Injury Prone or Bad Luck? Part 2

Welcome to part two of Injury-Prone or Bad Luck! If you haven’t already checked out part one, give it a look! The main things we will be investigating are bone, muscle, and ligament injuries to determine if a player has bad luck or is injury prone.

I understand this exercise is subjective, and there is bound to be someone you and I don’t agree on. You know what? That’s fine! I have particular players on my personal “Do Not Draft” list that you probably don’t, and vice-versa. So when we disagree on a player, I would love to create a conversation about him and see your point of view.

The fun part of this section of the series is that our own biases and beliefs play a role in how we view players, both in draft prep and during the season. Having a season ruined because a centerpiece of your offense hit the IL leaves a bad taste in your mouth (2017 Josh Donaldson and David Dahl, I’m looking at you).  You may personally love Donaldson and Dahl and want shares of them in every league of yours. I probably won’t ever draft either just because of my personal experiences.

During this article, we are going to be looking at the number of days a player is on the IL, not the number of games. Since 2018, the MLB season is 187 days long; prior to 2018, the season was 183 days. With 2017 being four days shorter, any injury resulting in an IL stint meant a higher percentage of the season missed. Something to keep in mind as we move forward.

Increasing the total length of the season was a great move by the MLB. It gives the players more days off and, in theory, should help decrease the number of IL stints seen during the season. Allowing players more time off between games and lengthening the season is always a good thing. It gives the players more recovery and healing time, which in turn gives us healthier players. Here is a breakdown of the last three years for hitters on the IL, according to Spotrac.

Season	Total IL Stints	Days on the IL
2017	233	11,925
2018	240	11,358
2019	252	15,693

Every year since 2017, we have seen an increase in the total number of IL stints, but, surprisingly, we see a decrease in days between 2017 and 2018. I think that can be attributed to teams using the 10-day IL more often and being savvy about IL decisions.

Why would a team have a player sit on the bench for 5-7 days when you can add him to the IL and call up a healthy body? The injured player doesn’t feel rushed back into playing, and it allows for a minor leaguer or role player to show what they have in regular action for a week or so. It’s a win-win for everyone, including fantasy players. There isn’t much more aggravating than having a player sit on your bench with the day-to-day tag for a week plus when he could be on the IL.

Which leads me to my first point: If your league does not have at least two IL spots, then you need to petition for a rule change today. In today’s MLB, more and more players are going on the IL. It would be best for all leagues if you are allowed the opportunity and roster flexibility to put yourself in a position to win. Playing a man down for any time puts you and your team at an unfair disadvantage. Personally, it feels that for 90% of the season, I have someone on the IL. It’s just how players are being managed. The odds of having three or more players on the IL at one time is not that unreasonable. Please have at least two IL spots; it’s only fair.

We are going to do three fundamental breakdowns for each player listed below. We will look at their career IL stints, the average percentage of days per season missed since 2017, and then talk about their injuries. At the end of each breakdown we should have our label of injury-prone or bad luck!

Let’s get started with the poster child, Giancarlo Stanton.

 

Giancarlo Stanton

 

What does 18 games and 59 at-bats in 2019 while carrying an ADP around 20 get for you? Frustrated fantasy owners, that’s what. The fallout from the injury-riddled season placed Stanton’s 2020 ADP at about 70. We know Stanton can produce MVP caliber numbers, but Stanton’s most important question mark as a fantasy asset has always been his health.

During Stanton’s ten year career, he has played an average of 116.2 games per season and has six IL stints. He has an average IL stint of 58.33 days, which is about 31% of the season. Stanton has played over 140 games four times in his career. Since 2017, he has missed an average of 29.08% days per season.

Let’s take a look at his MLB injury history.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2012	Knee surgery (bone chips)	25
2013	Right hamstring strain	41
2015	Left hand fracture	99
2016	Left groin strain	23
2019	Left biceps strain	78
2019	Right knee sprain	84
		Average: 58.33

There is one glaring injury missing from the chart. Where is the 2014 facial fracture? Though Stanton underwent surgery and had his season ended in 2014, he was not placed on the IL due to September’s expanded rosters. Since he was not placed on the IL following surgery, the 17 days missed are not included in the total or average.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s analyze the injuries. 35% of Stanton’s IL time is from the bone chip removal and fractured hand. I’m going to chalk up both of those to fluke accidents; don’t forget that Stanton’s 2015 hand fracture was on a check swing, of all things. I think it is safe to say both of those injuries happening again is very unlikely.

