Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Thursday, May 22, 2025. In today’s edition, the Mariners get their ace back, as George Kirby makes his 2025 season debut. Also, Dylan Crews heads to the Injured List, and an interesting prospect takes his place. Finally, Mike Trout’s progression is…..interesting. All of that and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report
Bryce Miller – SP Seattle Mariners
This past week, Bryce Miller has been seen throwing in the Mariners’ bullpen and playing catch in the outfield. After receiving the cortisone shot like he did, it appears that he is feeling better as a result. It remains to be seen how long this lasts, but for now, he looks to be progressing.
George Kirby – SP Seattle Mariners
Dan Wilson announces George Kirby will start tomorrow in Houston. Says rest of rotation will slot in behind him as is the following three games there.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) May 21, 2025
Be prepared! Though it’s important to note that fantasy owners should be prepared for a low(er) pitch count. The team announced that he will not exceed 75-80 pitches in today’s contest. Still, it’s time to celebrate.
Dylan Crews – OF Washington Nationals
We have made the following roster moves:
– recalled OF Robert Hassell III from Triple-A Rochester
– placed OF Dylan Crews on the 10-day IL— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 21, 2025
Crews will miss at least the next ten days with an oblique injury. However, without knowing the severity of the issue (aka which Grade the strain is), it’s hard to come up with an expected return date. Assuming it’s the mildest of strains, he should be back in a few weeks or possibly a month. However, anything more severe could mean an extended absence, which may lead to the second half of the season.
Anthony Santander – OF Toronto Blue Jays
Anthony Santander (hip inflammation) is day to day per John Schneider.
“It was a little bit awkward and I don't want to take any chances with losing him for an extended period of time, so we'll see how he is tomorrow."
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 22, 2025
Santander had been fighting injury for a while, trying to return to the lineup without going onto the Injured List. It would appear that he aggravated the issue last night, and despite what the team says about his day-to-day status, there is a chance that he heads to the Injured List in order to permanently heal this problem. It worked for Corey Seager, so why not here?
Boston Red Sox – Team Update
Yoshida started throwing at 60 feet. Cora said he’s basically starting his throwing progression over since cortisone shot
Houck will begin throwing Friday
Crawford has a 3-inning live BP tomorrow
Fitts scheduled for rehab assignment Thursday in Worcester, weather dependent
— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) May 21, 2025
Big update here with important items of news. First, Masataka Yoshida is starting his throwing progression over from the beginning, as it would appear that the cortisone shot has taken to the injured shoulder. He was hitting the ball well in Spring Training, and as such, a healthy Yoshida will likely draw trade interest from around the league. Otherwise, it’s hard to find an opportunity to play with how well Devers has performed thus far. As for Tanner Houck, tomorrow will be a big day to determine whether or not Tanner Houck can ramp things up in his progression as he attempts to get back to the Red Sox in some capacity. Kutter Crawford has missed all season, but today’s live BP may go a long way in helping him return. Finally, Richard Fitts seems almost ready to return, but he needs time to ramp himself up.
Minnesota Twins – Team Update
Carlos Correa is ahead of Byron Buxton in terms of returning from their concussions. Still TBD on when either would be ready, but Correa is coming along. #MNTwins
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2025
It’s unfortunate that both Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton are still experiencing symptoms here, as they may require more time than the seven-day minimum for the Concussion Injured List. The update here didn’t specify any improvements either, so it’s possible that they’re both feeling the same way that they were on the weekend. Stay tuned.
Jared Jones – SP Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Jared Jones underwent right elbow surgery today in Dallas by Dr. Keith Meister. The procedure performed was a repair to the UCL.
A projected return to full competition in 10-12 months.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 21, 2025
While it’s terrible news that Jones will miss the rest of the season, it’s good news in that he did not have full Tommy John surgery, making his return in 2026 a much greater possibility. Still, it’s a year of development lost, and the road to recovery is a long one.
Ronel Blanco – SP Houston Astros
Ronel Blanco has elbow soreness and was sent back to Houston to be seen by team doctors.
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) May 21, 2025
Apparently, Blanco had been dealing with this soreness for a few days, and with it lingering around, it’s time to get it examined. He did have an incredible jump in innings last year, making this latest ailment somewhat worrisome. We don’t want to jump to conclusions here, but this has an ominous feel to it. Stay tuned.
Justin Verlander – SP San Francisco Giants
Justin Verlander will go on the IL with the pec soreness and won’t make his next two starts, Melvin says.
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) May 21, 2025
* To clarify, it’s more like nerve irritation in the pec.
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) May 21, 2025
Shayna made an important clarification here, as there’s a difference between soreness and nerve irritation. Either way, the issue shouldn’t cause Verlander to miss more than the minimum time away, though, when it is nerve irritation, other issues could be involved.
Jerar Encarnacion – OF San Francisco Giants
Jerar Encarnacion will go get some minor league at-bats in Arizona first before returning to rehab assignment in Sacramento. Giants now targeting the Marlins series as earliest he could be back, so he won’t return right when he’s eligible (May 26).
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 21, 2025
The good news here is that any soreness that Encarnacion was experiencing appears to be gone. It’s unclear what was done to correct this issue, and it may have just been overuse of his hand too soon after surgery. Regardless, he will now be starting his rehab over, but is on his way to making his 2025 debut, albeit later than originally planned.
Mike Trout – OF Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout ran on the field again today and said this time it was at about 80 percent intensity. Said he felt great.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 22, 2025
The good news here is that Trout continues to show progress. His intensity level continues to steadily increase as he attempts to get back to 100% health while running. The bad news is that this is taking a long time, as a few days ago, he was at 75% intensity. And while these numbers are purely hypothetical, as there is no real way to determine the actual number, it does show how slowly and meticulously Trout is about his recovery, and possibly how hesitant he and the team may be to go too far too fast. That said, there is no timetable for a return here.
