Ambulance Chasers: Kwantum Leap’ed Into A Hamstring Injury

Hey there, Razzballers!

It’s not every article I get to make a “Quantum Leap” reference, but this is how I also found out they (the Big TV lobby) tried to revive the show in 2022, which was canceled after two seasons. It’s going to be difficult, and maybe impossible in today’s landscape, to recapture the magic between Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.

Speaking of KWANtum, let’s discuss Steve Kwan.

Notable Injuries

AL Central

Steven Kwan (OF, CLE), leg: Big loss in Cleveland as hitting leader Kwan will be out for around a month with a strained hamstring. The Guardians called up their No. 2 prospect Kyle Manzardo. In the minors this year, Manzardo hit 9 HR and 20 RBIs in 109 AB. In his time with the majors thus far (at the time of publication), he had 2 H in 12 AB.

Welcome to the Show Kyle Manzardo!!! What an awesome moment for his first MLB hit!

pic.twitter.com/PNgv7lrFo2

— Overdue Sports (@OverdueSports) May 8, 2024

AL East

Ryan Pepiot (SP, TBR), leg: Pepiot sustained a leg contusion after being by a comebacker. Luckily, there was no serious damage to the leg. Pepiot should be back later in May. Taj Bradley rejoined the Rays roster as Pepiot moved to the IL. Bradley has only played in the minors this year because he was recovering from a pectoral injury. In 11 IP, he had 12.27 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9. Bradley started yesterday, and that game was not finished at the time of publication. Let’s check in through the comments on how his performance went. (Editor’s Note: 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks vs the Yanks, 4 Hits, 2 BBs…pretty good!)

AL West

Dane Dunning (SP, TEX), shoulder: Last week, I mentioned Dane Dunning as a potential replacement for Nathan Eovaldi. Well, Dunning has now joined the six other starting pitchers on the Rangers IL. The culprit? A strained rotator cuff. Luckily, Eovaldi should be back in a week or so.

Trevor Williams is an option if your roster is down Dunning or Eovaldi. In 36.7 IP, Williams has a 1.96 ERA and 2.50 FIP. Though I think Grey has the g-men onto Williams.

Wyatt Langford  (OF, TEX), hamstring: More bad news deep in the heart of Texas! Wyatt Langford will be out 3-4 weeks with a hamstring strain. Jonathan Ornelas was recalled to replace Langford. Ornelas was fine in Triple AAA, but let’s consider some other options.

Rangers will place Wyatt Langford on IL with a hamstring strain, slightly more severe than Grade 1, Bruce Bochy says. It will be 3-4 week absence

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) May 5, 2024

If you want to stay within the Rangers org, you could pick up Leody Taveras. Taveras is .254/.326/.377 for the season. He’s been heating up in the past week with 1 HR and 5 RBIs in 26 AB. If you want to get a little more experimental, Tampa Bay OF Jonny DeLuca has a small but interesting sample size. In 20 AB, DeLuca has 1 HR, 10 RBIs, and 3 BB. That rounds out to  .350/.435/.650. To be fair, he put up these stats against the White Sox and Mets.

Jonny DeLuca with 6 RBIs & a walk off in his first series at home… Not a bad first impression for the the man! pic.twitter.com/pD4bFpYmG3

— big dog kevin cash? (@ExtendKevinCash) May 5, 2024

NL Central

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B, CIN), wrist: CES will be out 4-6 weeks with a fractured wrist. He attempted to play through the injury, which was as successful as you might imagine. Jeimer Candelario, who is 1B eligible and heating up, covered for CES more immediately. However, the Reds picked up Mike Ford to cover 1B for the foreseeable future. At the time of publication, Ford has only had 5 PA. In the MiLB this season he has 27 H in 91 PA with 6 HR and 15 RBIs.

Another option might be Philadelphia’s Kody Clemens. Clemens is getting a lot of playing time between the Trea Turner and Bryce Harper outages. In 11 AB, he has 2 HR and 7 RBIs. The sample size is still small, but he could be a good add to your roster if you have the space.

Kody Clemens is 2-2 with a triple and a home run ? pic.twitter.com/R93ouOoQna

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) May 8, 2024

Willson Contreras (C, STL), arm: The most “I Am Afraid To Watch This Replay” injury of the week goes to Willson Contreras. It’s a real shame because he was on a heater leading up to his injury. J.D. Martinez put ice on Contreras with a swing that caught Contreras’ forearm. The result was a forearm fracture that has been surgically repaired. Contreras is expected to be out for 10 weeks. Ouch!

Pedro Pagés was recalled to the Cardinals to replace Iván Herrera who will be taking most of the starts. Herrera was performing well earlier in the season and hit a little slump. Maybe the promotion will give him a necessary boost.

Switching divisions, Yankee Jose Trevino is another option. In the last 51 AB, he is hitting .333/.370/.451. He is regressing a bit in his past 11 AB and has been benched for two days (at the time of publication). Tampa Bay’s Ben Rortverdt is also another option. In 63 AB, Rortverdt is hitting .333/.432/.381. with 8 RBIs and 11 BB.

NL East

Trea Turner (SS, PHI), leg: Trea Turner will be out for at least 6 weeks with a strained hamstring. With Turner out, Kody Clemens (mentioned above), Bryson Stott, and Whit Merrifield all find themselves in demand.

Outside of the Phillies, many folks have finally hopped on the Amed Rosario train. Josh H. Smith is another utility player who could (slim chance) be available in your league. A more avant-garde option, which Laura covered beautifully in Rolling In The Deep, would be Paul DeJong. In his last 26 AB, DeJong has 8 H with 2 HR and 5 RBIs.

Paul DeJong has a 111 wRC+ and a 0.8 fWAR so far this year pic.twitter.com/4PiKF0OpOH

— Julian (@Julian4948) May 9, 2024

NL West

Joe Musgrove (SP, SDP), elbow: Joe Musgrove moves to the IL with elbow inflammation. He is eligible to return on May 17, but it is unclear if that will happen. Randy Vásquez, who was in contention to be a starter during spring training, was recalled to the roster. In his last 4.3 IP, he has 12 K/9 and 0 BB. His control has been an issue, but he seems to be working on it judging on his last few innings.

Randy Vásquez strikes out six

Randy Vásquez strikes out six batters in 4 1/3 innings against the Cubs

Padres @ Cubs#LetsGoPadres | May 7, 2024 pic.twitter.com/8OPinwj7Bq

— San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) May 8, 2024

Jorge Soler (DH/OF, SFG), shoulder: Soler hit the IL with a strained shoulder. He is eligible to return May 15. Heliot Ramos was recalled to take Soler’s spot on the roster. Ramos has performed well in the minors over the years but has had a rough time in the majors. Wilmer Flores is also likely to take some DH spots. Flores is not exactly flourishing this season. He’s hitting .213/.291/.594 in 89 AB.

Maybe an unpopular option, but Harold Ramirez is on a hitting streak (especially against the lefties). In the past 89 AB, he has been slashing .326/.348/.382 with 29 H, 10 RBIs, and 4 SB. His last few performances were against the White Sox and Mets, but hey, maybe he has been jiggled awake.

Harold Ramirez @RaysBaseball is Monday’s Box-Toppers AL Batter of the Day (2B 4-4 3R BI vs. CHW).

B-T Player of the Game winners in all Monday games: https://t.co/Kuss3Ts6sJ pic.twitter.com/IEIUIo0GMX

— Box-Toppers (@BoxToppers) May 7, 2024

Injury Updates

It’s time for some good, bad, and ugly lightning round injury updates.

• Cody Bellinger (OF, CHC), rib: activated.
  
• Brayan Bello (SP, BOS), back: should be starting tomorrow.
• Jake Burger (3B/1B, MIA), oblique: activated.
• Triston Casas (1B, BOS), ribs: moved to 60-day IL, could be awhile 🙁
• Gerrit Cole (SP, NYY), elbow: bullpen sessions.
• Brandon Drury (1B/2B, LAA), hamstring: what was originally an oblique injury moved to migraines and now a tweaked hamstring.
• Nathan Eovaldi (SP, TEX), groin: should be back around May 18.
• Pete Fairbanks (RP, TBR), arm: rehabbin’, should be activated this weekend..
• Braxton Garrett (SP, MIA), shoulder: reinstated.
• DJ LeMahieu (1B/3B, NYY), foot: progressing in rehab.
• Brandon Lowe (2B, TBR), oblique: continued inflammation in his back; going for a second opinion.
• Sean Murphy (C, ATL), oblique: hitting in the batting cage.
• Nick Pivetta (SP, BOS), elbow: activated with rough start.
• Grayson Rodriguez (SP, BAL), elbow: throwing off the mound.
• Max Scherzer (SP, TEX), back: still recovering from thumb issue.
• Seiya Suzuki (OF, CHC), oblique: rehabbin’.
• Alek Thomas (OF, ARI), hamstring: being reevaluated (MRI) after setback in rehab.
• Gavin Williams (SP, CLE), elbow: shifted to the 60-day IL.
• Bryan Woo (SP, SEA), elbow: returned to line-up.
• Christian Yelich (OF, MIL), back: reinstated.

Did I forget anyone? Want an injury update? I’ll see you in the comments.

Have a great week!