Injury Bug!

By this point in the season, almost every major league club is dealing with injuries. This means that basically every fantasy team is also dealing with injuries. I can personally attest to this because the injury bug has bitten one of my teams hard. Five out of my six bench spots are occupied by a player on the disabled list: Asdrubal Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Chase Utley, and Jake Peavy (not to mention a banged up Dexter Fowler). A fantasy owner can handle the injury bug in a couple of ways. There is the "panic and call the exterminator" strategy. This is when an owner hastily makes trades and ships out his injured players out of pure impatience. I like to utilize the "ahh it's just a bug" strategy, also known as the 2013 New York Yankees strategy. I park my injured players on the bench and find average reinforcements on the waiver wire until my team is back to full strength. Here are my best options to temporarily fill in for an injured player at each position.

Catcher

Disabled List - Carlos Ruiz (hamstring), Wilson Ramos (hamstring), and Francisco Cervelli (hand)

Top Reinforcement Options - Tyler Flowers, Alex Avila, A.J. Ellis

First Base

Disabled List - Justin Smoak (oblique), Corey Hart (knee), Yonder Alonso (hand), Mitch Moreland (hamstring)

Top Reinforcement Options - Garrett Jones, Nate Freiman, Matt Adams

Second Base

Disabled List - Aaron Hill (hand), Danny Espinosa (wrist), Chase Utley (ribs), Brain Roberts (hamstring)

Pending Status - Marco Scutaro (finger)

Top Reinforcement Options - Yunieski Betancourt, Mark Ellis, Emilio Bonifacio

Third Base

Disabled List - Kevin Youkilis (back), Pablo Sandoval (fat - I mean foot), Jedd Gyorko (groin), Brett Lawrie (ankle), Alex Rodrigues (hip), Eric Chavez (oblique)

Top Reinforcement Options - Chris Johnson, Trevor Plouffe, Luis Valbuena

Shortstop

Disabled List - Jose Reyes (ankle), Troy Tulowitzki (rib), Asdrubal Cabrera (quad), Derek Jeter (ankle)

Top Reinforcement Options - Mike Aviles, Stephen Drew, Pete Kozma, Zack Cozart

Outfield

Disabled List - Ryan Braun (thumb), Matt Kemp (hamsting), Angel Pagan (hamstring), Carl Crawford (hamstring), Bryce Harper (knee), Curtis Granderson (hand), Ryan Ludwick (shoulder), Aaron Hicks (hamstring), Cameron Maybin (knee), Franklin Gutierrez (hamstring), Adam Eaton (elbow), David Dejesus (shoulder)

Banged Up - Starling Marte (rib), Dexter Fowler (hand)

Top Reinforcement Options - Michael Brantley, Justin Ruggiano, Colby Rasmus, Ryan Raburn, Drew Stubbs, Lucas Duda, Mike Carp

Starting Pitching

Disabled List - Johnny Cueto (shoulder), David Price (triceps), A.J. Burnett (calf), Jake Peavy (ribs), Alexi Ogando (biceps), Brandon Beachy (elbow), Wandy Rodriguez (forearm), Brandon Morrow (forearm), Roy Halladay (shoulder)

Banged Up - Clay Bucholz (neck), Anibal Sanchez (shoulder), Josh Johnson (finger), Jason Hammel (illness)

Top Reinforcement Options - Corey Kluber, David Phelps, Jake Westbrook

Relief Pitching

Disabled List - Rafael Betancourt (groin), Chris Perez (shoulder)

Top Reinforcement Options - Vinnie Pestano, Rex Brothers, Francisco Rodriguez