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Fantasy Baseball Offseason Guide

Noteworthy fantasy baseball injuries

December 28, 2008 @ 01:00:00

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By Bryce McRae
Edited by Tim Heaney

Catchers

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Joe Mauer
MIN
Kidney surgery
Spring Training
Surgery eliminated a kidney obstruction - situation wasn't considered serious; he has resumed workouts
Jorge Posada
NYY
Arthroscopic shoulder surgery (7/30)
Spring Training
Started throwing program early December; could serve as designated hitter if not ready to throw

 

First basemen

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Todd Helton
COL
Back surgery (9/30)
No timetable
Team is unsure how long it will be until Helton is back to 100 percent; Helton taking it slow in recovery

 

Second basemen

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Chase Utley
PHI
Offseason hip surgery (11/25)
Opening Day 2009
Optimistic of a return for Opening Day; he could be out until June, though
Aaron Hill
TOR
Concussion
Spring Training
Has been cleared to practice full time for the last month

 

Third basemen

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Melvin Mora
BAL
Minor shoulder surgery
Spring Training
Removed small, arthritic section of distal clavicle (part of AC joint)
Mike Lowell
BOS
Offseason hip surgery (11/20)
Spring Training
Rehab is ahead of schedule; originally believed to return mid-March; underwent surgery 10/20
Jorge Cantu
FLA
Shoulder
Spring Training
Apparent shoulder problem could force Cantu to shift from third base to first base
Pedro Feliz
PHI
Lumbar Disectomy (11/20)
Opening Day 2009
Recovery time expected to be eight to 12 weeks
Kevin Kouzmanoff
SD
Arthroscopic Surgery (11/15)
Spring Training
Move along - nothing to see here.
Adrian Beltre
SEA
Shoulder and thumb surgery (10/20)
Spring Training
Shoulder has been sore but thumb has felt better; he has been hitting and taking ground balls

 

Shortstops

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Hanley Ramirez
FLA
Shoulder soreness
Spring Training
No Winter Baseball for Hanley; shoulder was bothering him in September

 

Outfielders

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Willy Taveras
CIN
Stress fracture in leg
Spring Training
WAS was wary of trading for him because of stress fracture, but he is reportedly healthy
Carlos Lee
HOU
Broken pinkie finger (9/10)
Spring Training
Finger fully healed from surgery; splint removed 11/10 - status for WBC unknown
Gary Matthews Jr.
LAA
Knee surgery (11/28)
May
Surgery repaired torn patella tendon in left knee; Juan Rivera re-signed could take up his outfield spot
B.J. Upton
TB
Shoulder surgery (11/11)
Opening Day 2009
Could miss some Spring Training games; surgery was to repair torn labrum in left shoulder
Barry Bonds
FA
Hip surgery
Opening Day 2009
Underwent surgery with the hope of playing this season; hoping to be ready for start of the season

 

Designated hitters

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
David Ortiz
BOS
Wrist inflammation
Spring Training
Expects return to form after wrist bothered him last year; doctors said he needed only rest, no surgery
Travis Hafner
CLE
Shoulder
Spring Training
Had shoulder re-examined by Dr. James Andrews; should begin taking swings in mid-January
Gary Sheffield
DET
Shoulder
Spring Training
Expected to be fully healthy, though Jim Leyland doubts Sheffield will play in outfield in 2009

 

Starting pitchers

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
Josh Beckett
BOS
Oblique strain
Spring Training
Will skip World Baseball Classic to rest; has started working out at home and is returning to normal
Jeremy Bonderman
DET
Shoulder surgery (6/30)
Spring Training
Expects to be close to 100 percent by mid-January
Kelvim Escobar
LAA
Shoulder surgery
Mid-2009
Might be used in a light relief role initially
Chad Billingsley
LAD
Leg surgery (11/22)
Spring Training
Surgery repaired a spiral fracture of the fibula in his left leg; expected to begin throwing in January
Johan Santana
NYM
Knee surgery (10/1)
Spring Training
Underwent surgery to repair torn meniscus in left knee
Justin Duchscherer
OAK
Hip surgery (9/29)
Opening Day 2009
Torn cartilage cleaned out during exploratory surgery
Erik Bedard
SEA
Shoulder surgery (9/26)
Spring Training
Cleared to throw in December; surgery removed cyst from shoulder
Chris Carpenter
STL
Nerve surgery (11/4)
Spring Training
Expected to begin throwing program after undergoing nerve tests 12/4; may enter team's CL picture
Dustin McGowan
TOR
Shoulder surgery (7/31)
May or June
Surgery repaired fraying in shoulder labrum; McGowan aiming to return sooner
Shaun Marcum
TOR
Tommy John surgery
Opening Day 2010
Will miss all of 2009 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season
John Smoltz
FA
Shoulder surgery (6/10)
April or May
Still drawing interest on the FA market as a starter; the Atlanta Braves are encouraged by his rehab
Mark Mulder
FA
Shoulder
No timetable
Restoring arm angle from a few years ago

 

Relief pitchers

Player
Team
Injury (surgery date)
Est. Return
Notes
George Sherrill
BAL
Shoulder
Spring Training
Reportedly has felt no pain in his shoulder; will play catch in January
Chris Ray
BAL
Elbow
No timetable
Hoping to come back for Spring Training; if healthy, he could eventually push Sherrill for closer duties
Billy Wagner
NYM
Tommy John surgery (9/10)
2009?
Originally thought to be finished with club; ahead of schedule in rehab and could return in 2009
Mariano Rivera
NYY
Arthroscopic shoulder surgery (10/3)
Spring Training
Will likely take usual light workload for Spring Training, skipping WBC and Grapefruit League road games
Troy Percival
TB
Back surgery (12/2)
No timetable
Recovering well from surgery, though he might not be ready for Opening Day; he's still the closer for now
Takashi Saito
FA
Elbow
No timetable
Rehabbing well but might not be ready to start the season




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Author Bio

Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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