Josh Reddick and Domingo Santana are both upside fantasy OF, but were forced to go on the D.L. this week. What is the fantasy fallout from their injuries?
Managing injuries are forever a part of fantasy baseball, so this weeks’ news that two OF were going down, just another happening in which fantasy owners will have to navigate. The biggest blow for owners had to be the unlucky injury of Josh Reddick, who fractured his thumb during a stolen base attempt.
Reddick is in the midst of a great season which sees him currently with a, .322/5 HR/18 RBI/4 SB/.860 OPS, line. The A’s offense has struggled all season, so losing their only consistent bat, will certainly hurt.
The A’s plan will more than likely go with a starting combo of Khris Davis, Coco Crisp, and Billy Burns, in the OF for the time being. If Davis is still available in any leagues he should be added purely based on the power surge he is on and Crisp was once a dynamic fantasy option, but the lack of steals and his struggles at the plate cause him to be ignorable.
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Burns is the key though as patient fantasy owners continue to wait for him to come out of his slump. His speed alone should still warrant a spot on fantasy rosters, but June is almost upon us, so it is either time for him to sink or swim.
While Reddick’s injury will have the biggest blow to fantasy owners, it is important to also note Domingo Santana’s injury as well. Santana came into the 2016 season as a popular breakout candidate as he has all the raw tools to become a solid fantasy contributor.
He got off to a slow start to the season, but any hope of a rebound was dashed when he injured his right shoulder. This injury has plagued him for nearly a month now and with it not getting any better, the Brewers finally made the move to shut him down.
The injury allowed him to hit, but not play the field, and it can be assumed that even though he could swing a bat, it was not at full strength. His, .239 AVG/3 HR/12 RBI/.353 OBP, line is certainly rough and pedestrian, but the upside is still there. Most owners have probably released Santana by now, but this could allow astute owners to snag him and stash on their bench or in a DL spot, with the hope that he will come back healthy and ready to go for the long run.
The Brewers will look to Keon Broxton and Kirk Nieuwenhuis to fill in for Santana, but neither are dependable options. Broxton has the raw ability to be an interesting add, but he has struggled mightily during his time at the major league level. Niuewenhuis has been solid at the plate this season, so he could be looked at in deep leagues or NL-only leagues as a waiver add, but the upside just is not there and his platoon role dampens his value.
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Fantasy owners looking for OF replacements off the waiver wire could look to such options as, Melvin Upton Jr., Jon Jay, Rajai Davis, Chris Owings, or take a gamble on someone like Jayson Werth. Luckily the OF is the easiest position to find fill-ins as the talent pool is so deep and there are players that can bring certain stats to the table that can offset any injury losses.