The other 65% of his injury history are strains and sprains. We are going to call these type of injuries soft tissue injuries. When I look at a player’s injury history, I want to avoid these types of injuries. I view soft tissue injuries as injury-prone indicators, particularly when they repeatedly occur to the same muscle. While Stanton doesn’t have a history of repeated strains or sprains, he does have a hamstring strain history.

Hamstring injuries don’t automatically qualify a player to be placed on my “Do Not Draft” list; they are more like a yellow flag. I try to avoid them if possible, because hamstrings are among the more likely muscle groups to suffer from a setback. My MO is that if a player of mine suffers a hamstring injury mid-season, I will try to trade them off my team quickly after being healthy again. I’ve been burned enough times by repeat strains and setbacks; I prefer to not deal with them.

The good news for Stanton is that he has not had a repeat injury. The bad news is when he hits the IL, he hits the IL for a long time. This makes it hard to get an accurate gauge of Stanton and his injuries. He is wildly inconsistent with how and when he gets injured. Removing his hand fracture from the picture, he went three years between having a soft tissue injury. To me, a soft tissue injury every three years feels like bad luck. But when looking at the overall body of work, it’s hard to justify anything other than injury-prone for a guy who only averages 116 games a season over ten years.

I think the main take away from Stanton is that we have a 10-year sample size. When you play more than 140 games a season for only 40% of your career, it’s hard to argue for anything other than injury-prone. The potential to be an MVP is there, but so is the injury potential. This is a tough call to make, but it’s something that has to be done.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

David Dahl 

 

David Dahl has fooled me one time too many, and I’m not going to let him fool me again. Since 2017, Dahl has missed 231 days on the IL and averaged over 57 days on the IL per season. After making his debut in 2016, Dahl has not played over 100 games in a single season. Unsurprisingly, Dahl has missed over 41% of the last three seasons.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Rib stress fracture	108
2018	Right foot fracture	56
2019	Oblique strain	9
2019	Right ankle sprain	58
		Average: 57.75

Looking at the type of injuries that Dahl has endured throughout his short career, we have two bone injuries and two soft tissue injuries. The rib stress fracture and right foot fracture account for 164 days on the IL, good for almost 71%. His oblique strain and right ankle sprain account of the remaining 67 days, or 29%, of his time on the IL. When we look at his injuries, I notice a couple of things. At least one IL trip per season and most of his time on the IL is largely from bone injuries. Typically, bone injuries aren’t that worrisome. But, when it comes to Dahl, I am very nervous about having him on my team again for some reason. It could be because I’ve had him on my roster since 2016, and he has burned me in three straight seasons.

At first glance, I feel Dahl is the victim of a lot of bad luck. But to miss over eight weeks with an ankle sprain is just as surprising as it is alarming. I remember at the time of the injury, and it looked like he broke his ankle. Honestly, it was one of the worst ankle sprains I’ve ever seen on TV.

Luckily for Dahl, it was only a high ankle sprain and not a fracture. This is one instance where I believe a bone injury wouldn’t have been a better outcome. While high ankle sprains are no joke and do cause a decent amount of damage (depending on severity), a broken or dislocated ankle could have impaired Dahl for the rest of his career. With the ankle sprain included in his totals, he has only missed 12% due to soft tissue injuries. If we remove his ankle injury and only look at the oblique injury, we are looking at 1.6% of the season on the IL due to soft tissue.

So as of right now, I’m contributing 222 IL days for Dahl on very abnormal injuries. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t injury-prone. It is possible that it takes less to get a reaction from his bones and he is just prone to injuries.

There is a way that I could change my mind about the decision, and it hinges on the next two years. With the shortened season we will have in 2020, we need to see Dahl play in about 85% of the games. Depending on how the schedule and number of games play out will help determine the final number I settle on; it could be anywhere from 75-85%. The number of doubleheaders and games within the season will be how I decide the total amount I want to see him play. With that in mind, I’m going to say that 2021 will be a season Dahl has to play 140+ games. If that happens, maybe we can say that Dahl has been a victim of bad luck for a couple of years in a row.

I’ve gone back on forth with this one. I feel there is an excellent argument for both sides of the coin for Dahl. But let’s take a deeper dive and look into his minor league injury IL history. During his minor league career, between 2012 and 2016, Dahl suffered from a season-ending hamstring tear and a lacerated spleen. Again, more confusing injuries. The hamstring tear is a double yellow flag for me, because it is more severe than a low-grade strain, while a lacerated spleen is another example of more bad luck.

