5 MLB contenders dealing with serious spring injuries

There are a lot of things in baseball you can’t control.

When a batter puts his bat on the ball, he can’t help it if a gust of wind knocks down a surefire home run from reaching the seats. An infielder can’t help a bad-hop grounder from bouncing over his glove. An outfielder can’t help losing a fly ball caught in the twilight.

On a larger scale, no one can help injuries. They are baseball’s purest form of chaos. Injuries can ravage the worst of teams and the best of teams, the worst of players and the best of players. Entire off-seasons can be undone by a spate of injuries that can cripple a franchise’s World Series dreams.

So far this spring, a number of teams have been hit hard by the injury bug, some more seriously than others. With a little over two weeks of exhibition games left on the schedule, here are the five contenders most affected by injuries.

No team has had their status as World Series contenders threatened more than the Bronx Bombers. Ace right-hander Gerrit Cole is headed for Tommy John surgery and will miss all of the 2025 season.

Luis Gil, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, could be out 2-3 months and will not throw for another six weeks after suffering a lat strain early in camp. His 3.59 ERA in 29 starts a season ago will be sorely missed in a New York rotation suddenly without its top two starters. Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman will have to step up and avoid injuries themselves in order to keep New York’s rotation afloat, and that will be no small feat.

One of the team’s most important sluggers, Giancarlo Stanton, is dealing with an apparent serious injury in both elbows, and if surgery is required, would force him to miss all of the ‘25 season, too. At best, he will miss a solid chunk of time at the start of the season as well.

And there is no timetable for the return of first baseman DJ LeMahieu, who suffered a calf strain last week. The 36-year-old played in just 67 games for the Yankees last year.

The Mets suffered a big loss when star catcher Francisco Alvarez was lost for 6-8 weeks due to a fracture in his hamate bone, suffered while taking batting practice. Alvarez is an important cog in New York’s loaded lineup, he hit 25 home runs and 63 RBIs in 123 games in 2023, injuries torpedoed his ‘24 season, limiting him to 100 games and just 11 bombs.

Like their cross-town rivals, the Mets will also be down two of their starters to begin the season. Sean Manaea, who emerged as their ace a season ago, is shut down with a right oblique strain. He’ll almost certainly miss Opening Day. Frankie Montas is shut down for another six weeks and will miss a little over two months of the regular season with a high-grade lat strain. Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Tylor Megill will head the rotation for now.

There is also concern over outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who has played in just one game thus far, is dealing with inflammation in his knee, and will receive a gel injection to try and reduce the swelling. There’s no set timetable for him to return, although the team is hopeful he’ll be back soon.

Baltimore has a young and talented roster, but will be without their star 23-year-old shortstop, Gunnar Henderson, for at least the next couple weeks, with his availability for Opening Day in jeopardy.

Henderson injured himself leaping for a line drive against Toronto last Thursday, suffering a mild right intercostal strain. Henderson finished 4th in the AL MVP voting last year, so it’s wise for the team to slowplay his return to the lineup.

Starter Grayson Rodriguez will not begin the season in Baltimore’s rotation, due to discomfort in his elbow and triceps area. He went 13-4 in 20 starts with a 3.86 ERA for the O’s last season. He’ll be shut down for the next week and a half and only then will begin a throwing program. And one of the O’s best relievers, Andrew Kittredge, will have to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss months. Kittredge posed a 2.80 ERA in 74 appearances for Baltimore last season.

While no team has suffered more than the Yankees, Atlanta is not starting off with all pistons firing, either.

Catcher Sean Murphy will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a cracked rib. With Travis d’Arnaud now a member of the Angels, top catching prospect Drake Baldwin will likely get the first crack at the job, but Atlanta’s catching depth will be tested. It appears the team dodged a big bullet with free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar, who jammed his wrist diving for a fly ball Saturday against Pittsburgh. An MRI revealed a bone bruise and the team is hopeful he’ll be ready for Opening Day.

They’ll need him, as Ronald Acuna, Jr. continues to make his way back from last year’s ACL tear (he’s expected back sometime in May). Spencer Strider appears closer to returning, with pitching coach Rick Kranitz saying they expect him to pitch in a Grapefruit League game near the end of the spring and potentially return to the rotation at the end of April.

Seattle doesn’t have a slew of injuries with which to deal, but are dealing with one to perhaps their best starting pitcher, George Kirby, who has been shut down from throwing due to shoulder inflammation. He’ll almost certainly start the season on the Injured List.

The Mariners should be able to stem the tide of Kirby’s absence. They still feature four outstanding starters – Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo.