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Earlier this season, I bragged on Twitter that I hadn't had a single player I drafted in any of my three Yahoo leagues go on the DL since the draft. Since then, my pitchers have taken a bit of a collective hit, with guys like Alex Cobb, David Price, J.J. Putz, Brandon Morrow getting hurt.
That said, I still have not had a single offensive player I drafted hit the DL since. It's an utter fluke, it is in almost no way sustainable, and it's largely meaningless, as I am in first place in none of those leagues, but still - it's been really fun to watch my team relentlessly stay healthy.
That's why I am seriously nervous as I write this. Carlos Gomez, one of my biggest breakthrough bets at the start of the year, a guy I drafted on three different rosters, and the brightest spot on a sorry Brewers team, had to leave yesterday's game after crashing into the center-field wall catching a fly. It looked hella painful and, while early reports say day-to-day and they're hoping he avoids the disabled list, I'm still nervous about my healthy streak. For you other Gomez owners, or for those of you who aren't here just to read my brag about my roster for a thousand words, he's established him pretty firmly as a top-20 outfielder, maybe even top-10, so this is a sit-and-wait bugaboo.
Also day-to-day is Josh Hamilton, who missed a few games with a sore right wrist. Hamilton owners, Angels fans, whoever, is probably not mourning his absence too hard, as it's a lot easier to wait for him to eventually get hot without having to suffer through another 0-for-5. I really have no idea what to do about Hamilton. Buy low? Sell low? Hold fast? Whatever you do will be both right and wrong. I'm just glad I don't have to make that decision.
The Padres put Everth Cabrera on the DL with a hamstring strain Wednesday. Everything I've seen indicates it's a relatively short-term absence; in fact, GM Josh Byrnes said on Buster Olney's podcast last week that it was more of a 10-ish-day injury, and the DL'd him mostly for the roster flexibility. Save him; I'll almost guarantee you need the steals.
Most of the other injuries of the past week - Jason Vargas, Dan Haren - were guys who probably didn't need to be owned to begin with, and definitely don't need to be kept while they are gone. Dump them, move on, enjoy life. In the meantime, I think it's a good time to take another look at guys who are or soon will be back from injuries.
I talked about David Price's setback last week, and how setbacks always make projecting returns tough. Well, it appears this was a mild setback, as Price did go on rehab Friday, aiming for a return in the next week or two.
Another one of my injured pitchers, J.J. Putz went on a rehab assignment Wednesday, working his way back. With Heath Bell being bad at all things baseball, Matt Reynolds hurt, and David Hernandez apparently never going to get the closing opportunity, it seems likely Putz will slide right back into his closer role upon his eventual return.
The returning hitters - Matt Kemp, Pablo Sandoval, Bryce Harper - are pretty easy solutions. You wait, then you play them when they are back. You really hope that Harper's knee feels better, that Kemp remembers 2011, that Sandoval's weight doesn't mess with him. You are nervous, but you play your big guns.
It was a lighter injury week than the last few. That's nice to see.
Follow me on Twitter @danieltkelley