Fantasy Baseball Injury Update: Garrett Crochet, Kodai Senga Hit IL

We just went over some fantasy baseball injury news yesterday, but have more to discuss now.

Let's get right to it, as we have two players to discuss.

Fantasy baseball injury news can be found all season on FantasySP.

Garrett Crochet - Boston Red Sox

Crochet was placed on the 15-day injured list today with left shoulder inflammation.

It's a blow to fantasy baseball owners for sure, but he's too good to drop, so hopefully you have space for him, because he's never a drop candidate. Boston will suffer with Crochet out, but the Red Sox have already struggled mightily, so it cannot get much worse.

On a somewhat positive note, Crochet is only hoping to miss the minimum 15 days, so hopefully it's not an issue for the rest of the season. 

Crochet was so-so over his first six starts, but was coming off arguably his best start, so it's a bummer to have Crochet go on the IL now. He tossed six shutout innings against the Orioles, but struggled a bit more before that.

He's 3-3 in his starts so far. Crochet has allowed 23 runs (21 earned) on 33 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 37 batters over 30 innings. 

Crochet was stellar in his first season with Boston, posting a 2.59 earned run average over 205 1/3 innings. He also had 255 punchouts last season, and those marks led to him being a high-end fantasy draft pick.

So he was off to a slow start this season, but landing on the IL only makes things worse, as he cannot regain fantasy value. Right now, his fantasy value is as low as it might be for a long, long time.

That makes now a time to possibly buy very low on Crochet. There's risk involved after his slow start and now this injury, but I believe in Crochet and think better days are ahead. Do the deal if you can afford to be without him for the next couple weeks.

If I rostered Crochet though, I'd just stash him on my bench, or an IR spot. He was a top-end draft pick for a reason, and you need to give him time to be that type of player again. 

Things in the meantime might be rocky, but Crochet will be a huge asset when he's back, so absorb the blow of his absence for a couple weeks, then enjoy his high-end upside the remainder of the season.

In the meantime, expect the Red Sox to mostly rely on a four-man rotation of Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Brayan Bello and Connelly Early. Keep tabs on who the Red Sox might call up to start in Crochet's place, but don't expect them to stick in the rotation more than a turn or two.

Also know that Sonny Gray is on the IL and could return in time for Boston. There's a number of other players on the IL for Boston, so hopefully the team can tread water and eventually hit a hot streak to put them back in the playoff hunt.

Kodai Senga - New York Mets

Senga was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with lumbar spine inflammation.

There's no timetable for his return, which complicates things surrounding Senga. He was already a fantasy asset on the fall, and the injury only makes matters worse.

In his first five starts, Senga went 0-4. He allowed 21 runs (20 earned) on 26 hits and 13 walks, while striking out 23 batters. Senga worked 20 innings, and hasn't worked over 3 1/3 innings in any of his past three starts.

Hopefully Senga can get things straightened out while on the IL, because he clearly wasn't himself early this season. Unfortunately, injuries are becoming an issue with him over his career, and that's going to hold him back as a fantasy asset, especially as he ages. 

Senga is only owned in 22% of fantasy leagues right now. He's only rosterable through this IL stint in really deep leagues, or if you have IR spots to spare. He's one to let go if you have more valuable pieces you'd rather hold instead though.

He can be a good fantasy asset when healthy, but he needs to prove it after he returns to the mound. So Senga is worth tracking, but is droppable and avoidable until he's healthy and turns things around.

The Mets are slated to have a five-man rotation of Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Freddy Peralta and Christian Scott in the meantime. Scott was the one called up in a corresponding move to Senga hitting the IL.

The Mets have struggled so far, but the roster is talented enough to turn things around. The offense needs to be better, and in turn, that helps the fantasy outlooks of the pitching staff.

So look into adding/streaming some of the Mets' starting pitchers, especially guys who are getting a chance after Senga's injury. There's value to take advantage of here, so don't overlook anyone just because the Mets have struggled to this point.

As for Senga, we'll keep tabs on him and let you know if he's ever worth re-adding or streaming again in 2026. Hopefully this injury doesn't impact him for too long.