Fantasy Baseball Injury Watch: Pablo Lopez Joins Growing List, Maybe Done for Season

The MLB season is underway with players practicing in preparation for the regular season. The return of baseball has brought out a ton of injury news, and more dropped today.

Let's break down some of the latest MLB injury news.

For the latest player updates, be sure to head to FantasySP to utilize the real-time player news engine for all sports. The player news engine is the most robust and fastest player news system in fantasy sports. Signing up for a FantasySP membership can help you track all your fantasy players.

Twins' Lopez Maybe Out for Season

Pablo Lopez is the main reason for today's story. He reported elbow soreness in a live batting practice session on Monday and today it was reported that he has suffered “significant tearing” in the UCL in his right elbow.

If he requires Tommy John surgery, his 2026 season will be over before it starts. At the very least, his fantasy outlook for 2026 is decimated by this news.

He dealt with injuries last season, only getting in 14 starts. Lopez had a 2.74 earned run average, with 73 strikeouts over 75 2/3 innings. Lopez has a career 3.81 ERA over 965 innings in eight seasons.

Lopez is on the average draft position list, going around pick 130 on average so far. That's going to drop, and he'll likely be skipped in standard leagues completely now. If he needs surgery and is done for the season, then Lopez will obviously be skippable in all fantasy leagues.

The injury is a blow to Lopez's fantasy outlook, and the Twins' chances in 2026.

The starting rotation is now projected to be Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews. There's other options who could fight for a rotation spot as well, and Ryan might be the only lock in that rotation for now.

We'll keep an eye out on more news around Lopez, but this news is devastating for fantasy owners and the Twins in real life.

Yankees' Pitchers

Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler are three New York pitchers who have injury concerns already.

Rodon is working back from an offseason elbow surgery. He is expected back in late April, so at this time, it's not a long-term injury.

Cole missed last year following Tommy John surgery. He's ramping things up, but is still expected to miss a bit of the season. Cole could be back in late May or early June if things keep progressing positively.

Schlittler is dealing with mid-back inflammation and isn't throwing off a mound right now. It's not a huge issue right now, but it could delay the start to his season, so you'll want to track this injury.

Right now, Max Fried is expected to lead the rotation, with Schlittler in the No. 2 spot. Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil are the other projected starters. There's enough there to patch things together until Rodon and Cole are back - Clarke Schmidt could also return in the middle of the coming year.

Schlittler has an ADP of around 123 right now, and that could fall if he's going to miss even just a couple starts. Rodon is going around pick 150, which is fair for him expected to miss a couple starts. Cole is at pick 147 on average right now, which might be a bit too early given how much time he is expected to miss.

We'll keep tabs on these injuries and let you know if there's any changes ever.

Edman to Miss Time

Tommy Edman has an ankle injury he's dealing with. He will miss the start of the season for the Dodgers.

In 97 games with LA last year, he had a .225 average and .274 on-base percentage. Edman had 13 doubles and homers among his 78 total knocks, along with 49 RBIs and runs scored, three stolen bases, 19 walks and 61 strikeouts.

Edman played second and third base, plus some center field, so his loss is notable, even if he isn't the best hitter.

Hyeseong Kim and Max Muncy are projected starters in platoons at second and third base, respectively. Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas could earn some starts with Edman out of the picture.

Edman is going around pick 171 right now. He's just a deep-league asset, especially with an injury concern now. Edman will be a player to keep tabs on once he's healthy enough to play, so don't treat him just a deep-league asset all year.

Another Brave Dealing with an Injury

Atlanta has been battered by injury news already, with Spencer Schwellenbach, Sean Murphy, Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez already dealing with things. Hurston Waldrep has been added to the list.

Waldrep has soreness in his throwing elbow. He has no ligament damage, but some loose bodies. Anytime you are talking about elbow injuries, it's a scary thing for a pitcher.

Waldrep was an option for the starting rotation with some of the other injuries on the team. The injury might be what holds him back from opening the year in the big leagues, and it could eventually knock him out for 2026.

We'll keep tabs on Waldrep, but he's off the fantasy radar outside really deep redraft leagues right now. Hopefully it's not an injury that slows his long-term outlook, as he's only 24 years old.