Here is the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Thursday, May 9, 2024. In today’s edition, Christian Encarnacion-Strand will miss at least a month of action as an old fracture was revealed in his hand. Also, Sean Murphy continues to slowly progress with no end in sight of for his injury. Finally, Masataka Yoshida will have some clarity soon enough as his ailing thumb may in fact need surgery. All of that and so much more in today’s Injury Report from Fantrax.
MLB Injury Report for Thursday, May 9, 2024.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 1B Cincinnati Reds (hand)
-Christian Encarnacion-Strand got hit by a pitch in the wrist on April 27.
-A follow up scan revealed an old fracture. “It was like, the old one is fully recovered and healed. Just get the inflammation out and it’ll be ok.”
-After resting for a few days, CES returned to the…
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) May 8, 2024
Encarnacion-Strand will miss at least four weeks with a recurring injury that may have been stifling his power this season. Since getting hit by a pitch at the end of April, he has just two hits over four games played, but it’s even worse than that. He said that it got to the point where he couldn’t even hold a bat properly. It’s an unfortunate development for a promising young hitter who was projected to have a big season. Now it looks like he may be gone until almost July, and that’s if things go according to plan.
Grayson Rodriguez – SP Baltimore Orioles (shoulder)
#Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez (right shoulder inflammation) threw 15 pitches off a mound today and mixed in breaking stuff.
He isn’t sure when he’ll throw next, but he’s encouraged by how well he’s feeling at this point.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) May 8, 2024
From the sounds of everything, Rodriguez might be able to avoid a rehab assignment, though anything is possible. This precautionary move to the Injured List may have done the trick to salvage what could have been a very serious injury. Stay tuned.
Sean Murphy – C Atlanta Brave (oblique)
#Braves’ Snitker said catcher Sean Murphy has advanced to hitting in the batting cage, after hitting off tee twice last week. Inching closer to return from strained oblique, injured in season opener.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 8, 2024
Injured since Opening Day, Murphy only now has been able to progress toward hitting in the batting cages. There has been no word on if and when he will begin his rehab assignment, which will likely be lengthy in nature.
Houston Astros – Team Update
Cristian Javier is set to start Friday or Saturday in Detroit, Espada said.
Chas McCormick could start a rehab assignment this weekend. José Urquidy will likely also make his first rehab start this weekend with Triple-A Sugar Land.
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 8, 2024
A lot to unpack here. First, Chas McCormick (hamstring) has only missed about one week of action and is just about ready to return. He has struggled all season to maintain any sort of resemblance to his 2023 form. As for José Urquidy, he has been out of action since the end of Spring Training with forearm inflammation but appears to be just about ready to return. Finally, with Cristian Javier (neck) back this weekend, be prepared.
Ryan Pressly – RP Houston Astros (back)
Ryan Pressly, who last pitched Friday, has soreness in his lower back, Joe Espada said. Pressly played catch today and Espada said he “felt OK” and termed it “nothing worrisome right now.”
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) May 8, 2024
Pressly hasn’t pitched in nearly a week, and there’s a real shot that he heads to the Injured List as a result.
Dansby Swanson – SS Chicago Cubs (knee)
Dansby Swanson “tweaked something in his right knee [and] has been bugging him a little bit,” Craig Counsell said, hence the day off.
Hoping to maximize the time off to recuperate by having today off and tomorrow.
Counsell said it happened in a slide in last game vs. Houston.
— Andy Martínez (@amartinez_11) May 8, 2024
Swanson is considered DTD here, with the hope being that schedule manipulation can afford him the time he needs to come back healthy. There is still a chance that he requires a trip to the Injured List, but we should know more on Friday.
Max Scherzer – SP Texas Rangers (thumb, forearm)
Chris Young said that Max Scherzer has been shut down from throwing for a few days as he still has the thumb/forearm issue. No timetable, but Young said that Scherzer won't throw again until any tightness/discomfort is gone. #Rangers
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) May 8, 2024
Scherzer’s “out of this world” accelerated recovery process has been put on hold for the time being. It remains to be seen when the tightness and discomfort will go away, as it depends on how quickly his body can heal.
Dane Dunning – SP Texas Rangers (rotator cuff)
The Rangers today announced the following roster moves prior to Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum: pic.twitter.com/OvP8140RAL
— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) May 8, 2024
The move here isn’t expected to keep Dunning out of action for too long, according to manager Bruce Bochy, but he will miss at least two weeks with this injury. Dunning will join the plethora of injured Rangers pitchers who have and continue to miss time this season.
Blake Snell – SP San Francisco Giants (thigh)
Blake Snell is scheduled to throw a bullpen tomorrow then is scheduled for a rehab assignment in San Jose on Sunday, Bob Melvin said.
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) May 8, 2024
Great news here as it would appear that Snell is all but ready to pitch in games. There’s no telling how long this rehab assignment will last, but one would have to guess that it would be multi-appearance in nature.
Jorge Soler – OF San Francisco Giants (shoulder)
The Giants placed Jorge Soler on the 10-day IL with right shoulder strain and recalled Heliot Ramos from Triple-A Sacramento.
— Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) May 8, 2024
The move is retroactive to three days ago, meaning that Soler could actually return a week from now. That said, there has been no inclination suggesting that this would be the case.
Masataka Yoshida – OF Boston Red Sox (thumb)
Yoshida is still experiencing discomfort in his thumb. He will see the specialist at some point today. He called the injury to his thumb "a rare injury". Indicated he might even seek opinions after the one today for that reason.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) May 8, 2024
There has been an ominous tone surrounding this injury since its inception, and this statement leads one to believe that there is not a happy ending on its way. We should know more soon enough.
Oakland Athletics – Team Update
Zack Gelof and Aledmys Díaz will both join Triple-A Las Vegas this weekend to begin rehab assignments.
Ken Waldichuk, who is currently shut down, will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) May 8, 2024
Of fantasy notes here, Zack Gelof (oblique) has picked up the pace here over the last week or so ever since he was cleared to begin baseball activities. He has since run the bases, thrown across the diamond, and swung a bat. There is a chance that he will return to the A’s after a handful of games and be back within a week. Stay tuned.
Ryan Pepiot – SP Tamps Bay Rays (leg), Taj Bradley – SP Tampa Bay Rays (pectoral)
The Tampa Bay Rays have placed RHP Ryan Pepiot on the 15-Day Day Injured List (retro to 5/6) with a left lower leg contusion and reinstated RHP Taj Bradley from the 15-Day Injured List.
— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) May 8, 2024
Pepiot will miss the next two weeks with a lower leg contusion, though it doesn’t sound like he will miss more than that. The good news for the Rays is that they have someone as capable and promising as Bradley to fill in for him. As always, be prepared, with the plan being for him to make his 2024 debut this weekend.