This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series.
Injuries and how a fantasy player responds often dictate how the final standings shape out. Losing a top investment to injury can invalidate a draft-day strategy and force owners to pivot in order to remain relevant. As a result, examining a player's injury-risk profile becomes a must prior to draft day and should be considered when constructing your draft board. Variables like age, career workload, previous injuries and playing style can all influence where and when a player should be drafted. The work of the individual's training staff can also come into play. Certain teams are prone to utilizing the disabled list more than others. In the 2018 season, the Angels, Dodgers, Cardinals and Rangers led the league in total DL stints while the White Sox, Astros, Reds, Diamondbacks and Royals finished with the fewest stints. Let's take a look at a few individuals that will carry an assortment of medical red flags entering the 2019 campaign.
Chris Sale, SP • RED SOX
A late-season swoon burned a majority of Sale's fantasy owners as injuries hampered his productivity. Reoccurring shoulder inflammation limited Sale to just 29 second-half innings, including just 17 total innings pitched over the final two months of the regular season. The problem was ultimately diagnosed as shoulder tendinitis and surgery was deemed unnecessary. Sale spent the offseason resting but the Red Sox have hinted they will alter their approach on how he is handled moving forward. The team remains tight-lipped on what exactly that means, setting
Injuries and how a fantasy player responds often dictate how the final standings shape out. Losing a top investment to injury can invalidate a draft-day strategy and force owners to pivot in order to remain relevant. As a result, examining a player's injury-risk profile becomes a must prior to draft day and should be considered when constructing your draft board. Variables like age, career workload, previous injuries and playing style can all influence where and when a player should be drafted. The work of the individual's training staff can also come into play. Certain teams are prone to utilizing the disabled list more than others. In the 2018 season, the Angels, Dodgers, Cardinals and Rangers led the league in total DL stints while the White Sox, Astros, Reds, Diamondbacks and Royals finished with the fewest stints. Let's take a look at a few individuals that will carry an assortment of medical red flags entering the 2019 campaign.
Chris Sale, SP • RED SOX
A late-season swoon burned a majority of Sale's fantasy owners as injuries hampered his productivity. Reoccurring shoulder inflammation limited Sale to just 29 second-half innings, including just 17 total innings pitched over the final two months of the regular season. The problem was ultimately diagnosed as shoulder tendinitis and surgery was deemed unnecessary. Sale spent the offseason resting but the Red Sox have hinted they will alter their approach on how he is handled moving forward. The team remains tight-lipped on what exactly that means, setting up what could be an unfavorable situation for fantasy managers interested in investing in Sale.
Tendinitis is an overuse injury and staying ahead of the associated symptoms can be tricky. Furthermore, concerns about Sale's build and delivery have lingered throughout his career, and those factors may have contributed to the development of the injury. If the root of the problem remains, Sale could once again end up on the DL at some point during the upcoming season. Factor in his high workload since 2012 and suddenly Sale's risk profile has a surprising number of red flags for a seemingly durable player. His enormous upside remains, but Sale's not quite the no-brainer he was in seasons past. A strong spring training could help ease some of these concerns.
Corey Seager, SS • DODGERS
& Didi Gregorius, SS • YANKEES
The Tommy John epidemic that has plagued Major League Baseball has become a headache for big-league teams and fantasy managers alike. The surgery, needed to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the elbow, has impacted the careers of numerous All-Star pitchers including Yu Darvish, Matt Harvey and Stephen Strasburg. While the majority of players requiring the procedure are pitchers, two talented shortstops saw their 2018 campaigns end due to Tommy John.
Seager was shut down after playing in just 26 games and underwent surgery in early May. He also opted to address a lingering hip injury during his time off, undergoing a hip arthroscopy as well. Fortunately for Seager, the recovery for position players isn't as lengthy as it can be for pitchers. Seager has already been cleared to begin his preparation for the 2019 season and he should be available for the start of spring training. Players like Shin-Soo Choo and Miguel Sano have previously had success in their first season following Tommy John, suggesting Seager could be in line for a bounce-back campaign. He will carry a fair degree of risk entering the year, but don't let the two-time All-Star fall too far on draft day.
Timing is everything with injuries which is why Gregorius' outlook isn't quite as promising as Seager's. The Yankees shortstop saw his strong 2018 end in October when he tore the UCL on his throwing arm during the ALDS. As a result, his recovery will carry over into the 2019 season and likely keep him out through the All-Star break. He is a solid draft-and-stash candidate in leagues with DL spots or deep benches. The Yankees signed Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu to keep the ship afloat in his absence.
