns, he will give Anthony Rizzo extra time off while at first base. It looks like LeMahieu will be used all over the place.
Garrett Whitlock – SP Boston Red Sox
Whitlock headed to Alabama. Surgery is likely.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) May 21, 2024
Whitlock was in the middle of a rehab assignment when he started to face renewed soreness. A reminder that he missed a lot of time last year due to an injury in the same elbow but didn’t receive any surgery then. It’s unclear if this is the same sort of injury that is now exasperated. There will be additional details to follow on the type or procedure and a timeline for a return soon, but this isn’t looking good.
Zach Eflin – SP Tampa Bay Rays (back)
#Rays Eflin said back issue popped up near end of last start, feels similar to last year when he missed about 2 weeks, and is thinking about same this time. Cash said it was unfortunate but also considers it similar to 2023, did say it could be 2-4 weeks this time
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 20, 2024
Eflin apparently noticed his back pain flare up during his last outing but didn’t think much of it then because it was a familiar feeling. The hope here is that his absence won’t extend too far past the fifteen-day minimum.
Lane Thomas – OF Washington Nationals (knee)
Lane Thomas will begin a rehab assignment with Harrisburg tomorrow. If all goes well, he’ll play again Wednesday and then they’ll decide if he’s ready or needs more time.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 20, 2024
Thomas returning this week would be a surprise, given how long he has been out of action. It would seem logical that at least a week’s worth of rehab games would be something needed. That said, be prepared as there have been rumblings of him return by Friday.
Cade Cavalli – SP Washington Nationals (Tommy John Surgery)
Cade Cavalli pitched 2.2 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts, 1 hit and 1 walk while facing 10 batters in his first rehab start with the FCL Nats. The hit was a double by José Abreu. No pitch count per Gameday.
Should get a more detailed update from Davey Martinez later today.
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) May 20, 2024
Cavalli looked incredible yesterday, as his fastball sat near 97 mph. He threw a total of 44 pitches and should be back on the mound in five days to do this again. He will need to ramp things up, but the team is in no hurry to bring him back. Chances are that they utilize the entire 30-day window for a rehab assignment because he is a big part of their future.
Reese Olson – SP Detroit Tigers
Tigers starting pitcher Reese Olson was removed from tonight's game with a right hip contusion.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) May 21, 2024
Olson took a comebacker off of his hip in an attempt to get out of the way of the ball. He left the game with trainers and the team is taking the precautionary route. It is not believed that he will miss much time, but he may have a start pushed back because of this bruising. Keep an eye on a returning Kenta Maeda, as this could be his way back into the rotation, for now.
Anthony Rendon – 3B Los Angeles Angels (hamstring)
Anthony Rendon is here in Houston. He said his hamstring is making some progress. He’s been able to walk on an incline on the treadmill. But still no timeline for his return.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 20, 2024
While it’s good to see Rendon walking on a treadmill, he is still a ways away from returning. In fact, knowing who it is and his track record for recovery, the chances of him sitting out all season are higher than most.
Brandon Drury – 2B Los Angeles Angels (hamstring)
Most significant Angels injury news of the day: Brandon Drury (hamstring) is starting to hit in the cage today.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 20, 2024
Drury has been battling injuries all season long. He will likely take the slower route back to ensure that he can remain healthy.
Joey Ortiz – 2B Milwaukee Brewers (hand)
We chatted with Ortiz, who said the x-rays were negative and he’s feeling good, will ice his foot (toe area) and see how he feels tomorrow. https://t.co/FPOemcVSUc
— 🌱paige🌱 (@paige_leckie) May 21, 2024
Ortiz was hit by a pitch and got some precautionary X-rays taken. The good news is that they came back negative, and now it’s just a matter of pain tolerance and possible swelling. Consider him DTD until we’re told otherwise.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Team Update
More injured Dodgers news:
-Evan Phillips will need a rehab assignment of 2-3 games before returning, so at least a week
-Joe Kelly began his throwing program today
-Bobby Miller will pitch a sim game tomorrow at Dodger Stadium
-Dustin May (in AZ) started throwing off a mound
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 20, 2024
Lots to unpack here. Evan Phillips (hamstring) will be brought along slowly, but the team is optimistic about him returning to the closer’s role soon enough. Consider him about one week away from a return. Also, Joe Kelly (shoulder) will take the first real step forward in his quest to return. As for Bobby Miller (shoulder), should he fare well in that simulated game, he could be ready for a rehab assignment shortly after. Finally, Dustin May (elbow) took a significant step forward by throwing off of a mound for the first time, but he will be brought back slowly.