Baseball injury updates

Stay up-to-date with all the latest news on injured players across Major League Baseball.

Freddie Freeman, Bobby Miller, Shohei Ohtani, Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech, Dodgers

Freeman, who had surgery in the offseason on his right ankle after playing hurt during the postseason, tested the ankle on the field for the first time since the procedure on Feb. 20, and reports were positive. He said he expects that he'll be ready to go for the season opener against the Cubs in Japan on March 18. More >

Miller is in concussion protocol after being struck on the head by a line drive during his appearance in the Dodgers' Cactus League opener against the Cubs on Feb. 20. The following day, manager Dave Roberts said Miller avoided a fracture and "certainly escaped" a more serious injury. Roberts added that the right-hander is "in good spirits." More >

Ohtani is slated to return as a two-way player for the first time since joining the Dodgers. He began an offseason throwing program in December and has since resumed hitting, with the expectation that he will be ready as a hitter on Opening Day and as a pitcher sometime in May. He missed all of 2024 as a pitcher after undergoing right elbow surgery in September '23. His offseason work was delayed by left shoulder labrum surgery in November, but he completed his first bullpen session on Feb. 15, throwing 14 pitches -- all two- and four-seam fastballs. More >

Phillips (right shoulder injury) and Kopech (right forearm inflammation) arrived at camp in Glendale "a little behind schedule" and could begin the season on the injured list, though Roberts said that would depend on how they're able to build up over the next couple of weeks. More >

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, Yankees

Stanton has been experiencing soreness in both elbows since the 2024 postseason, which Boone likened to "tennis elbow." Boone said on Feb. 16 that the Yankees will slow-play Stanton through Spring Training, and he is uncertain to be ready for Opening Day. Stanton said the pain is "very high�� and that the issue is ��definitely not just soreness.�� More >

Manager Aaron Boone said on Feb. 20 that Judge will not play in his first Grapefruit League game of the spring until around March 1, so as not to rush the superstar slugger into game action following a lengthy postseason that ended in a five-game World Series loss to the Dodgers. Boone said there are no injury concerns with Judge. More >

"I just feel like I don��t want to rush him out there,�� Boone said. ��I was walking through the schedule the other day with him, [talking about] how do we build up and make sure we get a steady build with the right number of at-bats."

Wyatt Langford, Rangers

Langford has a ��mild oblique strain,�� manager Bruce Bochy announced ahead of the team's Cactus League opener against the Royals on Feb. 21. Bochy said the plan is to keep Langford out of baseball activities for five to seven days and then see how he is. More >

Frankie Montas and Brandon Nimmo, Mets

Manager Carlos Mendoza said on Feb. 17 that Montas has a high-grade lat strain and will be shut down for six to eight weeks. More >

Nimmo, who aggravated the plantar fasciitis in his left foot during the postseason last year, is sprinting at better than 90% of his normal speed. He is taking his progression slowly and hopes to not miss more than about a week of Grapefruit League action. More >

Kyle Wright and James McArthur, Royals

Wright, who missed the entire 2024 season rehabbing from right shoulder surgery, suffered a right hamstring strain during a recent bullpen session. He's able to play catch, but he will be set back at least a week in his progression.

McArthur (right elbow surgery) has begun a throwing program, but his rehab is expected to go through Spring Training and into the regular season. More >

Ronald Acu?a Jr. and Spencer Strider, Braves

Acu?a, who is recovering from a torn right ACL last year, won't be ready for Opening Day, but he is hopeful he will be back in the lineup soon after. While there's a chance he may not return before the second half of May, his track record suggests an April return can't be ruled out -- after tearing his left ACL midway through the 2021 campaign, he was back by April of '22. He is currently taking batting practice and running at what he considers 90% of his normal speed, but he's still a few weeks away from further testing his knee with cutting drills. More >

Strider (elbow surgery) has been throwing bullpen sessions and may be allowed to pitch in at least one game before the end of Spring Training. His next step may be facing live hitters soon. If he doesn't encounter any setbacks, he could rejoin Atlanta's rotation by the end of April. More >

Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello, Red Sox

Crawford is dealing with discomfort in the patellar tendon of his right knee, something he dealt with from his third start of last season onward. He may not be ready for Opening Day. More >

Bello has been dealing with inflammation in his right shoulder since the start of camp. More >

Dansby Swanson, Javier Assad, Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw, Cubs

Swanson (core muscle injury) had surgery last October and will slow-play things early in workouts this spring, but he is not expected to miss time.

Assad (mild left oblique strain) is in the early phases of a throwing program after being shut down from throwing until his symptoms subsided. Manager Craig Counsell has expressed optimism that the righty will not be out long.

Hoerner underwent flexor tendon surgery on his right forearm in October and may not be ready for Opening Day. He has started light hitting in the batting cage and is in the early stages of a throwing program.

Shaw (left oblique soreness) has resumed hitting in the cage, as well as fielding and throwing work. More >

Rhett Lowder and Andrew Abbott, Reds

Lowder is behind schedule in Spring Training after experiencing right elbow soreness in January. He is being handled carefully and might not be in Cincinnati's rotation on Opening Day. More >

Abbott came into camp behind other Reds pitchers as he still is working through the left shoulder problem that prematurely ended his 2024 season. More >

Lance McCullers Jr., Astros

McCullers, who underwent flexor tendon surgery on his right arm in 2023, suffered a setback in his recovery process last year and hasn't thrown a pitch in a Major League game since the 2022 World Series. He has thrown in the bullpen seven times so far this spring, and he could face hitters within the next couple of weeks. If all goes well, he could pitch in a Grapefruit League game before the end of Spring Training. More >

Trevor Rogers and Jorge Mateo, Orioles

Rogers will miss the start of the season after suffering a right knee subluxation in January.

Mateo (left UCL reconstruction surgery) is likely to open the season on the injured list, though he could get into Grapefruit League action late in Spring Training. More >

Alex Cobb and Javier B��ez, Tigers

Cobb, who signed with the Tigers as a free agent in December, had a platelet-rich plasma injection to address inflammation in his right hip. He is expected to be sidelined for a month, meaning he likely won't be ready by Opening Day.

B��ez is progressing well in his recovery from right hip surgery last fall, and he is on track to be ready for game action later this spring. More >

Josiah Gray, Nationals

Gray (Tommy John surgery) is throwing three times a week from a distance of up to 60 feet. He said he will extend that to 75 feet next week. More >

Spencer Horwitz, Pirates

Horwitz, whom the Pirates acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays with the intention of making him their everyday first baseman, is expected to miss six to eight weeks after undergoing right wrist surgery. More >

Ha-Seong Kim, Rays

Kim underwent right shoulder labrum surgery in October while on the Padres. He could make his Rays debut around May. More >