Lately, the injuries dominating the headlines have been of the season-ending variety. That's certainly the case for Eury Perez and Shane Bieber, who are both set to undergo Tommy John surgery, and it may also be the case for Spencer Strider, who has a UCL tear of his own.
But it's still true that most players who get hurt will eventually come back, and most leagues offer specially designated roster spots to stash them in the meantime. You know the ones I'm talking about. They start with an "I" and end with an "L," and if you're lucky, they're not totally full yet.
How best to fill them? Well, that's what these rankings are for. Like every form of ranking, these aren't one-size-fits-all. In deeper leagues, for instance, you may not be able sell out for the upside of a Jacob deGrom at the expense of a serviceable player like DJ LeMahieu. But weighing projected timeline against eventual impact, here's how things shake out for me.
Note that I purposely excluded Sonny Gray (hamstring) from this list since he's expected to be activated on the day it's published.
Too valuable to drop, period
| 1 | 
Royce Lewis
Minnesota Twins 3B
|
| strained quadriceps - will rest for all of April, then hopefully begin ramp-up | |
| 2 | 
Justin Steele
Chicago Cubs SP
|
| strained hamstring - no timetable offered, but May return seems likely | |
| 3 | 
Framber Valdez
Houston Astros SP
|
| elbow inflammation - awaiting examination, could be more than just inflammation | |
| 4 | 
Luis Robert
Chicago White Sox CF
|
| strained hip flexor - expected to miss 6-8 weeks | |
| 5 | 
Walker Buehler
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - strong in latest rehab start, likely one or two more | |
| 6 | 
Gerrit Cole
New York Yankees SP
|
| pinched nerve in elbow - has begun playing catch, hopes to be back before June | |
| 7 | 
Justin Verlander
Houston Astros SP
|
| shoulder inflammation - shaky in first rehab start, scheduled for at least one more | |
| 8 | 
Joshua Lowe
Tampa Bay Rays RF
|
| strained oblique - Kevin Cash says he's "still quite a ways a way" | |
| 9 | 
Kodai Senga
New York Mets SP
|
| shoulder capsule - has been throwing for weeks, could be back in mid-May | |
| 10 | 
Max Scherzer
Texas Rangers SP
|
| back surgery - has been throwing off mound for a couple weeks, late May possible | |
| 11 | 
Jordan Romano
Toronto Blue Jays RP
|
| elbow inflammation - throwing live batting practice, perhaps a week or two away | |
| 12 | 
Jhoan Duran
Minnesota Twins RP
|
| strained oblique - says he's no longer in pain, so we should have a timetable soon | |
| 13 | 
Paul Sewald
Arizona Diamondbacks RP
|
| strained oblique - playing catch, but April return may be pushing it for Grade 2 strain | |
Also really difficult to drop
| 14 | 
Sean Murphy
Atlanta Braves C
|
| strained oblique - only a Grade 1 strain but hasn't begun swinging a bat yet | |
| 15 | 
Nick Pivetta
Boston Red Sox SP
|
| strained elbow flexor - not expected to miss more than a couple weeks | |
| 16 | 
TJ Friedl
Cincinnati Reds CF
|
| fractured wrist - now two weeks into a six-week timetable | |
| 17 | 
Josh Jung
Texas Rangers 3B
|
| fractured wrist - recently moved to 60-day IL, putting him out until almost June | |
| 18 | 
Spencer Strider
Atlanta Braves SP
|
| sprained UCL - still meeting with doctors, but season-ending surgery seems likely | |
| 19 | 
Nick Lodolo
Cincinnati Reds SP
|
| calf inflammation - scheduled to make season debut Saturday | |
| 20 | 
Gavin Williams
Cleveland Guardians SP
|
| elbow inflammation - no word on rehab assignment yet, which is a bit concerning | |
| 21 | 
Kyle Bradish
Baltimore Orioles SP
|
| sprained UCL - throwing bullpens; Orioles seem hopeful he can make it back (and soon) | |
| 22 | 
Eloy Jimenez
Chicago White Sox DH
|
| strained adductor - was considered day to day at first, likely won't be sidelined long | |
| 23 | 
Devin Williams
Milwaukee Brewers RP
|
| fractures in back - nearly a month into what was a three-month timetable | |
| 24 | 
Tommy Edman
St. Louis Cardinals 2B
|
| wrist surgery - finally cleared for baseball activities, but facing lengthy ramp-up | |
| 25 | 
Lars Nootbaar
St. Louis Cardinals CF
|
| rib fractures - working on timing on rehab assignment but should be back soon | |
| 26 | 
Eduardo Rodriguez
Arizona Diamondbacks SP
|
| strained lat - likely to miss all of April, at least | |
| 27 | 
Bryan Woo
Seattle Mariners SP
|
| elbow inflammation - is throwing again, but no talk of rehab assignment yet | |
| 28 | 
Braxton Garrett
Miami Marlins SP
|
| shoulder soreness - gearing up for what could be final rehab start Friday | |
| 29 | 
Shane Baz
Tampa Bay Rays SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - slowed by oblique injury, likely to return at some point in June | |
Still a priority on some level
| 30 | 
Nate Lowe
Texas Rangers 1B
|
| strained oblique - has resumed batting practice and could begin rehab assignment soon | |
| 31 | 
Vaughn Grissom
Boston Red Sox SS
|
| strained hamstring - expected to begin rehab assignment in the coming days | |
| 32 | 
Matt McLain
Cincinnati Reds SS
|
| shoulder surgery - if he plays this year, it likely won't be until August | |
| 33 | 
Jacob deGrom
Texas Rangers SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - throwing from flat ground; won't return until late in the year | |
| 34 | 
Jeffrey Springs
Tampa Bay Rays SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - throwing off a mound, making a July return possible | |
Stashing is purely a luxury
| 35 | 
Edward Cabrera
Miami Marlins SP
|
| shoulder impingement - set for what could be final rehab start Wednesday | |
| 36 | 
DJ LeMahieu
New York Yankees 3B
|
| fractured foot - doing some baseball activities but likely still weeks away | |
| 37 | 
Jonathan Aranda
Tampa Bay Rays 1B
|
| fractured finger - surgery was needed, likely keeping him out until May | |
| 38 | 
Garrett Mitchell
Milwaukee Brewers CF
|
| fractured finger - expected to miss all of April, at least | |
| 39 | 
Emmet Sheehan
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| forearm inflammation - throwing to hitters, but Dodgers figure to take their time | |
| 40 | 
Jasson Dominguez
New York Yankees CF
|
| Tommy John surgery - throwing from 120 feet, could return around All-Star break | |
| 41 | 
Robert Stephenson
Los Angeles Angels RP
|
| shoulder inflammation - throwing bullpen sessions, but closer role currently occupied | |
| 42 | 
Clayton Kershaw
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| shoulder surgery - could return at some point in the second half | |
| 43 | 
Dustin May
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| flexor tendon surgery - could return at some point in the second half | |
| 44 | 
Robbie Ray
San Francisco Giants SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - throwing bullpen sessions, midseason return possible | |
| 45 | 
Luis Garcia
Houston Astros SP
|
| Tommy John surgery - throwing off a mound again, midseason return possible | |
| 46 | 
John Means
Baltimore Orioles SP
|
| strained forearm - roughed up in first rehab start, better in second, still building up | |