Looking at nature and the number of injuries, I think we all know where this is going. Dahl has a chance to change my mind, but he will have to stay healthy for an extended period before that happens. If 2020 gives us a hamstring, back injury, or another soft tissue injury whatsoever, then Dahl will be dead to me. But ask me in a year or so, and I will have a more definitive answer.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Corey Seager

 

I think out of everyone on this list, Corey Seager has been the largest victim of recency bias. Unlike Dahl, Seager has had 2 IL stints since making his debut in 2015. Since 2017, Seager has missed almost 33% of the season on average due to injury. After making his debut in 2015, he is averaging 115.5 games per season.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2018	Tommy John	155
2019	Left hamstring strain	28
		Average: 91.5

Don’t forget, Seager also had hip surgery during the 2018 season. I wasn’t able to find much information on this hip surgery, but if I had to guess, it would have been a labrum and impingement surgery.

I think this is going to be a pretty straightforward analysis here. Both the hip and elbow should not be issues going forward, and we only really need to watch out for a possible hamstring strain. For a positional player to need TJ is rare, so I’m OK calling that a freak incident. To only miss four weeks because of a hamstring strain is a relatively quick recovery, so it’s a good sign that it was a minor strain. The less severe a muscle injury is, the stronger it will be after it heals, and that should decrease the likelihood of a reoccurring injury.

Before TJ, Seager played in at least 145 games in three consecutive seasons if you include his 2015 minor league games. He was also able to play in 134 in 2019, despite missing a month with the hamstring issue. Seager has shown that he isn’t injury-prone, and he just ran into some bad luck. I’m very confident in that decision and would expect him to play over 140 games a season regularly.

Verdict: Bad luck.

 

Carlos Correa

 

Carlos Correa is the next player on our list, and since 2017, he has been on the IL for over 31% of the time with at least one IL trip per season. Since being in the MLB full time in 2016, Correa is averaging 112 games played per season. The outlier during his short career is 2016, with 153 games played. Correa is only averaging 98 games played per season since 2017.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Left thumb surgery (UCL)	47
2018	Lower back soreness	42
2019	Rib fracture	58
2019	Back discomfort	28
		Average: 43.75

The good thing for Correa is that the thumb surgery and rib fracture are not alarming to me. The thumb injury happened while sliding into second base. This injury occurs when you take your thumb and try to move it to your forearm. Feel that stretching feeling around the web space of your thumb? That’s the ligament he tore, and basically how these types of injuries occur.

Rib fractures happen, and with a guy who hasn’t shown a history of a bunch of fractures, I’m not too worried about it being an issue.

What is alarming, though, is his back. Correa has missed time each of the last two seasons because of back soreness and discomfort, and that’s the last thing you want to see from a 24- and 25-year-old. I’m afraid that this has and will continue to be a chronic issue for Correa that could plague him for the rest of his career. I put Correa and other back-injury players on my “Do Not Draft” list because they are usually chronic and reoccur. They can be detrimental to a season, and I don’t want to run that risk.

Correa still has time to show that he isn’t injury-prone, but he needs to put together a couple of healthy seasons. If he can go back injury-free for a couple of seasons, I will have to start changing my tone. But for now, and until 2022 at the earliest, I will avoid him.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Josh Donaldson

 

One of the most surprising findings from this injury research was that Josh Donaldson didn’t have an IL stint in the MLB until 2017. I would have guessed that he has been injured more often than that. Donaldson has missed 29% of the last three seasons due to injury, even while playing 155 games in 2019. Between 2013 and 2019, Donaldson is averaging 136 games played per season. Of those seven seasons, Donaldson has played in at least 155 games five times.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Right calf strain	42
2018	Right shoulder inflammation	20
2018	Left calf tightness	91
2018	Left calf strain	8
		Average: 40.25

Donaldson’s calf issues in 2018 are what stand out. If his calf had healed on time instead of facing setback after setback, we probably wouldn’t have this discussion. Donaldson has shown he is a durable player and has just had some bad injury luck. When he gets injured, he just doesn’t seem to be able to shake it. I feel that we can attribute a vast majority of that to aging. 2017 and 2018 were Donaldson’s 31- and 32-year-old seasons.

