Spencer Strider's Return Highlights Latest Fantasy Baseball Injury Updates

We're not even a calendar month into the MLB regular season, but several big fantasy baseball players have missed time with injuries.

I wanted to provide an update on several players, and discuss how to approach things from a fantasy perspective. We'll break things down by team.

Fantasy baseball injury news can be found on FantasySP throughout the season.

Diamondbacks

Star second baseman Ketel Marte is on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring issue. He only got in eight games before hitting the IL. Marte is expected back by the end of this month, or early in May.

Not having Marte is a massive blow for fantasy owners. Those who had been treading water without him for a bit already will need to do so for two or so more weeks.

Marte is too valuable to drop in fantasy leagues, but his overall fantasy value is down after the injury, so it might be a time to buy low on him.

Braves

Atlanta has several big-name players out.

Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 games for performance-enhancing drugs. He should only still be rostered in deep redraft leagues, or leagues where he can be stashed on IR.

Reynaldo Lopez has a shoulder injury and is expected to miss most of this season. He's on the 60-day IL now and won't be back until late in the season. Lopez can be dropped in most leagues where an IR spot isn't available.

Ronald Acuna Jr. is still working his way back from his ACL injury. He's expected to get a checkup soon, and if all goes well, could go on a rehab assignment after that. There's hope he'll return in about a month.

Spencer Strider has been making rehab starts as he comes back from his elbow injury. He's expected to be activated on April 16, and make a start against the Blue Jays that day. 

Acuna and Strider are top-end fantasy talents, so getting them back will be massive. Acuna owners knew there'd be risk taking Acuna in drafts, so hopefully they were prepared and can get through a couple more weeks without him. Strider is a must-start fantasy pitcher whenever he's on the hill, and him coming off a major injury won't change that - buy into Strider now if you can.

Orioles

Baltimore is dealing with a number of injuries, including ones to Colton Cowser, Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin.

Rodriguez and Eflin are on the IL with triceps and lat injuries, respectively. Rodriguez is expected back later this month. Eflin's return is a bit more iffy - he could be out the minimum 15 days, or miss close to a full month. The status of both guys needs to be monitored closely as they ramp things back up.

Cowser is on the 10-day IL with a thumb injury. When the injury was announced, his return timetable was 6-8 weeks, so he's got a long way to go before we discuss him as a fantasy asset again.

For leagues with no IR spots to utilize, Cowser should only be rostered in really deep leagues.

Red Sox

Boston has several injuries at the moment, but Connor Wong, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello are some bigger names out.

Wong fractured his pinkie and is on the 10-day IL, although his absence is likely to extend a bit longer than that, at least. He should only be held onto in deep leagues (in leagues where no IR spots are available).

Crawford and Bello are both expected back at some point this month, with Bello likely being the first one activated. Both are solid deep-league options and maybe worth streaming in standard leagues most starts.

Cubs

Justin Steele is the big fantasy asset and pitcher for the Cubs.

He's out for the season with an elbow injury, so he can be dropped in all redraft formats. Only hang on to Steele in dynasty/keeper leagues, and hopefully you have IR spots to use, because he isn't likely to pitch well into 2026.

Reds

Alexis Diaz, Matt McLain and Tyler Stephenson are three notable Reds out right now.

Diaz is expected back very soon, and could be activated early this week. He's been out with a hamstring issue. Diaz was one of the top fantasy closers in the game coming into the season, and should immediately go back to being the ninth-inning guy for Cincy.

McLain is on the 10-day IL with a hamstring issue of his own. He's only expected to be out those 10 days, so his absence won't be too long.

Stephenson opened the year on the 10-day IL with an oblique injury. He's begin baseball activities, but is a ways from returning still.

Guardians

Shane Bieber started the season on the 15-day IL as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

He's expected back sometime in the middle of the season. As he ramps up, that's when you'll want to pounce as a fantasy owner.

Astros

Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are among several Houston pitchers injured at the moment.

Javier isn't expected back until the second half of the season. Garcia's return date is unknown for now, but he was originally expected back early this season before being shut down in March with a sore elbow.

McCullers is expected back in the next few weeks. He's been making rehab outings and looking pretty good in them.

Astros

Zach Neto is a big-name Angel on the injured list. He was on the 10-day IL at the start of the season with a shoulder injury.

He's expected back soon, and has been ramping things up on his rehab assignment. I'd expect Neto back in the next week or so.

Dodgers

The Dodgers are battered with injuries, but they have the talent to offset things.

Blake Snell and Clayton Kershaw are the two big-name pitchers on the IL.

Kershaw is on the 60-day list with a toe/knee injury. He could return in late May, but I think it's more likely the veteran is back in June, or even later. LA doesn't need to rush him, which obviously isn't what fantasy baseball owners are hoping to read.

Snell was thrown on the 15-day IL on April 6, and he expected to be out a couple weeks. I wouldn't anticipate the Dodgers rushing Snell back, but I also don't see anything out there to think he'll be out much past the 15 days.

Brewers

A number of Milwaukee starters are hurt, including Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes and Tobias Myers.

Woodruff is the biggest name there, and recently made a rehab start. He's still got probably a couple weeks before he'll be ready to roll, but sometime in May seems logical for a return.

Myers is closer to returning, and is also making rehab starts now. I'd guess he is back in late April, and immediately be a good deep-league option with strong standard league streaming value again.

A return date for Cortes and Civale isn't known right now. Cortes is working through a flexor strain, while Civale has a hamstring issue. The Brewers could take things slower with those two vets, especially if Myers and Woodruff return in the next couple weeks.

Twins

Pablo Lopez and Royce Lewis are two notable Twins on the IL.

Lopez was just placed on the IL with a hamstring issue. He isn't expected to miss much more than 15 days.

Lewis is expected back in late April or early May if all goes well with his hamstring issue. The oft-injured hitter hasn't played this season, and the team is likely to be very cautious with him.

Mets

Francisco Alvarez and Sean Manaea are the big name IL players for New York.

Alvarez is making appearances on a rehab appearance, so he's getting closer to suiting up for the first time in 2025.

Manaea is likely out until at least late-May, and there's a chance he misses even more time with an oblique strain. His fantasy outlook is bleak right now.

Yankees

Clarke Schmidt is expected back soon from the IL - he will replace Marcus Stroman, who was just placed on the 15-day list with knee inflammation.

Schmidt has been working through a shoulder injury and has made a couple rehab starts.

Pirates

Jared Jones is on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain.

There's no timetable for his return, but he isn't expected back before July now. His season is in jeopardy at this point.

Padres

Jackson Merrill is on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury. 

He was only expected to be out the minimum 10 days, but his manager also said they'd take things slowly with him, so it might be a bit longer than 10 days, which obviously is not what his fantasy owners want to hear.

Mariners

George Kirby is hoping to return in late April, but early May is also a real possibility too.

He's working through a shoulder injury. We'll keep an eye on his status, and so should his fantasy owners.

Rangers

Wyatt Langford and Jack Leiter are both on the injured list now. Langford has an oblique injury, while Leiter had a finger blister.

Langford is expected to need rehab outings before getting back to the big leagues, so maybe a late April or early May return for him makes sense.

Leiter could return later this week, but is most likely to make a rehab start this week, then pitch in the MLB again on April 22 or 23 if things go well this week.

Nationals

CJ Abrams just hit the 10-day IL with a hip injury.

The team is hopeful he will return shortly after those 10 days are up.