Gregory Polanco, OF • PIRATES
The Pirates outfielder sustained a moderate knee bone contusion and a torn labrum in his shoulder following an awkward slide late in the season. The shoulder injury was the more significant of the two with surgery ultimately required to repair the damaged cartilage.
The shoulder's primary articulation is the ball-and-socket joint known as the glenohumeral joint. The joint here vaguely resembles a golf ball sitting on a tee with the head of the humerus acting as the ball and the glenoid fossa of the shoulder blade serving as the tee. This positioning allows the humerus to freely turn on the glenoid fossa creating a large degree of motion at the shoulder. To insure the ball remains in contact with the tee, the joint is equipped with the labrum, a fibrocartilaginous ring that deepens the fossa. The labrum, along with the surrounding ligaments and musculature, stabilize the shoulder. Tears to the labrum often occur in one of two ways, acutely or chronically. Chronic tears are overuse injuries linked to repetitive motions while acute labral tears are often the result of the humeral head being violently jarred following a collision or direct impact. A torn labrum is painful and can develop into a chronic instability in the shoulder.
Polanco's injury was an acute issue that was repaired surgically in September. The estimated time of recovery was set at seven-to-nine months after the procedure, guaranteeing Polanco is unavailable for the start of the upcoming season. He was slated to begin throwing in January but remains without a definitive timeline. The precedent set by other outfielders coming off a similar injury should only further dampen expectations for Polanco. Players like Matt Kemp and Michael Brantley struggled in their first year following a labral repair and battled lingering issues upon their return. Let someone else invest in Polanco and shift your focus to a more reliable outfield option.
Joe Musgrove and Chris Archer, SPs • PIRATES
A pair of Pirates starters will enter the year following offseason surgery for abdominal injuries. The injuries to both pitchers were described differently but were likely treated similarly. For years, the term sports hernia was used to address an assortment of muscle-related issues in the abdomen and groin. However, the classification was misleading as a true hernia did not often accompany the injury.
Traditionally, a sports hernia occurs when repetitive forces are rerouted from the mid-section into the groin and abdominal muscles. As a result, micro-tears in a muscle or multiple muscles in the area would occur. The subsequent damage leaves the abdominal wall and inguinal canal weak and damaged. As a result an actual abdominal hernia can develop, though most often a true protrusion will not be present.
Given the numerous muscles in the area there has been a recent shift to use the term core muscle injury. The term eliminates the deceptive hernia tag and implies the injury can occur to any of the many muscles that comprise an individual's core. Despite the variations, these injuries can be treated using a surgery that has a high success rate. As a result, it's reasonable to think both Musgrove and Archer will be completely healthy for the start of spring training and should be available in most drafts at a reasonable price.
Franchy Cordero, OF • PADRES
The Padres outfielder made a solid impression in his limited time with the bigleague club. The 24-year-old outfielder hit seven home runs and stole five bases during his 40 games with San Diego but was unable to continue after a bone spur was discovered in his elbow. He had the osteophyte removed surgically and was cleared to participate in winter-league ball.
Bone spurs, or osteophytes, are often the result of a repeated process that places an undue stress somewhere on the body. The constant friction wears down the tissue in the area and additional bone tissue is created to manage the stress. The newly formed osteophyte then acts similarly to a doorstop, limiting range of motion and irritating the neighboring soft tissue. With the source of his symptoms removed, Cordero should be fine moving for the immediate future. However, the team would be wise to pinpoint the motion that resulted in the spur to eliminate another spur from simply reforming over time.
Miguel Cabrera, 1B • TIGERS
The former MVP may start the year at first base, but he'd be better off shifting to a designated hitter role in his 16th major-league season. While his resume, which includes 11 All-Star appearances, two AL MVPs and a Triple Crown in 2012, is impressive, the injuries are adding up and will eventually force a move. Throughout his career Cabrera has battled lower-extremity injuries and lingering back issues, and required various surgeries for his groin, foot and ankle. Last year a ruptured biceps tendon in his left arm forced him under the knife and prematurely ended his season. He's expected to enter camp limited and may not see regular action until the start of the regular season.
The career workload and laundry list of injuries is bound to limit Cabrera in some capacity even if he is spared some wear-and-tear in a reduced role. Someone in your draft will roll the dice on name recognition alone and likely overspend. Tread cautiously here and don't let his past overshadow his inherently high injury risk.
This article appears in the 2019 RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Guide. You can order a copy here.