Want to make the argument that Donaldson is injury-prone? I could have bought it if we had this discussion before 2019. Since he was able to play 155 games for the Braves, he just needed a year to heal his body. It was incredibly unlucky to have the entire season lost to injuries, but not playing for a year has revitalized players in the past. Alex Rodriguez, Ryne Sandburg, Eric Davis, and Jim Edmonds are all great examples of taking a year off and then following up with a productive season afterward. While Donaldson didn’t necessarily take a year off, he only played in 52 unproductive games. So I believe the lost 2018 season could have led to the productive 2019.

Given his prior track record before 2017, and the season he had in 2019, I would expect Donaldson to remain healthy. He will probably start seeing a drop in total games as he ages, but I don’t think Donaldson will lose seasons as he did in 2018.

Verdict: Bad luck.

 

Gary Sanchez

 

Another year, another injury for Gary Sanchez in 2019. At this point, it isn’t even surprising. While, technically, Sanchez made his debut in 2015 and was called up again 2016, 2017 was his first season of full-time action. So we are going to focus on his time in the MLB since 2017.

I understand that catcher is a fantasy wasteland, but if I’m drafting a catcher as early as Sanchez and J.T. Realmuto, I will want at least 130 games played. 130 games come out to be 80% of the season, and that’s my target number of games played for catchers. Sanchez has yet to play 125 games in a single season in the MLB, and is averaging 106 games played per season, missing an average of 21% on the IL.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Right biceps strain	26
2018	Right groin strain	24
2018	Right groin strain	39
2019	Left calf strain	13
2019	Left groin strain	17
		Average: 23.8

Strain, after strain, after strain. That’s what we see with Sanchez on his injury report. Right groin twice and left groin once worries me about his health moving forward, and add on top of that a bicep and calf strain. So what we have with Sanchez is a lot of soft tissue injuries that cover his entire body. Like we have talked about earlier, soft-tissue injuries are not a good thing to see. Considering that 100% of his injuries are soft tissue, I think I’m about to update my “Do Not Draft” list.

I’m not worried about the amount of time of each IL stint; it’s the total number of IL stints in three seasons. Averaging 24 days on the IL isn’t a bad average; it’s the lowest we have seen so far. The fact that Sanchez has five trips to the IL in three seasons is what concerns me. It shows me that Sanchez has a hard time staying on the field. Could we put some of the blame on the fact that he is a catcher? That would be a fair argument to look into, but as we saw in Part 1, catchers don’t get injured at a higher rate than other positions. It could just be that Sanchez gets hurt more often than other players.

It could also be that he just can’t handle the workload that comes with being a catcher. I would be interested to see if he demonstrates a decrease in injury rate once he moves to first base or DH full time. He’s still a catcher, and my decision will be based on his position and injury history.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Trea Turner 

 

Trea Turner’s first full-time season was in 2017, and that will be where we focus most of our timeline analysis. Since 2017, Turner has been on the IL 21% of the time, averaging 128 games per season. During 2018, Turner played in all 162 games. He has had three different IL trips, with fractures making up 90% of his IL time. The only soft tissue injury for Turner was the 2017 hamstring strain, which cost him 12 days on the IL.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Right hamstring strain	12
2017	Right wrist fracture	60
2019	Right finger fracture	44
		Average: 38.67

The wrist fracture occurred by a hit by pitch, and a missed bunt caused the finger fracture. Turner has shown he is a durable player, so I’m going to chalk up the two fractures to bad luck. A 12-day IL stint with a hamstring strain is probably one the shortest you’ll ever see. Soft tissue injuries only make up 10% of his injured time, which is a great indicator of Turner having a low injury potential.

Turner’s primary skill is his speed, and when I see a speedster, I get worried about hamstring injuries. But with only the one hammy injury, I think the skill will maintain and age nicely.

I think we can make the determination of bad luck with confidence and not have to worry about Turner missing time due to injury. The only thing we have to worry about is unlikely accidents.

Verdict: Bad luck.

 

Aaron Judge

 

Aaron Judge was one of the players who have benefited from the delay to the start of the season. Since he was injured in Spring Training, the extra time off before Opening Day has given him enough time to likely be ready for the start of the season. Otherwise, he was expected to start the year on the IL. Judge has spent nearly 20% of the last three seasons on the IL, missing 110 days during that time.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2016	Right oblique strain	19
2018	Right wrist fracture	49
2019	Left oblique strain	61
		Average: 43

Here’s the thing that worries me about Judge. He has had two soft tissue injuries, one to both of his obliques. If I’m a betting man, which I have been known to do, I would bet the reason he has had oblique injuries is that Judge is just a mammoth of a human being. We saw that in Part 1, that size and weight doesn’t translate to injury prediction. But his size, coupled with how hard he swings a bat could lead to an increased risk of oblique injuries. Since both oblique injuries came while he was hitting, I feel that we could have that argument.

