Aches and Pains - MLB Fantasy IR

 It didn't take long.

Before the season even started you had some key players placed on IR; many at the last moment which created havoc trying to get rosters ready.

SP Carlos Carrasco NYM wasn't added until after the season began.

NYY 1B Luke Voit was added on opening day.

Tor SP Robbie Ray was added on Opening Day

KC SS  Adalberto Mondesi was added just before opening day.

SD SP Dinelson Lamet - added after Opening Day

SD OF Trent Grisham was added after Opening Day

TB RP Nick Anderson was added just before Opening Day.

The above are ALL players I have on my fantasy teams.  Players I had to replace from Waivers after the season began.  Yahoo Sports only allows 6 adds a week.  That was OK if it applied to the shortened 4 game 1st week BUT Yahoo applies it to the first 11 games instead of giving a fresh 6 adds for this week.  I'm out of adds in 1 league in part because I expected Yahoo to renew the adds with a new week.  Hmmm

Now this week has seen:

LAD SP / RP Tony Gonsolin added 

BAL  3B  Ke'Bryan Hayes added

SD SS and Top Fantasy Draft Pick Fernando Tatis is added

My fantasy team is full of walking wounded.

LAD Utility Player Chris Taylor is hobbled and listed as DTD which means you can't rely on him.

This is one reason I dislike playing in leagues that freeze your lineup for the week once play starts - my CBS Sports Points League for example.  A player gets injured or a covid19 event causes a team to postpone and you are still stuck, unable to change anything.  For that reason I won't play CBS Sports leagues in the future.  I want daily lineup leagues.

Opening Day - tomorrow and already snags in the system.

 So April 1 is tomorrow; and it's not just April's Fool day but also MLB Opening Day.

Are you ready?

I'm not.

I'm ready for the season to begin but my MLB Fantasy Teams are not yet ready.

It's NOT my fault.

For some reason (unknown to me), some injured players are not yet designated as IR so I have been unable to place them on the IR and choose a replacement from the waiver wire.

NYY Luke Voit will start the season on the IR yet in my Yahoo League he is simply shown as DTD

The same is true of NYM SP Carlos Carrasco who is expected to miss maybe 6 weeks because of an injured hamstring.  While I have Voit in a single league and it is a Roto, I have Carrasco in several leagues and they are HTH.

That means I will lose some value right off the bat (nice idiom) because I won't have a replacement for some players until after the season begins.  That's life.

Updated 7 pm CT  

Voit has finally been placed on IR; a waiver claim was made for Trevor Rogers (SP MIA) since TOR SP Robbie Ray was placed on the IR by Toronto for his bruised elbow (he fell at home and bruised it; not baseball related).  I also made a claim for Maikel Franco to make up some power loss from Voit being on the IR.

As of my last check, CArrasco still hasn't been placed on the IR in my leagues.

Also Adalberto Mondesi - SS KC has been placed on the IR to begin the season.  I have high hopes of a breakout season from Mondesi - hopefully injuries won't be a recurring theme with him this season.

Trouble in Paradise - Injuries in MLB 2021 already

 MLB Injuries impact fantasy teams

A week before the 2021 season starts, White Sox's Eloy Jimenez ruptures a pectoral muscle trying to make a catch in the outfield; a 4 Category start is now out probably for the season.  For those who haven't drafted their fantasy team yet, you need to drop Eloy from your draft list OR take him in the last rounds as an IR stash in case he can return before the end of the season.  A healthy Eloy provides Power with average so HRS, RBIs, Runs and Batting Ave / On-Base Percentage.  He didn't steal bases.

Tampa Bay's elite relief pitcher Nick Anderson suffered a partial tear of his elbow ligament and will be sidelined for months if he is able to heal without surgery (the current plan);

Toronto's Kirby Yates - a Closer - underwent Tommy John Surgery so is out for 2021

For those of us who have already drafted one of these players, it is to the waiver wire we must look for answers.  I have Eloy in one league and I have Nick Anderson in 1 league.  Eloy I chose to drop rather than wait for him to be designated as IR and replace him.  I have no faith in his ability to recover this season and return healthy.   Nick I am waiting for the Fantasy Team to show him as IR and I will place him on IR to see if he can recover - I'm not holding my breath though.

I never drafted Kirby Yates - I wasn't sold that his skills would let him keep the Closer job in Toronto.  Jordon Romano has the skills to take over as Closer though Toronto may use a committee.

Before you replace your injured star, take a look at what your team needs are.  Just because Eloy was a power bat and outfield doesn't mean you should replace him with a power bat or outfielder.  Look to see where your team, minus the player you are replacing, is weakest.  Maybe you need a Starting Pitcher?  Or a player to give you Stolen Bases.  Evaluate your team before you choose a replacement.

Next, evaluate the players on the waiver wire.  Often I will simply look to get the BEST Player Available, regardless of position.  Other times I will seek to fill a hole.  In the case of Nick Anderson, I have enough Relief Pitching without him.  In fact, Diego Castillo may get more save opportunities now since he won't be sharing those with Nick.  So for that league I will either take another Starting Pitcher OR a hitter.  I'm still evaluating until Nick is listed as IR.

In the league with Eloy, I also drafted NY Mets Starting Pitcher Carlos Carrasco who injured his hamstring.  Since he was an early pick as a SP, and not yet designated for IR, I opted to " You have successfully created a waiver claim for Tony Gonsolin dropping Eloy Jiménez"   Whenever the League designates Carlos is eligible for IR, I will replace him - maybe with another arm but maybe with another bat.  

Whether you chose a "safer"  pitcher or hitter off of waivers or take a chance on a younger player with upside, that will depend on the player you lost to injury and the team you have.  With the season starting next week, if you have already drafted and are replacing an early round pick such as Eloy, you may want to "swing for the fences" by choosing an unproven player who has the potential to break out this season OR a former elite player who has fallen such as Ranger's Kris Davis - once a 40 HR threat.  One potential player that may be on your waiver wire still is Rockies OF/2B Garrett Hampson.  In many leagues he went undrafted.  He has 20/30 potential and had a very good spring training.  

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