Hello and welcome to the Injury Report!
This roundup is a biweekly article, published on Mondays and Fridays, where I aim to detail approximately five relevant injuries that have occurred over the past few days, or provide an update on the injury of a prominent MLB player. I will try to incorporate the available information as well as my own knowledge and experience to approximate a return date in each case, noting the individual characteristics of the injuries and of the players themselves.
If you have questions regarding an injury not detailed in this article, feel free to comment below, and I will give my best effort to provide a timely update.
Blake Snell – Left Elbow Injury
Blake Snell underwent an operation to remove a loose body in his left elbow. The minimum expectation is for Snell to miss four weeks, with the possibility that he does not return in 2019. Return will largely come down to whether Snell experiences any complications in his return to throwing.
Estimated return: Early September without complications.
Joey Gallo – Right Hook of Hamate Resection
Joey Gallo received an operation to remove the hook of his hamate bone in his right hand. Gallo will miss four to six weeks recovering from this surgery.
Estimated return: Early to mid-September.
Gary Sanchez – Left Groin Strain
Gary Sanchez hit the IL due to a Grade 1 groin strain, but there are reasons to be optimistic. First, this is not the same side of the groin that held him out for a large portion of the end of 2018. Second, the strain has been diagnosed as Grade 1. Sanchez will likely return in two to four weeks.
Estimated return: End of August.
Kris Bryant – Right Knee Injury
Kris Bryant is day-to-day with right knee soreness. The worry here is Bryant reported he injured his knee when his cleat got stuck during batting practice, which sounds like the mechanism of injury is rotational. If that is the case, we have to worry about structural damage to the knee itself, which poses a much larger risk for an extended absence. Keep an eye on this one—he is still day-to-day after all—additional information may come out that could change his timetable drastically.
Estimated return: Day-to-day pending additional testing.
Dee Gordon – Left Quad Strain
Dee Gordon heads to the IL with a left quad strain. The strain appears to be minor, but noting that this is his push-off leg when stealing a base, any prolonged soreness will hamper his value for the remainder of the season. Gordon should return at some point in August, though he may not produce at his typical level at that point.
Estimated return: Mid-August.
If there is a player on whom you would like information who I have not detailed in this article, please comment below, and I will reply as I am able.
Featured image by Michael Haas (@digitalHaas on Twitter)
Do you expect Yandy Diaz to only miss the minimum?
Yes. shouldn’t be much more than that if anything.