Obliques are very important; they are the power generator for hitters and pitchers. But oblique injuries are tough, and they usually take a while to heal fully. For Judge and other right-handed batters, a right-side oblique injury usually is a better prognosis than left. The lead side oblique is where most of the rotational power is generated, and the opposite for left-handed hitters.

We can write the wrist fracture off as an unlikely event and as bad luck. Like most wrist fractures, he was hit by a pitch.

At this point in his career, Judge seems to be a victim of bad luck. While he has missed a lot of time, oblique injuries are tough to pin down, and fractures are bad-luck injuries. There is a chance the oblique could become a chronic issue for him, but with the training staff all MLB teams have, I wouldn’t be worried moving forward. Let’s not forget, Judge was scheduled to miss a chunk of time to start the season, so that is something to keep in the back of your mind. Hopefully he is fully healed and his rib issue doesn’t linger.

My honest opinion: I’m not too worried about Judge moving forward.

Verdict: Bad luck.

 

George Springer

 

George Springer has had an odd career injury arc. Between 2014 and 2015, I would have said injury-prone for sure. 2016 changed my tune, and then 2017 started to show some unfavorable signs for his long-term injury outlook. Springer has missed 10% of the past three seasons, averaging 124 games per season during his career.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2014	Left quad strain	71
2015	Concussion	7
2015	Right wrist fracture	64
2017	Left quad discomfort	15
2018	Left thumb sprain	11
2019	Left hamstring strain	30
		Average: 33

Concussions will always be a bad-luck injury for baseball players. We know that having one will predispose you to more down the road, so we need to watch out for concussions becoming a chronic issue in the future. But for now, we will write this off as bad luck.

For Springer, I am concerned about his soft tissue injury history. The thumb sprain doesn’t worry me. It was caused by sliding into second base. But it’s his left leg that has me worried. His left quad has cost him 86 days for his career, and his left hamstring has cost him 30 days. Repeat injury? Check. Multiple injuries to the same extremity? Check. All he is missing is a second hamstring injury, and Springer would be on my list.

At this point, I think Springer has suffered more bad luck than anything, but he is very close to being injury-prone. One more left quad or hamstring injury will change my mind.

Verdict: Bad luck.

 

A.J. Pollock

 

Find me a man who feels like he is always hurt, and you will find A.J. Pollock. Five trips to the IL during his career, with an average of 82 days per trip: That’s a lot of lost time for the one-time top tier fantasy asset. Over the past three seasons, Pollock has been on the IL for an average of 31% of the time.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2014	Right hand fracture	93
2016	Right elbow fracture	145
2017	Right groin strain	50
2018	Left hand avulsion fracture	48
2019	Right elbow inflammation	73
		Average: 81.8

Of his five trips to the IL, three of them have been due to fractures, with only one soft-tissue injury, from his groin strain in 2017, that cost him 50 days. So what do we see here? I see Pollock is susceptible to fractures, and I know I said in the beginning that fractures shouldn’t make you be labeled injury-prone. It’s hard to speak in absolutes, and injuries should be viewed on a case-by-case basis. Pollock has shown that he struggles to stay on the field, even if they are weird, fluky fractures (diving catch, sliding into home, hit by pitch, awkward roll in the field).

Looking back at Pollock’s minor league injury history, he suffered an elbow fracture in 2010 that caused him to miss the entire season. At this point, Pollock has had five fractures in his professional baseball career. As he gets older, I don’t feel confident that he consistently stay on the field.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Byron Buxton

 

There is a lot to unpack with Byron Buxton. There is good news, and there is some bad news. The bad news: He has been on the IL a ton during his big league career. The good news: Buxton is only averaging about three weeks on the IL at a time. I realize he made his debut in 2015, but he wasn’t a full-time MLB player until the 2017 season, so that is what we are going to work with. Since 2017, Buxton is averaging 85 games per season and missing about 26% of the season on the IL. So let’s take a look at what is going on here.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2015	Left thumb sprain	46
2017	Left groin strain	17
2018	Migraine	10
2018	Left big toe fracture	12
2018	Left big toe fracture	33
2019	Right wrist contusion	14
2019	Concussion	11
2019	Left shoulder subluxation	29
2019	Left shoulder subluxation	20
		Average: 21.34

We are going to keep this one short and sweet. I think the biggest takeaway with Buxton is that he gets injured a lot and likes to repeat his injuries. Nine IL stints since 2015 is a ton of injuries. Buxton plays hard, and maybe that has something to do with it. Perhaps he could change his game, as we have seen with Bryce Harper, and be more conservative instead of the 110 mph player he currently is. Maybe he won’t and will continue to get injured, but for now, he is injury-prone.

