Break out the bubble wrap. We’re still two months from the MLB All-Star Break and pitchers are breaking down left and right.
Injuries are part of baseball. No matter how many rules MLB puts in place, or how much rest a guy gets between starts, injuries happen. The past few weeks have been rough for pitchers. The Giants, Mets and Indians are but a few examples of teams that have all taken hits in their starting rotations, and though it’s early in the season some of the teams are feeling these losses already.
While not all of the players on the DL are there due to baseball-related injuries (i.e. Madison Bumgarner and the offroading incident) the ones who are there are there for things like strains and tears that are usually seen later in the season.
There’s no way to predict injuries, and for all of the rest, ice, stretching, yoga, band work, and long toss, the risk of injury is always there. Will these injuries impact the teams’ seasons? Possibly. The larger concern is that the injuries could flare up later in the season in the middle of a postseason pennant race, and that’s even worse.
A Deeper Look
Prior to his injury, Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA. He’s currently on the 60-day DL with a torn right lat muscle, and he won’t throw for another six weeks or so.
The Indians lost Corey Kluber to a lower back strain, earning him a spot on the 10-day DL on back on May 3. Kluber is 3-2 on the season with a 5.06 ERA and he is targeting a May 13 return. While these numbers aren’t particularly disturbing, these guys haven’t really hit their strides yet this season, and it’s possible that their injuries are part of the reason for it.
Across the league, almost every team has at least one pitcher on the DL right now. That’s not unusual in May and it’s even expected to some extent. In the case of the Mets and the Indians, they need their guys back, and they need them to be available throughout the season. An injury now could put them back on the DL later.
Next: Top 30 MLB breakout stars in 2017
The Road Ahead
Looking at the injuries across the league, several teams that made it to the postseason in 2016 have pitchers on the DL right now. Cleveland, San Francisco. New York, Los Angeles and Boston included.
On the one hand, injuries in May means extra rest and rehab so that guys are back for the important part of the campaign. Getting back as soon as possible is important, but coming back too quickly, like the Orioles’ Zach Britton, could mean a longer rehab overall.
The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s troubling to see so many starting pitchers on the DL so soon, and it will be interesting to see where these same pitchers and teams are come September.