Verdict: Injury-prone

 

Bryce Harper

 

If we had done this exercise five years ago, Bryce Harper would have been injury-prone 100% based on reputation. But since 2015, he has only had one injury, and a fluke of an injury to boot. For his career, Harper is averaging 136 games played per season. Four of the last five years, Harper has played in at least 147 games. That is the type of trend we want to see. I wholeheartedly believe that after the early part of his career, Harper began to calm down and not go full Byron Buxton. What was the result? More games played and less time injured, which is what both the Phillies and fantasy owners want to see.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2013	Left knee bursitis	30
2014	Left thumb sprain	65
2017	Left knee hyperextension	44
		Average: 46.33

Between 2017 and 2019, Harper has only missed 8% of the season. If I had to guess, I would have thought he would have spent more time injured than he has.

If we look at all three of his injuries, we can explain them all away. Knee bursitis happens, which really isn’t something we can hold him accountable for. But the good news is that he had that bursa removed, so he will never have knee bursitis again in his left knee!

His left thumb sprain happened just like most other thumb sprains, sliding headfirst into a bag, and it probably won’t be an issue again.

His hyperextended knee was from stretching to reach first on an infield hit. Could that predispose him to other left knee issues down the road? Possibly, but with how strong Harper’s legs are, I wouldn’t be worried about it. His musculature should be more than enough to support his knee.

Honestly, I’m glad to see the results from Harper’s injury history. At the start of his career, I thought he would be one of those players that always battle injuries. But it seems that he has figured something out, and has shifted himself from injury-prone to have some bad luck.

Verdict: Bad luck.

Quick Blast!

 

We are going to do a quick rundown on a couple of other players. I will list their injury history, give the amount of time they have missed since 2017, and give them their label!

 

Joey Gallo

 

Joey Gallo has spent 18% on the IL since 2017, and averages 121 games per season since being a full-time MLB player.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2017	Concussion	7
2019	Left oblique strain	23
2019	Right hamate fracture	68
		Average: 32.67

Verdict: Bad luck

 

Miguel Sano

 

Miguel Sano has missed 20% of the last three seasons due to injury, averaging 102 games played per season. He has never played more than 116 games in the MLB, and he has been on the IL at least once for four consecutive years.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2016	Left hamstring strain	30
2017	Left shin stress fracture	39
2018	Left hamstring strain	23
2019	Right heel laceration	49
		Average: 35.25

It’s hard to fault him for the heel laceration, but it would be different if that was his only injury.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Yoenis Cespedes 

 

Yoenis Cespedes hasn’t seen the field since 2018, and that was for only 38 games. Over the last three seasons, he has spent 73% of each season on the IL and is averaging 40 games per season during that time. For his career, Cespedes is averaging 118 games played per season.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2012	Left hand muscle strain	25
2013	Left hand muscle strain	15
2016	Right quad strain	15
2017	Left hamstring strain	43
2017	Right hamstring strain	36
2018	Right hip flexor strain	65
2018	Heel calcifications	70
2019	Heel surgery	189
		Average: 57

Cespedes is injured often and has a lot of soft tissue injuries. Considering he hasn’t played in almost two years, he has to be labeled as injury-prone.

Verdict: Injury-prone.

 

Adam Eaton

 

Adam Eaton has missed 39% of the last three seasons, and is averaging 117 games since 2014.

Season	Injury	Length (Days)
2013	Left elbow strain	100
2014	Right hamstring strain	15
2014	Right oblique strain	17
2017	Left ACL tear	155
2018	Left ankle surgery	59
		Average: 69

Believe it or not, I think Eaton has suffered from a lot of bad luck. The ankle injury happened when he tore his ACL in 2017, he only has two muscle strains, and hasn’t had any elbow issues since his 2013 incident.

Verdict: Bad luck.

That’s a wrap! Thanks for checking out the hitter section of this series. Parts 3 and 4 will work the same way, but we will move our focus to pitchers. Who did I get right and who did I get wrong? Let me know!

Photos by Rich Graessle, Mark Goldman, and David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)